Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (1/294)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

in His Shade on the Day when there will be no shade but His:
– a just ruler;
– a man who remembers Allah in seclusion and whose eyes overflow with tears;
– a man whose heart is attached to the mosque—when he leaves it he longs to return;
– two men who love one another for the sake of Allah: they meet upon that love and part upon it;
– a man who gives charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand spends;
– a youth who grows up in the worship of Allah;
– and a man whom a woman of standing and beauty invites (to sin) and he replies, “Indeed I fear Allah.”

The point is that she summoned him and pursued him with the utmost desire, while he answered, “Allah be my refuge! He is my lord”—meaning her husband, the master of the house—“he has treated me honorably. Surely the wrongdoers never prosper” (12:23).

We have already dealt with the verse, “She certainly desired him, and he would have desired her had he not seen the proof of his Lord” (12:24), with sufficient explanation in the commentary.

Most of the statements of the exegetes on this point are taken from the scriptures of the People of the Book, and it is better for us to set them aside. What must be held with conviction is that Allah, exalted be He, protected him, cleared him of blame, restrained him from indecency, and safeguarded him from it. Hence His words: “Thus We averted from him evil and indecency; truly he was one of Our devoted servants” (12:24).

“And the two raced to the door” (12:25): he fled from her, heading for the door to escape, and she followed close behind him. “And they found”—that is, they encountered—“her master” (12:25), meaning her husband, at the door. She immediately spoke first and incited him against Joseph: “What should be the recompense for someone who intended evil against your household but that he be imprisoned, or subjected to a painful chastisement?” (12:25).

She accused him, though she was the guilty party; she vindicated her own honor and declared her innocence. Therefore Joseph, peace be upon him, said, “It was she who tried to seduce me” (12:26). He was compelled to speak the truth when the need arose. “And a witness from her own family testified” (12:26). It is said that the witness was an infant in the cradle—this was reported by Ibn ʿAbbās and narrated from Abū Hurayrah, Hilāl ibn Yasāf, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, and al-Ḍaḥḥāk, and preferred by Ibn Jarīr. He even transmitted a marfūʿ report on the matter from Ibn ʿAbbās, while others related it from him as mawqūf.

It is also said that the witness was a man related to “ʿAṭfīr,” her husband; others held that he was related to her. Among those who stated this view was

(1) In the margin of manuscript B the copy reads “bil-masajid” (in the mosques), whereas another reading has “muta‘allaq” (related). (2) Narrated by al-Bukhari (no. 660) in his Kitab al-Adhan and by Muslim (no. 1031) in his Kitab al-Zakāh. (3) See al-‘Ismah al-Anbiyā’ by Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī; it offers a conclusive argument affirming the infallibility of Yūsuf (peace be upon him) (p. 51). (4) Omitted in the original manuscripts, but included in the printed edition. (5) See al-Tabarī’s Tafsīr (vol. 7, p. 194). (6) Narrated by Ibn Jarīr in his Tafsīr (vol. 7, p. 192).

في ظِلِّه يومَ لا ظِلَّ إلاظِلُّه: إمامٌ عادل، ورجلٌ ذكرَ اللّه خاليًا ففاضتْ عيناه، ورجلٌ مُعلَّقٌ قلبُه (١) بالمسجد إذا خرجَ منه حتَّى يعودَ إليه، ورجلان تحابَّا في اللّه اجتمعا عليه وتفرَّقا عليه، ورجلٌ تصدقَ بصدقةٍ فأخفاها حتى لا تعلمَ شمالُه ما تنفقُ يمينُه، وشابٌ نشأ في عبادة اللّه، ورجلٌ دعتْه امرأةٌ ذاتُ مَنْصِبٍ وجمالٍ فقال: إنِّي أخافُ اللّه " (٢) . والمقصود: أنها دعتْه إليها وحرصتْ على ذلك أشدَّ الحِرْص، فقال: ﴿مَعَاذَ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ رَبِّي﴾ يعني زوجها صاحب المنزل سيِّدي ﴿أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ﴾ أي: أحسنَ إليّ وأكرمَ مقامي عنده ﴿إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ﴾ وقد تكلَّمنا على قوله ﴿وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ وَهَمَّ بِهَا لَوْلَا أَنْ رَأَى بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِ﴾ بما فيه كفاية ومقنع في التفسير. وأكثرُ أقوال المفسرين هاهنا متلقَّى من كتب أهل الكتاب، فالإعراض عنه أولى بنا. والذي يجبُ أن يُعتقد أنَّ اللّه تعالى عصمَه (٣) وبرَّأه، ونرهه عن الفاحشة، وحماه عنها، وصانَه منها. ولهذا قال تعالى: ﴿كَذَلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَاءَ إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ﴾. ﴿وَاسْتَبَقَا الْبَابَ﴾ أي: هربَ منها طالبًا إلى الباب ليخرجَ منه فِرارًا منها، فاتَّبعتْه في أثره ﴿وَأَلْفَيَا﴾ [أي: وجدا] (٤) . ﴿سَيِّدَهَا﴾ أي: زوجَها لدى الباب، فبدرتْه بالكلام وحرَّضْته عليه ﴿قَالَتْ مَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا إِلَّا أَنْ يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾. اتَّهمته وهي المتَّهَمة، وبرَّأتْ عِرْضَها ونزَّهَتْ ساحتَها. فلهذا قال يوسف (عليه السلام) : ﴿هِيَ رَاوَدَتْنِي عَنْ نَفْسِي﴾ احتاج إلى أن يقولَ الحقَّ عند الحاجة ﴿وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا﴾ قيل: كان صغيرًا في المهد، قاله ابن عباس. ورُوي عن أبي هريرة، وهلال بن يساف، والحسن البصري، وسعيد بن جُبير، والضَّحَّاك، واختاره ابن جرير (٥) . وروى فيه حديثًا مرفوعًا عن ابن عباس (٦) ، ووقفَه غيرُه عنه. وقيل: كان رجلًا قريبًا إلى "أطفير" بعلها. وقيل: قريبًا إليها. وممن قال: إنه كان

(١) في هامش ب: في نسخة: بالمساجد، وفيها: متعلق. (٢) أخرجه البخاري (٦٦٠) في الأذان، ومسلم (١٠٣١) في الزكاة. (٣) انظر عصمة الأنبياء للفخر الرازي، ففيه ما يشفي الغليل من إثبات عصمة يوسف (عليه السلام) (ص ٥١). (٤) سقطت من الأصول، وأثبتها من المطبوع. (٥) انظر تفسير الطبري (٧/ ١٩٤). (٦) أخرجه ابن جرير في تفسيره (٧/ ١٩٢).