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Surah Yusuf, Ayah 42 (12:42)

يُوسُف

وَقَالَ لِلَّذِى ظَنَّ أَنَّهُۥ نَاجٍ مِّنْهُمَا ٱذْكُرْنِى عِندَ رَبِّكَ فَأَنسَىٰهُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ ذِكْرَ …

Quran 12:42 is ayah 42 of Surah Yusuf (“Joseph”), a Meccan surah of 111 ayahs. It is in Juz 12, on page 240 of the Madani Mushaf.

12:42
وَقَالَلِلَّذِىظَنَّأَنَّهُۥنَاجٍمِّنْهُمَاٱذْكُرْنِىعِندَرَبِّكَفَأَنسَىٰهُٱلشَّيْطَٰنُذِكْرَرَبِّهِۦفَلَبِثَفِىٱلسِّجْنِبِضْعَسِنِينَ٤٢
waqāla lilladhī ẓanna annahu nājin min'humā udh'kur'nī ʿinda rabbika fa-ansāhu l-shayṭānu dhik'ra rabbihi falabitha fī l-sij'ni biḍ'ʿa sinīna

And he said to the one whom he knew would go free, "Mention me before your master." But Satan made him forget the mention [to] his master, and he [i.e., Joseph] remained in prison several years.(42)

Word by word

  1. وَقَالَwaqālaAnd he said
  2. لِلَّذِىlilladhīto the one whom
  3. ظَنَّẓannahe thought
  4. أَنَّهُۥannahuthat he
  5. نَاجٍnājin(would be) saved
  6. مِّنْهُمَاmin'humāof both of them
  7. ٱذْكُرْنِىudh'kur'nīMention me
  8. عِندَʿindato
  9. رَبِّكَrabbikayour master
  10. فَأَنسَىٰهُfa-ansāhuBut made him forget
  11. ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُl-shayṭānuthe Shaitaan
  12. ذِكْرَdhik'ra(the) mention
  13. رَبِّهِۦrabbihi(to) his master
  14. فَلَبِثَfalabithaso he remained
  15. فِىfīin
  16. ٱلسِّجْنِl-sij'nithe prison
  17. بِضْعَbiḍ'ʿaseveral
  18. سِنِينَsinīnayears

Tafsir (commentary) of 12:42

Available in English, Bengali, Urdu, Arabic, Russian.

English · EnglishTafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Yusuf asks the King's Distiller to mention Him to the King

Yusuf knew that the distiller would be saved. So discretely, so that the other man's suspicion that he would be crucified would not intensify, he said,

اذْكُرْنِى عِندَ رَبِّكَ

(Mention me to your King.) asking him to mention his story to the king. That man forgot Yusuf's request and did not mention his story to the king, a plot from the devil, so that Allah's Prophet would not leave the prison. This is the correct meaning of,

فَأَنْسَاهُ الشَّيْطَـنُ ذِكْرَ رَبِّهِ

(But Shaytan made him forget to mention it to his master.) that it refers to the man who was saved. As was said by Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ishaq and several others. As for, `a few years', or, Bida` in Arabic, it means between three and nine, according to Mujahid and Qatadah. Wahb bin Munabbih said, "Ayyub suffered from the illness for seven years, Yusuf remained in prison for seven years and Bukhtanassar (Nebuchadnezzar - Chaldean king of Babylon) was tormented for seven years."

Read the full Surah Yusuf