(23–29) “The woman in whose house he lived sought to seduce him. She bolted the doors and said, ‘Come to me!’ He said, ‘Allah forbid! He is my master, who has treated me well. Indeed, wrongdoers will never prosper.’ She certainly desired him, and he would have desired her had he not seen the proof of his Lord. Thus We turned evil and indecency away from him. He was truly one of Our chosen servants. They raced to the door, and she tore his shirt from behind. At the door they encountered her husband. She said, ‘What should be the punishment of one who intended evil toward your wife, other than imprisonment or a painful punishment?’ He said, ‘It was she who sought to seduce me.’ A witness from her own household testified, ‘If his shirt was torn from the front, then she has told the truth and he is one of the liars. But if his shirt was torn from behind, then she has lied and he is one of the truthful.’ When her husband saw that his shirt had been torn from behind, he said, ‘This is surely part of you women’s cunning; the cunning of you women is indeed formidable. Joseph, let this matter pass; and you, woman, seek forgiveness for your sin. You were certainly one of the sinners.’”
This tremendous trial was harder for Joseph than the trial inflicted upon him by his brothers, and his patience through it earned a greater reward. This was because he exercised patience by choice, despite the many powerful motives for committing the act, and gave precedence to his love for Allah. His patience during the trial involving his brothers, by contrast, was a patience born of necessity, like the patience shown toward illnesses and adversities that befall a person without his choosing and for which he has no recourse but to endure them, willingly or unwillingly.
Joseph (peace be upon him) remained honored in the high official’s house. He possessed such beauty, perfection, and radiance that “the woman in whose house he lived sought to seduce him.” That is, he was her servant, under her authority, and they lived in the same house, making it possible for the illicit act to take place without anyone knowing or another person becoming aware.
“And”—further compounding the trial—“she bolted the doors.” The place was now secluded, and they felt secure from anyone entering because the doors had been bolted. She invited him to herself and “said, ‘Come to me!’” meaning: Commit this illicit act and approach me. Moreover, he was a stranger, and someone in his position would not feel the same social restraint that he would in his homeland among his acquaintances. He was a captive under her power, and she was his mistress. She possessed beauty that invited him toward what she sought; he was a young, unmarried man; and she had threatened him with imprisonment or painful punishment if he did not do as she commanded.
Yet he steadfastly refrained from disobeying Allah despite the powerful impulse within him. He had indeed felt an inclination toward her, but abandoned it for Allah’s sake, giving precedence to what Allah willed over the desire of the soul that persistently incites to evil. In the proof from his Lord—namely, the knowledge and faith he possessed, which required him to abandon everything Allah had forbidden—he saw what compelled him to remain distant and restrain himself from this grave sin. He “said, ‘Allah forbid!’” meaning: I seek refuge in Allah from committing this vile deed, for it is something that incurs Allah’s wrath and distances a person from Him, and it would also betray my master, who has treated me well.
It would therefore be unbefitting for me to repay him with the vilest betrayal involving his wife. This is among the gravest forms of wrongdoing, and the wrongdoer will not prosper. In summary, the restraints that kept Joseph from this act were his fear of Allah, his regard for the rights of the master who had honored him, and his resolve to preserve himself from wrongdoing, whose perpetrator will never prosper. Likewise, the proof of faith that Allah had bestowed within his heart required him to obey the commands and avoid the prohibitions. Underlying all of this was that Allah turned evil and indecency away from him because he was one of His servants who devoted their worship sincerely to Him—those whom Allah had purified, chosen, and set apart for Himself, bestowing such blessings upon them and averting such adversities from them that they became among the best of His creation.
When Joseph refused to comply with her demand despite her persistent attempts to seduce him, he set off to flee from her and hastened toward the door so that he might escape and deliver himself from temptation. She rushed after him and seized his garment, tearing his shirt. When they reached the door in that state, they encountered her master—that is, her husband—standing there. He saw a scene that distressed him, so she hastened to lie, alleging that Joseph had been the one who attempted the seduction. She said, “What should be the punishment of one who intended evil toward your wife?” She did not say, “one who committed evil with your wife,” thereby absolving both herself and him of having actually committed the act.
The dispute thus concerned only intent and attempted seduction. “Other than imprisonment or a painful punishment?” That is, that he should be imprisoned or subjected to painful punishment.
Joseph cleared himself of her accusation and said, “It was she who sought to seduce me.” At that point, the circumstances allowed for either one of them to be telling the truth, and it was not known which one it was.
Allah, however, has established signs and indicators by which truth and veracity may be recognized. His servants sometimes discern them and sometimes do not. In this case, Allah graciously enabled the truthful party to be identified, thereby vindicating His prophet and chosen servant, Joseph (peace be upon him). A witness from her household came forward and proposed a circumstantial test, declaring that whichever party it supported was telling the truth. He said, “If his shirt was torn from the front, then she has told the truth and he is one of the liars.” This would indicate that Joseph had been advancing toward her, seeking to seduce her and pressing his advances, while she had tried to fend him off and had therefore torn his shirt from the front.
“But if his shirt was torn from behind, then she has lied and he is one of the truthful.” This would indicate that he had been fleeing from her and that she was the one who pursued him, tearing his shirt from behind.
“When her husband saw that his shirt had been torn from behind,” he thereby recognized Joseph’s truthfulness and innocence and knew that she was the one who had lied.