“He said, ‘My dear son, do not relate your dream to your brothers, lest they devise a plot against you. Indeed, Satan is a clear enemy to mankind.’” (5)

“He said, ‘My dear son, do not relate your dream to your brothers’”—for the dreams of the Prophets, peace be upon them, are revelation. Jacob therefore knew that, if his brothers heard it, they would envy him, so he instructed him to keep it hidden. “Lest they devise a plot against you”: that is, lest they scheme to destroy you, since they knew its interpretation and would thus envy you.

The lām in His saying, “against you,” is supplementary, as in His saying, exalted is He: “They stood in awe of their Lord” (al-A‘rāf 7:154). It was also said that it is like the expressions, “I advised you” and “I advised for your benefit,” or, “I thanked you” and “I thanked you for it.”

“Indeed, Satan is a clear enemy to mankind”: that is, Satan would make it seem attractive to them and incite them to plot, because of his long-standing enmity.