According to Taberî, Yusuf told the person who was imprisoned with him and whose dream he interpreted—and whom he knew would be freed—to mention him to the king (his master), to tell him that he was wronged and imprisoned unjustly. Furthermore, the phrase 'several years' (بضع سنين) refers to a period between three and nine or ten years, and Satan caused Yusuf to forget the remembrance of his Lord, which is why he remained in prison for such a long time; hadith reports transmitted from the Prophet also support this view.

وهذا خبر من الله جل ثناؤه عن غفلة عرضت ليوسف من قبل الشيطان نسي لها ذكر ربه الذي لو به استغاث لأسرع بما هو فيه خلاصه، ولكنه زل بها، فأطال من أجلها في السجن حبسه، وأوجع لها عقوبته

According to Zemahşerî, in this verse the word 'zann' (supposition) shows that if Yusuf's interpretation of the dream was made through reasoning, then 'zann' carries its literal meaning of supposition, but if it was made through revelation, then 'zann' here means certainty; the one supposing is Yusuf, who thought the cupbearer would be freed. Furthermore, the pronoun in 'zikr rabbehu' belongs to Satan, and Satan caused the cupbearer to forget to mention Yusuf to his master (the king), or according to another view, Yusuf forgot to remember Allah because he relied on someone other than Allah; regarding the duration of imprisonment, the view that it was seven years is also mentioned. Finally, to the question of how Satan can have power over a human, the answer is given that Satan can busy a person with things that cause forgetfulness through whispers, but only Allah can truly cause forgetting.

فإن قلت : كيف يقدر الشيطان على الإنسان ؟ قلت : يوسوس إلى العبد بما يشغله عن الشيء من أسباب النسيان ، حتى يذهب عنه ويزل عن قلبه ذكره ، وأما الإنساء ابتداء فلا يقدر عليه إلا الله عز وجل

Râzî reports two views regarding the subject of the verb 'ذكر' (remember) in this verse: some refer it to Yusuf, and others to the freed person (the cupbearer). When referred to Yusuf, the meaning is that Satan caused Yusuf to forget the remembrance of his Lord, in which case Yusuf's turning to someone other than Allah is considered a deficiency for him; indeed, according to reports, the Prophet said, 'May Allah have mercy on Yusuf; if he had not asked me to mention him to his Lord, he would not have remained in prison for so long.' According to this view, Yusuf was punished with prolonged imprisonment because he entrusted his matter to a creature rather than to Allah.

وعن قتادة أن يوسف عليه السلام عوقب بسبب رجوعه إلى غير الله ، وعن إبراهيم التيمي أنه لما انتهى إلى باب السجن قال له صاحبه : ما حاجتك قال : أن تذكرني عند رب سوى الرب الذي قال يوسف

Kurtubî explains in this section that the expression 'رَبِّكَ' (your lord/master) that Yusuf said to the cupbearer is used in the language to mean master/owner, and clarifies the connection with the hadith in which the Prophet forbade calling him 'rabbî' and commanded calling him 'sayyidî/mevlâ'. Furthermore, there is discussion about whether the pronoun in 'فأنساه' (made him forget) belongs to Yusuf or Satan; it is reported that Yusuf was kept waiting in prison as punishment for seeking refuge in a creature and forgetting to seek refuge in Allah. Finally, various time estimates based on linguistic and report-based interpretations (7, 12, 14 years, etc.) are listed for the phrase 'بضع (several) year(s)'.

أي سيدك وذلك معروف في اللغة أن يقال للسيد رب قال الأعشى : ربي كريم لا يكدر نعمة * وإذا تنوشد في المهارق أنشدا

Ibn Kesîr reports two views regarding whose pronoun the verb 'forgot' refers to: according to Mujahid, Muhammad ibn Ishaq, and others, the pronoun refers to the freed person (the prison companion), and this is the correct view; according to another view narrated from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Ikrimah, the pronoun refers to Yusuf. He narrates a marfûʿ hadith supporting this second view from Ibn Jarîr but finds the chain of this hadith very weak, and also notes that the mursal reports from Hasan and Katadah on this matter cannot be accepted.

هذا هو الصواب أن الضمير في قوله عائد على الناجي كما قاله مجاهد ومحمد بن إسحاق وغير واحد ويقال إن الضمير عائد على يوسف عليه السلام رواه ابن جرير عن ابن عباس ومجاهد أيضا وعكرمة وغيرهم

Beydâvî mentions two possibilities regarding whether Yusuf interpreted the dream through reasoning or through revelation; he presents different readings regarding whether Satan caused the one who would be freed (the cupbearer) or Yusuf himself to forget his Lord's remembrance. He relates a view supported by a hadith that Yusuf's asking for help from another person was not befitting the rank of prophethood; therefore, he connects the prolongation of the prison stay to this situation.

فأنساه الشيطان ذكر ربه فأنسى الشرابي أن يذكره لربه، فأضاف إليه المصدر لملابسته له أو على تقدير ذكر أخبار ربه، أو أنسي يوسف ذكر الله حتى استعان بغيره، ويؤيده قوله عليه الصلاة والسلام «رحم الله أخي يوسف لو لم يقل اذكرني عند ربك لما لبث في السجن سبعا بعد الخمس»