Before Your Next Meal

Yūsuf (peace be upon him) told them: no food will come to you, but I will have informed you of its interpretation before it comes. The mufassirūn have different opinions about this. One of them is that Yūsuf (peace be upon him) told them: I will tell you the interpretation of the dream before your next meal is served. Before your next meal is served, you will have the interpretation of the dream.

And then notice the personality of the dāʿiyah, the one who calls to Islam. They asked him a question about the interpretation of a dream. First, he told them: before you receive your next meal — but the word he used was turzaqānihi, that you are provided with. It is rizq from Allah. So he was conveying certain concepts to them. First, he was telling them that the food they would receive was from Allah.

Second, he said: dhālikumā mimmā ʿallamanī rabbī — that is of what my Lord has taught me. Meaning: I am not going to tell you the interpretation of the dream from my own knowledge and skills; this is knowledge that Allah (swt) has taught me. He was giving the credit to Allah (swt).

Third: I have abandoned the religion of a people who do not believe in Allah. Now, what does this have to do with the interpretation of dreams? This is pure daʿwah that he was delivering to these people. He said: I have left the religion of the people who disbelieve in Allah. He was talking about the religion they were following: I have abandoned that religion.

Fourth: and they are disbelievers in the Hereafter. So he was establishing in them belief in Allah and belief in the Ākhirah, because there is no religion revealed to a prophet except that it has in it belief in the Ākhirah as a pillar of faith.