“And I do not absolve myself. Indeed, the soul persistently urges evil, except for those upon whom my Lord has mercy. Surely my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. * The king said, ‘Bring him to me; I will appoint him exclusively to my service.’ Then, when he had spoken with him, he said, ‘Today you are firmly established and trusted in our presence.’ * Joseph said, ‘Place me in charge of the storehouses of the land. I am indeed a knowledgeable guardian.’ * Thus We established Joseph in the land, enabling him to settle wherever he wished. We bestow Our mercy upon whomever We will, and We do not let the reward of those who do good go to waste. * And the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believe and remain mindful of Allah.”
Since her words contained a measure of self-vindication, suggesting that she had committed no sin concerning Joseph, she added this qualification: “And I do not absolve myself”—that is, of attempting to seduce him, harboring the intention, ardently desiring him, and scheming to that end. “Indeed, the soul persistently urges evil”—that is, it repeatedly commands its possessor to commit evil, meaning sexual immorality and all other sins. It is Satan’s mount, through which he gains access to the human being—“except for those upon whom my Lord has mercy,” whom He saves from the soul that commands evil, until their souls become tranquil with their Lord, yield to the call of guidance, and resist the call of ruin. This does not come from the soul itself, but from Allah’s grace and mercy toward His servant.
“Surely my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful”—that is, He forgives those who dare to commit sins and acts of disobedience when they repent and return to Him, and He is “Most Merciful” in accepting their repentance and granting them success in performing righteous deeds. The correct view is that these were the words of the wife of al-Azīz, not Joseph, for the context is her speech, while Joseph was at that time in ⦗401⦘ prison and had not been present.
Once the king and the people became certain of Joseph’s complete innocence, the king sent for him and said, “Bring him to me; I will appoint him exclusively to my service”—that is, I will make him one of my chosen men and bring him close to me. They therefore brought Joseph to him with honor and respect. “Then, when he had spoken with him,” the king was impressed by his words and held him in still higher esteem. He said to him, “Today you are firmly established and trusted in our presence”—that is, vested with authority and trusted with confidential matters.
Seeking the public good, Joseph “said, ‘Place me in charge of the storehouses of the land’”—that is, the repositories of the land’s revenues and crops—as their steward, guardian, and administrator.
“I am indeed a knowledgeable guardian”—that is, I will carefully safeguard whatever is entrusted to me, so none of it will be lost or expended where it does not belong. I will keep precise account of what enters and leaves, and I know how to administer, give, withhold, and manage matters in every appropriate way. Joseph did not say this out of eagerness for authority. Rather, he wished to serve the public good, and he knew that he possessed competence, integrity, and carefulness that they did not know he possessed.
He therefore asked the king to place him in charge of the storehouses of the land, and the king appointed him over them and entrusted them to his authority.
Allah Most High says: “Thus”—that is, through the aforementioned causes and preliminaries—“We established Joseph in the land, enabling him to settle wherever he wished,” amid comfortable living, abundant blessings, and extensive influence. “We bestow Our mercy upon whomever We will.” This was part of Allah’s mercy to Joseph, which He bestowed upon him and decreed for him, yet that mercy was not confined to the blessings of this world.
“And We do not let the reward of those who do good go to waste.” Joseph (peace be upon him) was among the foremost of those who do good. He therefore received good in this world and good in the Hereafter. Thus Allah said: “And the reward of the Hereafter is better” than the reward of this world “for those who believe and remain mindful of Allah”—that is, for those who combine mindfulness of Allah with faith. Through mindfulness of Allah, one abandons all forbidden matters, including both major and minor sins. Through complete faith, the heart affirms everything that Allah has commanded it to affirm, followed by the deeds of the heart and the limbs, both obligatory and recommended.