Among those who held that the witness was an adult man were Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿIkrimah, Mujāhid, al-Ḥasan, Qatādah, al-Suddī, Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, and Zayd ibn Aslam. The witness said:
“If his shirt has been torn from the front, then she has spoken the truth and he is of the liars; but if his shirt has been torn from the back, then she has lied and he is of the truthful” (12:26).
That is: had he been the one who tried to violate her, she would have pushed him away and ripped the front of his shirt; but if he had fled from her and she had chased after him, she would have grabbed him from behind and the shirt would have torn from the back—and that is exactly what occurred.
Hence the Exalted says: “So when he saw that his shirt was torn from the back, he said, ‘Indeed, this is from the plotting of you women; truly, your plotting is immense’” (12:28). In other words: “What has happened is the result of your deception—you tried to seduce him, then you falsely accused him.” Her husband thereupon chose to overlook the matter and said, “Joseph, turn away from this” (12:29), meaning: do not mention it to anyone, for concealing such affairs is more fitting and proper. He then told his wife to seek forgiveness for the sin she had committed and to repent to her Lord, for whenever a servant repents to Allah, Allah accepts his repentance.
Although the Egyptians worshiped idols, they still knew that the One who forgives sins and takes people to account is Allah alone, without partner. For that reason her husband addressed her—offering her a partial excuse, for she had witnessed a beauty that few could bear—yet he affirmed Joseph’s chastity, innocence, and unblemished honor, saying: “Seek forgiveness for your sin; indeed you were among the sinful” (12:29).
Allah then relates:
“Some women in the city said, ‘The minister’s wife seeks to seduce her servant; love for him has pierced her heart. We truly see her in manifest error.’
When she heard of their gossip, she sent for them, prepared a banquet for them, gave each one of them a knife, and said, ‘Come out before them.’ When they saw him, they were so amazed that they exalted him, cut their hands, and exclaimed, ‘Perfect is Allah! This is no mortal; he is but a noble angel.’
She said, ‘This is the one about whom you blamed me. I indeed tried to seduce him, but he held himself firm. Yet if he does not do what I command, he will certainly be imprisoned and will be one of the humiliated.’
He prayed, ‘My Lord, prison is dearer to me than that to which they invite me; yet if You do not turn their plot away from me, I might incline toward them and be among the ignorant.’
So his Lord answered him and turned their plot away from him; indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing” (12:30–34).
Thus the Almighty recounts how the women of the city—the wives of dignitaries and the daughters of nobles—spoke ill of the minister’s wife, censuring and vilifying her for trying to seduce her servant and for the strength of her passion. They meant that he was unworthy of such devotion, for he was a slave and not fit for it; hence they said, “We see her in obvious error,” that is, she has put a thing where it does not belong.
When she learned of their scheming—that is, their disparaging talk, belittling her, and pointing to her with blame and reproach for loving her servant and being enamored of him—they openly condemned her although, in reality, she had an excuse. She therefore wished to set forth her defense before them and show that this youth was nothing like what they supposed and far beyond anything to which they were accustomed. She sent for them and gathered them in her house,