As for committing sexual immorality, this is not a matter of betrayal and trustworthiness, but of wrongdoing, evil, and indecency. Allah describes it in these terms when He, Most High, relates Joseph’s words:
“I seek refuge in Allah! My lord has made my stay a good one. Surely the wrongdoers will not prosper.”
He did not say here, “the treacherous.” Then Allah, Most High, says:
“Thus We turned evil and indecency away from him. Indeed, he was one of Our chosen servants.”
He did not say, “to turn betrayal away from him.” Let the discerning reader ponder these subtleties in the Book of Allah, Most High.
The Tenth Argument
Among the words Allah, Most High, relates and endorses are:
“Indeed, the soul persistently urges evil, except those upon whom my Lord has mercy.”
This indicates that not every soul urges evil. Rather, among those upon whom my Lord has mercy, there is no soul that urges evil.
Some people have stated that the soul has three states: it first urges evil, then becomes self-reproaching—that is, it commits a sin and then reproaches itself for it, or it hesitates, wavering between sin and repentance. Then it becomes tranquil.
The point here is that the souls upon which my Lord has mercy do not urge evil. Since souls are divided into those shown mercy and those that urge evil, we know with certainty that the soul of al-ʿAzīz’s wife was among those that urge evil. For she urged it time after time, sought to seduce him, fabricated lies, enlisted the women’s help, and had him imprisoned; and this is among