Overall meaning : Allah Almighty says: The King of Egypt said to his courtiers, 'I saw in a dream seven fat cows being devoured by seven lean ones, and seven green ears of grain next to seven others dry. Tell me the meaning of my dream, my nobles, if you can interpret dreams.’ They replied, 'They are only confused dreams, and we do not know the interpretation of such kind of dreams.’
Thereupon Joseph’s fellow prisoner, one of the two youths who had been freed, remembered Joseph and his case after all that time, said, 'I can inform you of the interpretation of this dream, so send me forth to Joseph in prison to bring you its real meaning.’
When he visited Joseph in the prison, he said to him, 'Joseph, man of truth, tell us the real meaning of the dream of someone who saw seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean ones, and also of seven green ears of grain next to seven others which were dry, so that I can return to the king and his courtiers and inform them of the interpretation of the King’s dream so they may know your good standing and worth.’
Joseph replied, giving his interpretation of the king’s dream, 'Sow diligently for seven consecutive years as usual in order to obtain abundant crops, store whatever grain you reap every year by leaving it in the ear so it will not be ruined, except for the little you will need to eat. These seven years of great abundance will be followed by seven severe years of famine, in which all the crops you have prepared for them will be consumed except for a little of what you have stored up. After that there will come a year of abundant rain, in which Allah will relieve people’s hardships, and they will be able to press fruits due to the sheer abundance of crops.’