After praising the accounts contained in this Quran and declaring them the finest of all accounts—there being no accounts in any other book comparable to those in the Quran—He related the wondrous and beautiful story of Joseph, his father, and his brothers, saying:
“4–6” “When Joseph said to his father, ‘My dear father, I saw eleven stars, and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating themselves before me.’”
Know that Allah stated that He relates to His Messenger the finest of accounts in this Book. He then related this story at length and recounted what took place in it, making it clear that it is a complete, perfect, and beautiful account. Whoever seeks to supplement or improve it with Israelite reports for which neither a chain of transmission nor a transmitter is known—and most of which are false—is presuming to correct Allah and complete something he alleges to be deficient. How utterly vile is a matter that reaches such a point! Indeed, in many works of Quranic commentary, the passages concerning this surah have been filled with a great many falsehoods and repugnant claims that contradict what Allah Most High has related.
A servant must therefore understand what Allah has related and leave aside everything else that is not transmitted from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him.
Regarding His words, Exalted is He, “When Joseph said to his father”—Jacob son of Isaac son of Abraham, the close friend of Allah, peace and blessings be upon them all—“My dear father, I saw eleven stars, and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating themselves before me”: this dream was a prelude to the exalted rank Joseph—peace be upon him—would attain in this world and the Hereafter.
Thus, whenever Allah wills a momentous affair, He first brings about a prelude that paves the way for it, facilitates it, and prepares His servant for the hardships he will face, out of gracious care and kindness toward him. Jacob interpreted the dream to mean that the sun represented Joseph’s mother, the moon his father, and the stars his brothers; and that Joseph would pass through a succession of circumstances until he reached a state in which they would humble themselves before him and prostrate to him in honor and reverence. He also understood that this could only occur through causes that would precede it: Allah’s choosing and selecting Joseph, completing His favor upon him through knowledge and righteous action, and establishing him in the land.
He further understood that this blessing would extend to the family of Jacob, who would prostrate to Joseph and become subordinate to him in that regard. For this reason, He said: