O My Two Companions of the Prison

They had asked him a straight question: tell us the interpretation of this dream. What was his answer?

He said: yā ṣāḥibayi al-sijn — O my two companions of the prison. Look at the choice of words: O companions. He was taking them as companions and friends; he was building a social relationship with them, some closeness. A very gentle way of speaking to them: O companions of the prison — you are my companions.

And then he put a question to them: are many different lords better, or Allah, the One, the Irresistible? He did not tell them outright that Allah is better; he asked them a question to make them use their minds. And why this particular question? Because it is obvious to the human intellect, to the human mind and the human heart, that there is only one God. Allah is al-Qahhār. Al-Qahhār means that He is the One who is overwhelming and dominant over everything. So all these other gods you set up besides Allah have no power — no power whatsoever. So he asked them this question, and then he gave them the answer. He gave them the question so that they would think, and he was preparing them to receive the next piece of information he would give them.