12. Surah Yusuf

Commentary Mentioned in the previous verse was the great trial and test of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in that the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr bolted the doors and tried to invite him to sin assembling together in that effort all circumstantial temptations to attract and to make him become indulgent. But, Almighty Allah kept this righteous young person standing steadfast in such severe trial. The details of what transpired have been given in this verse. Said here is that Zulaikha was busy persuing her obsessive thought any way, but emerging in the heart of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) too, there was some non-voluntary tilt towards her as would be the natural consequence in such a situation. But, it was exactly at that time that Allah Ta` ala brought before Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . His argument and proof, because of which, that non-voluntary tilt, rather than increase, actually died out totally - and, beating the pursuit, he ran. In this verse, the word: ھَم (hamm : thought) has been attributed to Zulaikha and Sayyidna Yusuf علیہ السلام both as in: وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ وَهَمَّ بِهَا (And she desired him. And he had desired her). And we know that the ` hamm' or thought of Zulaikha was that of sin. This could have raised a doubt that the ` thought' of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) may also have been of a similar nature - and this is, based on the consensus of the entire Muslim Ummah, contrary to the great station of a Nabiyy (prophet) and Rasul. The reason is that the majority of the Muslim Ummah holds the standard belief that the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all, are protected against all sorts of sins, minor or major. As for a major sin, it can neither be committed by them intentionally, nor is it possible through inadvertence or mistake. However, the probability that a minor sin could be committed through inadvertence or mistake does exist - but, on this too, the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all, are not allowed to remain - instead, they are warned and made to move away from it. (Musamarah) Besides the fact that this question of the ` Ismah of Anbiya' (the state of being under Divine protection with which prophets are blessed) stands settled and proved under the authority of the Qur'an and Sunnah, it is also necessary, rationally too - because, should there remain the probability of a committal of sin by the Anbiya' (علیہم السلام) ، there remains no way one could place trust in the Din (religion) and Way (revelation) brought by them, and that their very coming into the world with a Divine Book revealed to them becomes totally fruitless. Therefore, Allah Ta` ala has kept every prophet of His totally ma` sum from every sin (ma` sum: technically, sinless or infallible; literally, protected by Allah). So, speaking generally, it stands established that the ` thought' which crossed the mind of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was not a thought to be counted in the degree of sin. For details, we should understand that the word: ھَمّ (hamm: thought) in the Arabic language is used to convey two meanings: (1) Intend and be determined to do something; (2) a simple scruple in the heart or the appearance of a thought beyond one's control. In the first situation, it is included under sin, and is accountable. However, should someone, after having made the intention, were to leave off this sin at his own choice just because of the fear of Allah, then, according to the Hadith, Allah Ta’ ala replaces the sin and enters a good deed in his or her Book of Deeds. And in the second situation - that is, in the event there comes a simple scruple and non-voluntary thought, without any intention to put the thought into practice, for instance, a normal turn of thought towards cool water during the fasts of summer which is natural and experienced by almost everyone, though there is no intention there to go about drinking water while fasting. So, a thought like that is neither within one's control, nor is there any accountability and sin in it. In a Hadith of the Sahih of Al-Bukhari, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: ` Allah Ta` ala has forgiven the scruple and thought of sin for my Ummah - if not put into practice.' (Qurtubi) And in the Sahihayn (the two Sahihs, that is, Al-Bukhari and Muslim), it has been reported on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurayrah ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: ` Allah Ta’ ala says to the angels: When My servant intends to do good, write a good deed in his or her Book of Deeds just be-cause of that intention. And when he or she has completed this deed, write down ten good deeds. And if a servant intends to do a sin, then leaves it off due to the fear of Allah, write one good deed in his or her Book of Deeds in lieu of that sin. And if he or she does fall into that sin, write it as one sin only.' (Ibn Kathlr) Al-Qurtubi has, in his Tafsir, proved the use of the word: ھَمّ ('hamm': thought) covering both these meanings through evidences from Arab usage and poetry. This tells us that the word: ھَمّ ` hamm' appearing in this verse has been attributed to both Zulaikha and Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) but there is a big difference between the ھَمّ ` hamm' or thought of both. The former is included under sin while the other has the status of a non -voluntary scruple which is not included under sin. The descriptive style of the Holy Qur'an is itself a testimony to this - because, had their ھَمّ ` hamm' or thought been identical, it would have been sufficient to say it in a dual form, such as: وَلَقَدْ هَمَّا that is, the two of them desired, which was brief too. But, leaving this option aside, , the ` hamm' or thought of both was described separate from each other: هَمَّتْ بِهِ ۖ وَهَمَّ بِهَا (And she certainly desired him. And he had desired her). Then, added to the هَمَّ ` hamm' or thought of Zulaikha was the word of emphasis: لَقَدْ (laqad). With the هَمَّ ` hamm' or thought of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، the emphasis of the letters: لَام (lam) and: قَد (qad) is not there. This tells us that, through this particular expression, the purpose is to emphasize that the هَمَّ ` hamm' or thought of Zulaikha was of some other nature while that of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، of some other. According to a Hadith in the Sahih of Muslim, when this test was faced by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، the angels submitted before Allah Ta ala: This sincere servant of Yours is thinking of sin, though he knows its curse fully well. Allah Ta ala said: You wait. If he commits this sin, write what he has done in his Book of Deeds. And if he abstains from committing it, do not record it a sin, instead, enter a good deed in his Book of Deeds - because, he has surrendered his desire only out of fear for Me (which is doing good at its best) (Qurtubi) To sum up, it can be said that the thought or tilt generated in the heart of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was simply at the level of a non-voluntary scruple, which is not included under sin. Then, by acting against this scruple, his rank with Allah Ta ala rose much higher. At this stage, some commentators have also pointed out to another construction of the verse. According to them, the statement: لَوْلَا أَن رَّ‌أَىٰ بُرْ‌هَانَ رَ‌بِّهِ ' Of (Had he not seen the proof from his Lord) which succeeds is really supposed to precede, in which case, the verse would mean that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) would have also desired her had he not seen the proof from his Lord - but, because he had seen the proof from his Lord, he remained safe from this ھَمّ ` hamm' or thought. Thematically, this too is correct. But, some other commentators have declared this construction as contrary to the rules of the Arabic grammar. Thus, considering this aspect, the first Tafsir is weightier as it makes the Taqwa and chastity of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) rise to much higher levels since he, despite the human instinct, managed to stay safe from sin. As for the statement: لَوْلَا أَن رَّ‌أَىٰ بُرْ‌هَانَ رَ‌بِّهِ ' (Had he not seen the proof from his Lord) at the end, its principal clause is understood and it means: Had he not seen the proof from his Lord, he would have remained indulged in that thought, but after having seen the proof from his Lord, that non-voluntary thought and scruple too was eliminated from his heart. The Holy Qur’ an does not clarify as to what was that بُرھَانَ ` burhan' or proof from his Lord which appeared before him. Therefore, statements of commentators differ in this matter. Sayyidna Abdullah ibn Said ibn Jubayr ؓ ، Mujahid, Muhammad ibn Sirin, Hasan al-Basri رحمۃ اللہ علیہم and others have said that Allah Ta’ ala made the face of Sayyidna Yaqub (علیہ السلام) appear miraculously before him in that private quarter showing him with his finger in his mouth and warning him. Some commentators say that it was the face of the ` Aziz of Misr which was presented before him. Some others have said: When Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) looked towards the ceiling, he saw the following verse of the Qur’ an written there: لَا تَقْرَ‌بُوا الزِّنَىٰ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا that is, do not go (even) near adultery because it is a grave act of immodesty and a very evil way (for human society). Some other commentators have said that Zulaikha had an idol in her house. When she threw a curtain on this idol, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) asked the reason for it. She said: This is my object of worship. I cannot dare commit sin before it. Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) said: My Rabb, the object of my worship certainly deserves that far more modesty be shown before Him for no curtain can stop His seeing. Finally, there are commentators who have said that the station of the prophet he was on and the knowledge of the Divine he had was itself the proof from his Lord. After reporting all these sayings, what has been said by the Imam of Tafsir, Ibn Jarir, has been adjudged authoritatively as most-favoured and doubt-free. And he has said: As much as the Holy Qur’ an has to tell should be what has to be considered sufficient. In other words, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) saw something which made the scruple in his heart go away. To determine this precisely, there could be all those probabilities mentioned by the commentators - but, none of these can be held as certain absolutely. (Ibn Kathir) At the end of the verse it was said: كَذَٰلِكَ لِنَصْرِ‌فَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَاءَ ۚ إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِين (This We did to turn away from him evil and lewdness). Here, the word: السُّوءَ evil) means minor sin (Saghirah) and: الْفَحْشَاءَ (al-fahsha': lewdness) means major sin (Kabirah). (Mazhari) Noteworthy here is that the text mentions ` turning away evil and lewdness from Sayyidna Yusuf' (علیہ السلام) - and not ` Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from evil and lewdness.' The hint implied here is that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was, because of his great station of prophethood, already removed from this sin as far as he was personally concerned, but evil and immodesty had encircled him. So Allah broke that trap apart. These words of the Holy Qur’ an are also a testimony proving that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) did not succumb to even the minor-most sin and the thought which went ac-cross his heart was not included under sin, otherwise the relevant expression would have been: ` We saved Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from sin' - and not: ` Turn away from him evil and lewdness.' Said in the last sentence is: إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِين (Surely, he is among Our chosen slaves). The word: مُخْلَصِين (mukhlasin) is the plural of mukhlas which means chosen. It means that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) is among the chosen servants of Allah who has been appointed to the mission of prophethood to work for the betterment of the creation of Allah. Such people have Allah's own security shield around them so that they would not fall a victim to any evil. The Shaytan has himself admitted that he cannot touch the chosen servants of Allah. He said: فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ﴿82﴾ إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِين That is, by Your honour and power, I shall put all those humans on the wrong track, except Your servants, the ones chosen by You - 15:40. In some readings (Qira'at), this word has appeared as: مُخْلَصِين (mukhlsin) as well. Mukhlis means a person who obeys and worships Allah with Ikhlas (for which there is no word in English. The nearest is sincerity which must be genuine, unalloyed, pure and totally honest). Ikhlas means that, in this obedience to Allah and in this worship of Him, there should be no intrusion of worldly or personal desires, interests, love of recognition and office and things like that. If so, the verse would mean: Whoever is mukhlis (absolutely sincere) in his ` Aural (deed) and ` Ibadah (worship), Allah Ta` ala will help him in remaining safe from sins. In this verse, Allah Ta` ala has chosen to use two words: سُّوءَ (su' ) and: فَحْشَاءَ (fahsha' ). Literally, su' means evil and it refers to minor (saghirah) sins. And fahsha' means lewdness or immodesty and refers to major (kabirah) sins. This tells us that Allah Ta` ala kept Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) protected from both kinds of sins, saghirah and kabirah. Also clarified here is that the ‘hamm’ or thought attributed to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in the Qur'an was simply a ` hamm' or thought at the level of non-voluntary scruple, which is included neither under Kabirah sin, nor under Saghirah - in fact, is excused.

Commentary Described in the previous verses was the time when the wife of the Aziz of Misr was busy enticing Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) into sin, and he, on his part, was trying to stay away from it. But, there was the natural struggle with that non-voluntary thought too. So, to help his honourable prophet, Allah Ta ala showed a miracle, made something appear before him which drove even that thought out from his heart - whether that ` thing' be the face of his father, Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، or some verse out of the Divine revelation. Told in the present verse (25) is that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، once he saw this ` proof from his Lord,' ran away from that. private enclave and dashed for the door to get out from there. The wife of the ` Aziz of Misr ran after him to hold him back and, by grabbing his shirt, she tried to stop him from getting out. But, when he did not stop - being determined not to - the shirt was torn from behind him. However, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) did come out of the door, and so did Zulaikha behind him. Historical accounts mention that the door was locked from the inside. When Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ran and reached the door, this lock opened up by itself and dropped down. When they both came out of the door, they saw the ` Aziz of Misr standing face to face. His wife was unnerved. In order to wriggle out of the awkward situation, and to put the blame on Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، she said: at can be the punishment of the one who intended evil with your wife except that he be imprisoned, or (given) a painful chastisement? Injunctions and Rulings The following rules and guiding principles have been deduced from the verses cited above: 1. From verse 25 beginning with the words: وَاسْتَبَقَا الْبَابَ (And they raced towards the door ... ), we learn that a place where there is a danger of getting involved in sin must be abandoned outright - as was practically demonstrated by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) by running away from there. 2. In matters requiring obedience to Divine injunctions, one should not, to the best of one's ability, let his efforts in that direction taper off - even if a tangible result from them does not seem to be coming out. Results rest in the hands of Allah Ta` ala. One's job is to channel and devote his or her effort and ability in the way of Allah - and proving one's iden-tity as a servant of Allah is the purpose. This is what was done by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . All doors were closed, even locked, as reported in historical narrations. Yet, he spent out his maximum strength in running towards the door. In a situation like that, help and support from Allah jalla thana'uh is witnessed frequently when a servant of Allah has done his best, it transpires that He would also arrange the causes for His servant to succeed. However, should the situation be otherwise and one fails to achieve formal success as we know it, then, for a devoted servant of Allah, even this failure is no less than success (for this is the preference of his Lord). It is said about a righteous elder confined to prison that he would, on every Friday take his bath, wash his clothes, get ready for Jumu'ah prayer, walk upto the door of the prison, and once there, he would say: ` Ya Allah, this much was what was within my power. at is beyond that is in Your control.' Who knows, given the limitless mercy of Allah Ta ala, his spiritual yearning would have caused the prison gate to open with the command of Allah and he would have been enabled to perform the Salah of Jumu'ah. But, Allah, in His wisdom, bestowed upon this righteous devotee such high spiritual station as would pale out a thousand workings of the supernatural (karamah). The gate of the prison did not open be-cause of his continuous effort to offer his Salah of Jumu'ah. But, he did not lose heart. He kept doing the same thing every Jumu'ah. This is spiritual fortitude called by Sufi masters as superior to Karamah. 3. It stands proved (from verse 26) that, should a person be accused falsely by someone, speaking out in defence is the way of the prophets (the Sunnah of the Anbiya' ). Remaining silent at that time, and letting oneself be declared to be a criminal, is no act of piety or trust in Allah (tawakkul). 4. The fourth problem concerns the word:..~a (shahid) (in verse 26). When this word is used in common juristic matters and cases, it denotes a person who relates an event as seen by him in a disputed case. In this verse, the person who has been referred to by the word, ` shahid,' has not related any event, or any personal observation about it - instead of that, what has been hinted at is a sort of device to arrive at a decision. Techni-cally, that could not be called a ` shahid' or witness. But, it is obvious that all these terms have been employed by later scholars and jurists for the convenience of understanding and teaching. They are neither the terms of the Holy Qur’ an, nor is it bound by them. The Holy Qur’ an has called this person a ` shahid' (witness) in the sense that the way the statement of a ` witness makes it easy for a judge to arrive at a decision, and proves that one of the parties in the case is in the right, the same benefit became available through the statement of this child. Initially, his miraculous speech itself was sufficient proof to absolve Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from the blame. Then, there were the signs given by him. In the ultimate analysis, they too are nothing but the proof of the absolvement of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from the blame. There-fore, saying that he appeared as a witness in favour of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) will be correct - though, he did not declare Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) to be true, rather, had mentioned both probabilities. And, in addition to that, he had even supposedly taken Zulaikha to be true in a situation in which the likelihood of her being true was not certain - in fact, there existed the other probability too, because the possibility of the shirt being torn from the front existed in both situations. And then, he had admitted the truthfulness of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) only in a situation wherein there could have been no other probability other than this. But, finally, the outcome of this strategy was but to prove the innocence of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . 5. In arriving at judgments of disputed cases, circumstantial evidence can be taken into consideration - as was demonstrated here when this ` shahid' declared that the shirt torn from the backside was an evidence that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was running and Zulaikha was trying to stop him. In this matter, there is an agreement of all jurists that signs and indicators should definitely be used to determine the truth, as was done here. But, besides that, only signs and indicators cannot be given the status of sufficient proof. In this event relating to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) too, that which really proves the innocence of Sayyidna is the miraculous speech of the child. As for the signs and indicators which have been mentioned there, they serve to confirm the matter.

Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، because of his prophetic gentleness, may not have, perhaps, disclosed her secret. But, when she took the first step and presented a charge sheet of false accusation against him, he was compelled to tell the truth: هِيَ رَ‌اوَدَتْنِي عَن نَّفْسِي (It was she who sought to seduce me). The matter was dense and delicate. For the ` Aziz of Misr, it was difficult to decide as to who should be taken as being true. That was no occasion for evidence and proof. But, Allah, great is whose majesty, has His own ways of saving His honourable servants from sin and keeping them unaffected and protected from it. He would do the same for them during their worldly life when He would arrange to save them from being disgraced, even if it would take a miracle to do that. Usually, on such occasions, infant children have been chosen to unfold truth, infants who are not expected to talk customarily. But, by giving them power of speech miraculously, Allah Ta’ ala would arrange for the acquittal of His favoured servants from accusations levelled against them. This happened when people started accusing Sayyidah Maryam falsely. Allah Tad gave a day old infant, Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، the ability to speak and it was through his tongue that He had the sanctity of his blessed mother manifested - a very special manifestation of His power indeed. Similarly, when another accusation of this nature was made under the umbrella of a major conspiracy against Jurayj, a pious elder among the Bani Israil, it was a new-born child who testified to his innocence. When Pharaoh got suspicious about Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، the small daughter of the personal lady hair-styler of the wife of the Pharaoh was given the power of speech and it was she who saved Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) during his childhood from being hurt by the Pharaoh. Similarly, in this event relating to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، according to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas and Abu Hurairah ؓ ، Allah Ta’ ala bestowed that power of speech upon a small child - and that too in one of the finest ways of wisdom. This small child was lying in a cradle in this house. There was no way it could have occurred to anyone that this child would have watched their movements and understood what they were doing - and then, would be able to even go on to describe it in some manner. But, Allah is absolutely powerful. When He decides to highlight the greatness of those who strive in the mission of their obedience to Him, He is quite capable of demonstrating before the whole world that every particle of this universe works as His secret service which knows every criminal inside out and keeps a record of his or her crime and when the time comes, it speaks out the truth. Think of the Resurrection, the awesome plain of the Hashr when, at the time of the accounting of deeds, human beings will, goaded by their old worldly habit, refuse to admit their crimes, then, their very hands and feet and skins and surroundings will be called upon to stand as witnesses against them. Each such witness shall lay each and everything done by them bare before the unimaginably huge multitude gathered together on that fateful day of Al-Mahshar. That would be the time when human beings will find out that their hands and feet and the walls and doors of their homes inside, and the security arrangement outside these, none of them, not even one, were their own. In fact, all of them were secret agents of Allah, the Rabb of all Power. In sum, this small child, who was lying in the cradle oblivious of everything in the world around him, was made to speak out - as a miracle of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) precisely at the time when the ` Aziz of Misr, being on the horns of a dilemma, did not know what to do. Furthermore, if this child could have only said that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) is free of any blame and it is Zulaikha who is at fault, then, even that much would have been no less than a miracle, and a formidable proof of the innocence of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . But, Allah Ta ala had this child say something farsighted which would separate truth from false-hood decisively. What the child said was: See the shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . If it is torn up from the front, then the word of Zulaikha is true and that of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) could be otherwise. And if the shirt is torn up from the back, then there remains just no other probability but that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was running away from her and Zulaikha wanted to stop him. Apart from being a miracle of speech manifested by a child, this was something which could be understood by everyone around on its own. So, when the direction was followed, it was observed that the shirt was torn up from the back. Thus, the innocence of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) stood proved openly from physical signs as well. The explanation of the ` shahid' or witness of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) given here - that he was a small child blessed with the power of speech as a miracle - stands proved from a Hadith of the Holy Prophet t. This Hadith has been reported by Imam Abmad in his Musnad, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and Hakim in Mustadrak. They have rated this Hadith as Sahih (sound). In this Hadith, it is said: ` Allah Ta` ala has blessed four children the power of speech while still in their cradle.' These four are the same as mentioned earlier. (Mazhari) However, in some narrations, other explanations of ` shahid' or witness have also been reported. But, Tafsir authorities such as Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir and others have declared the first Tafsir to be the weightier one.

In the last two (28 29) of the verses cited above, it has been stated that the ` Aziz of Misr had already realized by having heard the child speak in the manner he did that some special supernatural situation was there to demonstrate the innocence of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . After that, according to what the child had said, when he saw that the very shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) is really torn up from the back, he became certain that it was Zulaikha who was at fault and it was Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) who was innocent. So, first he addressed Zulaikha and said: إِنَّهُ مِن كَيْدِكُنَّ that is, all this is a guile of yours whereby you wish to pass on your wrongdoing to someone else. Then he said that great is the guile of women for it is difficult to understand and not easy to get out from. The reason is that they outwardly give the impression of being soft, delicate, even weak. A non-discerning onlooker is likely to believe in what they say. But, given a lack of wisdom and honesty, that could be a web of deception. (Mazhari) According to a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ عنہ appearing in the Tafsir of Al-Qurtubi, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: The guile of women is stronger than the guile of Shaytan - because, about the guile of the Shaytan, Allah Ta ala has said that it is weak: كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا (4:76); and about the guile of women, it was said: إِنَّ كَيْدَكُنَّ عَظِيمٌ (great is the guile of you women - 12:28). And it is obvious that not all women are meant here. Instead, meant here are only those of them who are involved in practicing guiles and excuses.

So, after having pointed out to Zulaikha her error, the ` Aziz of Misr said to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) : يُوسُفُ أَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنْ هَـٰذَا :'O Yusuf, ignore this matter' - that is, do not speak about it before others so there be no disgrace because of this. Then he addressed Zulaikha and said: وَاسْتَغْفِرِ‌ي لِذَنبِكِ ۖ إِنَّكِ كُنتِ مِنَ الْخَاطِئِين (and you [ 0 woman ] seek forgiveness for your sin. Surely, you were of the sinners). This obviously means that she should seek forgiveness from her hus-band. And it could also mean that she should seek forgiveness from Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) for it was she who made the error and put the blame on him. Special Note At this point, it is very surprising that a husband, who finds out an open proof of such immodesty and breach of trust on the part of his wife, would not be agitated, rather, go on talking with perfect peace of mind - unusual indeed, given the compulsion of human nature in such circumstances. Imam Al-Qurtubi has said that one of the reasons for this may be that the ` Aziz of Misr was someone lacking that kind of a sense of shame. And it is also possible that the way Allah Ta’ ala supernaturally arranged to save Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) first from sin and then from disgrace - in the same way, it was also a part of this arrangement that He did not let the ` Aziz of Misr become all agitated in anger. Otherwise, as customary, this would have been an occasion where one is likely to go to physical assault without bothering to investigate first, not to say much about verbal aggression, which would be rather elementary. If the ` Aziz of Misr, affected by common human response, were to be enraged, it is possible that he might have committed something, physically or verbally, something which would have been against the august status of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . These are the wonders of Divine Power which openly prove how those who stand steadfast in obedience to their most true Lord are protected at every step they take in His way. And the honour of creating what is there at its best goes only to Allah. In the verses which will follow, mentioned there is another event which is connected with the story narrated earlier. There it has been said that this event, despite the effort to keep it concealed, spread around among women in the families of the courtiers. These women started blaming the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr. Some commentators have said that these were five women, all wives of officials close to the "Aziz of Misr. (Qurtubi, Mazhari) These women were talking among themselves. They were saying: Look, how regrettable it is that the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr, despite enjoying a status so high, had become enamoured with her young slave and was looking for the fulfillment of what she wanted from him. In this, we think, she is in a grave error. The word used in the verse (30) is: فَتَاھَا (fate ha: translated as ` her youthful slave' ). Fata' denotes someone youthful. In customary usage, a boy slave when small is called a ghulam. If in his youth, the boy is called fata, and the girl, fata. Here, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) has been referred to as the slave of Zulaikha either because that which is owned by the husband is also customarily called as that which is owned by the wife; and/or because Zulaikha had taken Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) from her husband as gift. (Qurtubi)

Commentary Having explained the linkage of verse before the beginning of the pre-sent verses, we can now turn to the explanation of individual verses. Said in verse 32 was: فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ بِمَكْرِ‌هِنَّ أَرْ‌سَلَتْ إِلَيْهِنَّ (So, when she heard of their crafty comments, she extended an invitation to them). Here, Zulaikha refers to the talking of women as their ` makr' or craftiness - though they had obviously planned no trick against her. But, since they spoke ill about her secretly, it was identified as ` makr.' As for the expression: وَأَعْتَدَتْ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً which follows immediately and has been translated as ` and arranged for them a comfortable place' is inclusive of the comfort of special pillows for hand and back rest placed there for relaxation. Then, it was said: وَآتَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِّنْهُنَّ سِكِّينًا (and gave everyone a 'knife). It means when these women came in and sat down, different foods and fruits were served, some of which needed a knife to peel and cut, there-fore, also given to each one of them was a sharp knife. The obvious purpose of this was to cut fruits. But, concealed in her heart was what comes next - that is, these women will lose their senses at the sight of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) and would go on to cut their hands with the knife. After having made all these arrangements, to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، who was in some other quarter of the house, Zulaikha said: وَقَالَتِ اخْرُ‌جْ عَلَيْهِنَّ (come in before them). Since, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was not aware of her vain intention, he came out into this sitting. That which happened then has been described in: فَلَمَّا رَ‌أَيْنَهُ أَكْبَرْ‌نَهُ وَقَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ وَقُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّـهِ مَا هَـٰذَا بَشَرً‌ا إِنْ هَـٰذَا إِلَّا مَلَكٌ كَرِ‌يمٌ So when they saw him, they found him great and [ were so bewildered that they ] cut their hands [ that is, when cutting their fruit, they saw this object of wonder, the knife uncon-sciously ran over their hand - as it occasionally happens when one's thought is diverted to something else ] and said, 'Oh God! He is no human being. He is but a noble angel.' [ by which they meant that one exuding such light can only be an angel ].'

Then, in verse 32, it was said: قَالَتْ فَذَٰلِكُنَّ الَّذِي لُمْتُنَّنِي فِيهِ ۖ وَلَقَدْ رَ‌اوَدتُّهُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ فَاسْتَعْصَمَ ۖ وَلَئِن لَّمْ يَفْعَلْ مَا آمُرُ‌هُ لَيُسْجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُونًا مِّنَ الصَّاغِرِ‌ينَ ` She [ Zulaikha ] said: 'So, [ see ] this is the one you blamed me for. Yes, I seduced him, but he abstained. And should he [ in future ] not follow my command, he shall be [ surely ] imprisoned and shall be disgraced [ too ].' When Zulaikha realized that her secret lay disclosed before those women anyway, she started threatening Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) right before them. At that time, according to some commentators, all these women too started telling Sayyidna Yusuf علیہ السلام that Zulaikha was their benefactor, therefore, he should not oppose her.

And some words of the Holy Qur'an which appear later (33) also support it, for example: يَدْعُونَنِي (yad unani: these women invite me) and: كَيْدَهُنَّ (kaidahunna: their guile) where the statement of some women has been mentioned in the plural form. When Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) saw that these women were also supporting Zulaikha and there remained no other visible way to stay safe against their guile, he turned to his ultimate resort, to Allah jalla thana'uh, and before Him, he said: رَ‌بِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ ۖ وَإِلَّا تَصْرِ‌فْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ My Lord, the prison is dearer to me than what these women invite me to. And unless You turn their guile away from me, I shall get inclined towards them and shall be among the ignorant. Here, the statement of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) that ` the prison is dearer to me' does not reflect any desire or wish to be detained in a prison, in-stead of that, it is an expression which shows that he would find it easier to face this temporal hardship as compared to that of falling in sin. Ac-cording to some narrations, when Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was confined to the prison, a revelation from Allah Ta ala told him: You have put yourself into the prison by what you yourself had said: السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ (the prison is dearer to me) and had you asked for wellbeing ('afiyah), you would have been blessed with perfect well-being. From here we come to know that, to stay safe from a major hardship, saying in prayer that one better be subjected to some minor hardship in lieu of it is not appropriate. Instead of doing that, one should, when under the threat of any hardship, problem or distress, pray to Allah Ta` ala for nothing but ` afiyah (wellbeing). Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ prohibited a man from praying for sabr (patience) saying that sabr is done when one faces distress and hardship. So, rather praying to Allah for sabr, pray for ` afiyah. (Tirmidhi) The uncle of the Holy Prophet ", Sayyidna ` Abbs ؓ asked him: Teach me a prayer I should make. He said: Pray for ` afiyah (well-being) from your Rabb. Sayyidna ` Abbas says when he, after a period of time, once again asked him to be advised of some du 'he should be making, he said: Pray to Allah Ta` ala for ` afiyah in dunya and 'akhirah. (Mazhari from Tabarani) As for the saying of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) : ` And unless you do not turn their guile away from me, I shall get inclined towards them,' this is not contrary to the concept of the ` Ismah of prophethood (a prophet's state of being Divinely protected from sin) - because the very outcome of ` Ismah is that Allah Ta ala would, by arranging to keep a person safe from sin as a creational imperative, protect him from falling into it. Though Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) had this desired cover by virtue of his being a prophet, yet he was compelled to make this du' because of the great awe he had for Him in his heart. This also tells us that no one can, without the help and support of Allah Ta ala, stay safe from sin. And it also makes it clear that every act of sin is caused by ignorance (jahalah), the opposite of which is knowledge ( ‘ilm), and ` Ilm (knowledge) demands abstention from sins. (Qurtubi)

After that, said in verse 34 was: فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُ رَ‌بُّهُ فَصَرَ‌فَ عَنْهُ كَيْدَهُنَّ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ So, his Lord accepted his prayer and turned their guile away from him. Surely, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. To protect him from the guile of these women, Allah Ta ala made his own wise arrangements. Though the ` Aziz of Misr and his inner circle was already convinced of the great spiritual qualities of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) his piety, fear of Allah and chastity, but rumours of the incident had started circulating in the city. To put a check on this, they found it expedient to confine Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) into the prison for a certain period of time so that there remains no source of any doubt in the concerned family, and that the talk of the town too dies out in due course.

So, said at the end of the verse (35) was: ثُمَّ بَدَا لَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا رَ‌أَوُا الْآيَاتِ لَيَسْجُنُنَّهُ حَتَّىٰ حِينٍ Later on, even after having seen the signs, they [ the ` Aziz of Misr and his advisers ] deemed it proper [ or expedient ] to imprison him for a time. Thus, to the prison he was sent.