Tafsir of Surah Yusuf - Verse 28

مَا جَزَآءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا

(What is the recompense (punishment) for him who intended an evil design against your wife...), in reference to illegal sexual intercourse,

إِلاَ أَن يُسْجَنَ

(except that he be put in prison)

أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

(or a painful torment) tormented severely with painful beating. Yusuf did not stand idle, but he declared the truth and exonerated himself from the betrayal she accused him of,

قَالَ

(He Yusuf said), in truth and honesty,

هِىَ رَاوَدَتْنِى عَن نَّفْسِى

(It was she that sought to seduce me), and mentioned that she pursued him and pulled him towards her until she tore his shirt.

وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَآ إِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن قُبُلٍ

(And a witness of her household bore witness (saying): "If it be that his shirt is torn from the front..."), not from the back,

فَصَدَقَتْ

(then her tale is true) that he tried to commit an illegal sexual act with her. Had he called her to have sex with him and she refused, she would have pushed him away from her and tore his shirt from the front,

وَإِنْ كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ فَكَذَبَتْ وَهُوَ مِن الصَّـدِقِينَ

(But if it be that his shirt is torn from the back, then she has told a lie and he is speaking the truth!) Had Yusuf run away from her, and this is what truly happened, and she set in his pursuit, she would have held to his shirt from the back to bring him back to her, thus tearing his shirt from the back. There is a difference of opinion over the age and gender of the witness mentioned here. `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that,

وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَآ

(and a witness of her household bore witness) "was a bearded man," meaning an adult male. Ath-Thawri reported that Jabir said that Ibn Abi Mulaykah said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He was from the king's entourage." Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Muhammad bin Ishaq and others also said that the witness was an adult male. Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said about Allah's statement,

وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَآ

(and a witness of her household bore witness) "He was a babe in the cradle. " Similar was reported from Abu Hurayrah, Hilal bin Yasaf, Al-Hasan, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim, that the witness was a young boy who lived in the `Aziz's house. Ibn Jarir At-Tabari preferred this view. Allah's statement,

فَلَمَّا رَأَى قَمِيصَهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ

(So when he saw his Yusuf's shirt torn at the back,) indicates that when her husband became certain that Yusuf was telling the truth and that his wife was lying when she heralded the accusation of betrayal at Yusuf,

قَالَ إِنَّهُ مِن كَيْدِكُنَّ

(he said: "Surely, it is a plot of you women!...") He said, `This false accusation and staining the young man's reputation is but a plot of many that you, women, have,'

إِنَّ كَيْدَكُنَّ عَظِيمٌ

(Certainly mighty is your plot!) The `Aziz ordered Yusuf, peace be upon him, to be discrete about what happened,

يُوسُفُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَـذَا

(O Yusuf ! Turn away from this!), do not mention to anyone what has happened,

وَاسْتَغْفِرِى لِذَنبِكِ

(And ask forgiveness for your sin, ) addressing his wife. The `Aziz was an easy man, or gave excuse to his wife because she saw in Yusuf an appeal she could not resist. He said to her, `Ask forgiveness for your sin, the evil desire that you wanted to satisfy with this young man, and then inventing false accusations about him,'

إِنَّكِ كُنتِ مِنَ الْخَـطِئِينَ

(verily, you were of the sinful.)

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.

Joseph ran towards the door to save himself and Zulaykha also ran after him and caught hold of his shirt from behind. In this chaos the back of his shirt was torn. However, Joseph was able to open the door and came out. It so happened that Zulaykha’s husband was there outside the door. On seeing him, Zulaykha put all the blame on Joseph. She did not hesitate to make a false accusation against a person for whom she had been professing love only a moment earlier. Joseph said that the matter was entirely the opposite of what Zulaykha claimed. Now the question was to decide as to who was in the wrong. No third person was present on this occasion who could have been an eyewitness. At that time a wise person of the household offered good advice. (In all probability this person was already aware of the situation. Moreover, he might have already seen that Joseph’s shirt was torn from behind and not from in front.) He told all those concerned that, in the absence of an eyewitness, circumstantial evidence should be relied upon and the circumstantial evidence was that Joseph’s shirt was a clear proof of the fact that in this case it was not Joseph, but Zulaykha who had made improper advances.