to your master,” that involved neglecting a duty or committing a forbidden act for which Allah would punish him by leaving him in prison for several years. They had already resolved, before this, to imprison him for a time, wronging him despite knowing that he was innocent of the sin.

Allah Most High said:

“Then, after seeing the signs, they decided to imprison him for a time.”

His remaining in prison was an honor bestowed upon him by Allah, so that his patience and piety would thereby be perfected. It was through patience and piety that he attained what he attained. Hence he said:

“I am Joseph, and this is my brother. Allah has indeed favored us. Whoever fears Allah and remains patient—surely Allah does not let the reward of those who do good go to waste.”

Had he not remained patient and feared Allah, but instead obeyed them in what they demanded of him out of dread of imprisonment, he would not have attained this patience and piety. By unanimous agreement, he would have missed what was better.

The scholars, however, differed over whether a man can be coerced into illicit sexual intercourse, holding two views.

One view is that this is not possible, as held by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abū Hanīfa, and others. They argued that coercion prevents an erection.

The second view is that it is possible. This is the view of Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Ibn ʿAqīl, and others among Ahmad’s followers, because coercion does not preclude an erection. Coercion does not preclude the act being chosen; rather, the person under coercion chooses to avert the greater of two evils by accepting