—Allah protected him; nevertheless she ran after him, grabbed his shirt, and it tore from the back. They happened upon her husband at the doorway, and she cried, “What should be the punishment for someone who meant evil toward your household but that he be imprisoned—or made to suffer a painful chastisement?” This occurred before Joseph was eventually jailed. Joseph said, “It was she who tried to seduce me.” At that moment he had no proof to present; the woman had overtaken him as he was trying to leave, and in such a situation the person people would be inclined to believe was the wife of al-ʿAzīz: a woman of noble lineage, the ruler’s wife, hardly one to demean herself before a servant. Even so, Joseph affirmed, “It was she who tried to seduce me.”

A member of her household then gave judgment: “Examine his shirt. If it is torn from the front, she is truthful and he is lying; but if it is torn from the back, she is lying and he is truthful.” For if it were torn from the front, that would show he had been the aggressor and she had ripped his garment while fending him off. But if it were torn from behind, then he had fled and she had pursued him. When he saw that the shirt was indeed torn from the back, he said, “This is part of your women’s scheming; truly your scheming is great” (Qur’an 12:28). Thus Joseph was vindicated, although he had no eyewitness testimony—only a compelling circumstantial sign. Beyond doubt, this lays down an important legal principle for any judge or for anyone called upon to arbitrate disputes among people. And Allah is the One who grants success.