Taberî transmits two fundamental meanings based on different readings (qiraat) of the word 'umma' in the expression 'wa-adkara ba'da umma': according to the reading of the majority (with alif followed by a doubled mim), it means 'after a time/period, after a long while'; according to another reading transmitted from earlier scholars (with alif preceded by a damma, and a light mim), the meaning 'after forgetfulness' emerges. A third reading is also transmitted, where Mujahid read it with a resonant mim, which carries a masdar meaning and points in the same direction as the second opinion. The text arranges these different views with chains of transmission coming from the relevant companions and successors.

وهذا التأويل على قراءة من قرأ: {بعد أمة} بضم الألف وتشديد الميم ، وهي قراءة القراء في أمصار الإسلام وقد روي عن جماعة من المتقدمين أنهم قرءوا ذلك: «بعد أمة» بفتح الألف، وتخفيف الميم، وفتحها بمعنى بعد نسيان.

According to Râzî, there are several possible readings and meanings for the word 'umma' in this verse: it can mean 'after a time', or with a hamza kasra in the reading it can mean 'blessing' (meaning that after Yusuf was given the blessing of salvation). Furthermore, the question of who performed the act of forgetting is debated; according to some, it was the cupbearer who forgot, not Yusuf, but according to the view of Ibn al-Anbârî, the word 'uzkur' simply means 'mention, inform' and does not require prior forgetting. Râzî also mentions the possibility that both the cupbearer and Yusuf may have forgotten.

قال ابن الأنباري : اذكر بمعنى ذكر وأخبر وهذا لا يدل على سبق النسيان فلعل الساقي إنما لم يذكره للملك خوفا من أن يكون ذلك اذكارا لذنبه الذي من أجله حبسه فيزداد الشر

Kurtubî transmits that the word 'umma' in the expression 'adkara ba'da umma' in this verse can mean 'time/period', 'forgetfulness', and 'blessing' according to different readings. Regarding the duration of Yusuf's imprisonment, he transmits the views that either he was truly forgotten, or even if he remembered, he remained silent out of fear of being reminded of the sin.

وقيل : مانسي ولكنه خاف أن يذكر الملك الذنب الذي بسببه حبس هو والخباز فقوله : وادكر أي ذكر وأخبر

According to this text, the person who was freed from prison, after a long period (or according to one report, after attaining blessing), remembered Yusuf and called him by the epithet 'as-Siddîq'; this epithet was acquired from experience through Yusuf's correct interpretation of his own dream and his companion's dream. The person stated that the purpose of asking about the dream was 'to return to the people' and 'to make them know', but did not make a definite promise of return because he thought an obstacle such as death might intervene.

وإنما وصفه بالصديق وهو المبالغ في الصدق لأنه جرب أحواله وعرف صدقه في تأويل رؤياه ورؤيا صاحبه

According to Zemahşerî, the root of the word 'wa-adkara' is the verb 'tadhakkara' and means the freed prisoner's remembering Yusuf and his testimony in dream interpretation after years. This remembering occurred at a moment when the king asked those around him to interpret his dream and no one could solve it, whereupon the freed person remembered Yusuf and his skill in dream interpretation. Furthermore, the different readings in the expression 'ba'da umma' (umma, imma, umah) and their semantic differences (long duration, blessing, forgetfulness) are also discussed.

والأصل تذكر

Ibn Kesîr states that the word 'umma' wherever it appears in the Qur'an denotes a single meaning determined by the context of the discourse, and does not agree with the view of Abul-Aliya that this letter denotes multiple meanings simultaneously. Furthermore, regarding the disconnected letters at the beginning of surahs, he conveys that these are not meaningless or empty, that they have their own particular meanings, but he prefers to remain silent on this matter unless a confirmed explanation comes from the Prophet.

ولفظة الأمة وما أشبهها من الألفاظ المشتركة في الإصطلاح إنما دل في القرآن في كل موطن على معنى واحد دل عليه سياق الكلام