forgives sins except Allah?—and do not persist in what they have done.” He thus describes them as repenting of these sins and not persisting in them, rather than abstaining from them altogether. For the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in an authentic hadith:

“Each son of Adam has his share of sexual sin decreed for him, which he will inevitably encounter. The eyes commit sexual sin, and their sin is looking; the ear commits sexual sin, and its sin is listening; the tongue commits sexual sin, and its sin is speaking; the hand commits sexual sin, and its sin is grasping; the foot commits sexual sin, and its sin is walking. The heart wishes and desires, and the private parts confirm this or deny it.”

Another hadith states:

“All the children of Adam frequently sin, and the best of those who sin are those who repeatedly repent.”

A person inevitably engages in some of the preliminaries to a major sin, and many people commit the major sin itself. They are therefore commanded to repent and instructed not to persist in a minor sin, for no sin remains minor when persisted in, and no sin remains major when forgiveness is sought.

Joseph, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, patiently refrained from sin altogether. Nothing arose in him beyond an inclination that he abandoned for Allah’s sake, for which Allah recorded a good deed for him. Some Quran commentators have mentioned that he engaged in certain preliminaries, such as unfastening his trousers, sitting in the posture of a circumciser, and the like. However, these accounts have not been transmitted in a manner that warrants believing them, for none of this has been transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

When such Israelite reports have not been transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, their truth is unknown. Hence, they may neither be affirmed nor denied without evidence. Allah Most High says in the Quran:

“Thus We averted from him evil and indecency.”

Thus the Quran indicates that He averted from him evil