The King’s Dream

One day the king had a strange dream. He dreamt that seven fat cows were being eaten by seven skinny cows, and he also saw seven healthy ears of grain and seven dry ones. When he woke up, he asked his people if anyone could find the meaning of this dream. But no one could, until all of a sudden the king’s wine-pourer remembered how Yusuf (AS) had found the meaning of his dream in the prison.

So he told the king that he could find the meaning of the dream. He then returned to the prison and found Yusuf (AS), and asked him for the meaning. Yusuf (AS) replied, ‘For seven years, leave the grain you harvest on its ear and store it, except what you need to eat. After that, you will have seven years of hardship where you will eat from what you have stored in the first seven years. Then there will be a year of great rain where the people will be able to press olives and grapes.’

When the king heard this meaning he was very happy, and asked for Yusuf (AS) to be brought to him. But Yusuf (AS) would not come until his innocence had been proven, ‘Go back to the king and ask him about the incident of the women who cut their hands. Indeed, my Lord has full knowledge of their plan.’

The king called the women to him and asked them about what had happened when they had tried to seduce Yusuf (AS). They were fearful in front of the king, and exclaimed, ‘Perfect is Allah! We know no evil about him.’

As for the chief minster’s wife, she had become extremely guilty by the false imprisonment of Yusuf (AS), and so she admitted her crime completely. ‘Now the truth is clear. I tried to seduce him, and he is definitely truthful. From this he should know that I did not speak dishonestly about him behind his back, for Allah definitely does not guide the plans of the dishonest. I’m not trying to free myself from blame. Indeed, the soul always wishes to do evil, except by those who Allah gives His mercy to. Indeed, my Lord is the All-Forgiving, All-Merciful.’ As we can see, she had changed a lot while Yusuf (AS) was in prison, and regretted her crime greatly.

The speech of the chief minister’s wife proved clearly that Yusuf (AS) was innocent. The king called for him once more, this time to honour him. The king wanted to give him an important position, so Yusuf (AS) suggested that he take over the storehouses where the grain was kept. The king agreed, and so Yusuf (AS) went from being a prisoner to a minister of Egypt.

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