“Yet I do not absolve myself. Surely the soul is ever prone to evil, except those to whom my Lord shows mercy. Surely my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (53) The king said, “Bring him to me; I will take him into my personal service.” Then, when he spoke with him, he said, “Today you hold a position of authority and trust with us.” (54)

“And I do not absolve myself” of error and slips, nor do I declare it pure. “Surely the soul is ever prone to evil”—that is, to sin—“except those to whom my Lord shows mercy,” meaning: except the one upon whom my Lord has mercy and whom He protects. Here, ma means “who,” as in His saying, Exalted is He: “Marry such as are lawful for you” [al-Nisa 4:3], meaning, those who are lawful for you. They are the angels: Allah protected them and did not place desire within them.

It was also said that “except those to whom my Lord shows mercy” refers to the state of protection when he beheld the proof.

“Surely my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” When the king became aware of Joseph’s excuse, peace be upon him, and recognized his trustworthiness and knowledge, “the king said, ‘Bring him to me; I will take him into my personal service,’” meaning, I will reserve him exclusively for myself. “Then, when he spoke with him”: this is abbreviated, its fuller sense being that the messenger came to Joseph and said to him, “Now answer the king’s summons.”

It is related that he rose and prayed for the people of the prison, saying, “O Allah, incline the hearts of the righteous toward them, and do not withhold news from them; for they are the people most informed of news in every land.” When he left the prison, he wrote upon its gate: “This is the grave of the living, the house of sorrows, the testing ground of friends, and the gloating-place of enemies.” He then bathed, cleansed himself of the prison’s filth, put on fine clothes, and made his way to the king. (1)