and have him imprisoned, while neither her husband nor anyone else would help him remain chaste. By contrast, when Muslim wept, that woman left. Even had she refused to leave, his cries against her or her fear of other people would have driven her away from him. How could this compare with what Joseph, peace and blessings be upon him, endured?

Second:

When Joseph abandoned the thought he had entertained for Allah’s sake, it earned him a good deed and did not detract from his standing. It is established in both Sahīh collections, in the hadith concerning the seven whom

“Allah will shade with His shade on the Day when there is no shade but His: a man whom a woman of rank and beauty invites to herself, but he says, ‘I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds.’”

This is for merely being invited; what, then, of persistent attempts at seduction, enlisting others’ help, and imprisonment? It is known that she was a woman of rank, and it has been related that she was beautiful. This is indeed what seems likely, for the wife of Egypt’s chief minister would presumably be beautiful.

As for the Bedouin woman who invited Muslim to herself, she was undoubtedly beneath that level. His dream, and Joseph’s words in it,

“I am Joseph, who entertained the thought, and you are Muslim, who did not,”

could, at most, carry the same weight as Joseph saying this to him while awake. If Joseph said this, it would be to Muslim’s credit—a commendation and praise—and an expression of humility on Joseph’s part. When someone of high standing shows humility toward someone beneath him, this does not diminish his own standing.

Eleventh point:

This statement contains—alongside the acknowledgment