Fahreddin er-Râzî, in addressing the expression in Yusuf's dream of the sun, moon and stars prostrating before him, conveys that this prostration should not be interpreted in the literal sense, but rather as a prostration for Yusuf's benefit/advantage, or that Yusuf is made like the qibla and the prostration is a prostration of gratitude directed toward Allah. He also explains from the perspective of language and eloquence the repetition of the dream twice, the stars being mentioned first followed by the sun and moon, and then their being mentioned again, and their ordering (being given precedence in terms of nobility). He also discusses the possibility that all of Yaqub's eleven sons could have been prophets, and notes that the wrong they committed against Yusuf occurred before prophethood, and that infallibility is only valid during the time of prophethood.

وعندي أن هذا التأويل متعين ، لأنه لا يستبعد من عقل يوسف ودينه أن يرضى بأن يسجد له أبوه مع سابقته في حقوق الولادة والشيخوخة والعلم والدين وكمال النبوة

Kurtubî states that the particle 'idh' is in the position of adverbial nasb, and means 'when Yusuf, remind them of the time.' He then relates the discussions about different readings of the name 'Yûsuf' (readings with and without the hamza) and whether this name is Arabic or a foreign (non-Arab) name. According to one view, the name derives from the combination of the meanings 'asaf' (sorrow) and 'asîr' (slave) in Yusuf. He also mentions the names of the eleven stars in one narration, and conveys narrations from Ibn Abbas and Katâda that these stars are his brothers, the sun is his mother, and the moon is his father.

الأسف في اللغة الحزن والأسيف العبد وقد اجتمعا في يوسف فلذلك سمى يوسف

According to Ibn Kesîr, it was permissible in the previous laws that passed from Adam to the law of Jesus to prostrate when greeting an elder; however, in the law of this ummah, prostration has been made exclusively for Allah and thus forbidden. For this reason, Yusuf's brothers prostrating before him is an example of this practice which was permissible in their own law.

وقد كان هذا سائغا في شرائعهم إذا سلموا على الكبير يسجدون له ولم يزل هذا جائزا من لدن آدم إلى شريعة عيسى عليه السلام فحرم هذا في هذه الملة وجعل السجود مختصا بجناب الرب سبحانه وتعالى

Beydâvî explains in detail the linguistic elements in this verse: the 'ta' in the expression 'yâ abat' is actually a compensatory substitution for the letter 'ya', and he grounds different reading forms (with fatha, kasra, damma) from a grammatical perspective. He also clarifies that the expression 'ra'îtu min al-ru'yâ' derives from the word 'ru'yâ' and not from 'ru'ya', and he supports this with other verses in the context of the verse. Finally, he relates a narration that a Jewish person asked the Prophet about the names of the stars and Gabriel informed him.

يا أبت أصله يا أبي فعوض عن الياء تاء التأنيث لتناسبهما في الزيادة ولذلك قلبها هاء في الوقف ابن كثير وأبو عمرو ويعقوب وكسرها لأنها عوض حرف يناسبها

According to Taberî, the eleven stars that Yusuf saw in his dream represent his brothers, and the sun and moon represent his mother and father. He supports this view with narrations related from Ibn Abbas, Katâda, Ibn Jurayj and Sufyan, and also explains from a linguistic perspective the reason why the sun and moon are referred to with the expression 'sâjidîn' (in a manner specific to humans).

الكواكب: إخوته، والشمس والقمر: أبواه

According to Zemahşerî, the word 'Yûsuf' is a Hebrew name; the view of some that it is Arabic is not accepted as correct, because if it were Arabic it would require the tanwîn (to be mansarif). Moreover, since the famous reading testifies that this word is foreign (non-Arab), it is not possible for the same word to be sometimes counted as Arabic and sometimes as foreign. The fact that only Benjamin is meant by the expression 'wa-akhûh' in the verse stems from their being from the same mother.

لأنه لو كان عربيا لانصرف لخلوه عن سبب آخر سوى التعريف