12. Yusuf

Commentary

Described in the previous verses was an early account of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) as to how the people from the caravan took him out of the well, and how his brothers made him out to be their escaped slave and traded him for a few dirhams. First of all, they did not know the value and station of their great brother. Secondly, their real purpose was not to make money by selling him - they wanted to remove him away from his father. Therefore, they did not stop at simply selling him because they felt the danger that the caravan may somehow leave him behind as a result of which he may somehow reach their father and tell him all about their conspiracy. So, according to a report from Tafsir authority, Mujahid, these people waited for the caravan to leave with him for Egypt. When the caravan actually departed, they went with the caravan upto a certain distance warning them on the way that he is in the habit of running away, therefore, they should not leave him free to move around, better still, they should tie him up. Thus, the caravan, unaware of the precious ` merchandise' they were carrying with them, took him in that condition as far as Egypt. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

The part of the story as taken up onwards in the present verses shows the eloquent brevity of the Qur'an when sections of the story which can be understood independently have not been necessarily de-scribed. For instance, the trip of the caravan through various stages en-route Egypt and the actual selling of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) there. All this has been skipped. Stated from here is:

وَقَالَ الَّذِي اشْتَرَ‌اهُ مِن مِّصْرَ‌ لِامْرَ‌أَتِهِ أَكْرِ‌مِي مَثْوَاهُ

And the one who bought him from Egypt said to his wife, 'Make his stay graceful ...'.

According to Tafsir al-Qurtubi, when the caravan reached Egypt and offered him for sale, people vied with each other with increasing bids which rose to gold, to musk and to silk equal to his weight.

But, Allah Tahad destined this human treasure to go to the most powerful authority of the time in Egypt, the Aziz of Misr. He beat all the bids and bought Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) .

As we already know from the statement of the Holy Qur’ an, all these things happening were nothing accidental. Instead, they were parts of the formidable plan put into action by the most exalted Lord Himself. That Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) will be bought in Egypt by the highest of the high in that country was certainly a call of destiny. According to Ibn Kathir, this man who bought Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in Egypt was what we may call the Finance Minister of Egypt. His name has been cited as Qitfir, or ` Itfir. The King of Egypt at that time was Ruiyyan ibn Usayd, an Amalkite (who, later on, embraced Islam at the hands of Sayyidna Yusuf علیہ السلام) and died as a Muslim during the lifetime of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) (Mazhari). The name of the wife of the Aziz of Egypt who had bought him has been given as Ra'eel, or Zulaikha. So, the Aziz of Misr, called Qitfir (Potiphar), instructed his wife to provide good lodging for Yusuf, not to treat him like common slaves and see that good arrangements are made for him.

Sayyidna Abdullah …

Moving to verse 23, the words of the text are:

وَرَ‌اوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَن نَّفْسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ

And she, in whose house he was, seduced him away from his (resisting) self and bolted the doors, and said, 'come on!'.

From the first verse, we know that this woman was the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr. But, at this place, the Holy Qur'an has elected to bypass the possibility of mentioning her by a brief expression as the wife of ` Aziz. Instead, it has chosen to use the expression: الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا (in whose house he was). The hint given here is that the efforts of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) to save himself from falling into sin were further complicated by the fact that he lived in the house of this very woman, under her protection, and as such, disapproving and discarding her verbal advance was no easy task.

The Strongest Defence Against Sin is the Seeking of Protection from Allah Himself

How was he able to do that? There was an outward cause to this. When Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) found himself surrounded from all sides, he took the ultimate recourse. So, like a prophet he was, first of all, he sought the protection of Allah. He said: قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّـهِ (May Allah save me! ). We see that he did not place his sole trust in his determination and re-solve to hold out against the invitation to sin - he sought the refuge of Allah first. And it is obvious that anyone who enjoys the protection of Allah can never be moved away from the right path by anyone. It was only after having that coverage, that he started acting as a prophet would, with wisdom and earnest good counsel. Addressing Zulaikha directly and personally, he advised her that she too should fear Allah and give up her intention. He said:

إِنَّهُ رَ‌بِّي أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ

Surely, he is my master. He has given me a good lodging. Surely, the wrongdoers do not prosper.

As obvious, it means: Your husband, the ` Aziz of Misr is my master who has raised and supported me and has given me a good home to live in. He is my benefactor. How can I even think of violating his honour? This is great injustice and those who commit injustice never prosper. Implied therein was a lesson for Zulaikha too who was told: When I know his rights on me for having been my master and caretaker for a lesser time than you, then, being his wedded wife of years, you should certainly know his rights on you much more than I do.

At this place, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) has called the ` Aziz of Misr his Rabb - though, it is not permissible to use this word for anyone other than Allah Ta’ ala. The reason is that words like this create either a suspicion of Shirk, or a resemblance with those who commit Shirk. Therefore, the use of such words has been prohibited in the Shari` ah of Islam. It appears in a Hadith of Sahih Muslim: ` Let no slave call his master his Rabb and let no master call his slave his عبد abd or servant.' But, this is a unique characteristic of the Islamic Shari` ah where, alongwith the prohibition of Shirk, everything else in which there is the least doubt that they may become the conduits …

Commentary

Mentioned in the previous verse was the great trial and test of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) in that the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr bolted the doors and tried to invite him to sin assembling together in that effort all circumstantial temptations to attract and to make him become indulgent. But, Almighty Allah kept this righteous young person standing steadfast in such severe trial. The details of what transpired have been given in this verse. Said here is that Zulaikha was busy persuing her obsessive thought any way, but emerging in the heart of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) too, there was some non-voluntary tilt towards her as would be the natural consequence in such a situation. But, it was exactly at that time that Allah Ta` ala brought before Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . His argument and proof, because of which, that non-voluntary tilt, rather than increase, actually died out totally - and, beating the pursuit, he ran.

In this verse, the word: ھَم (hamm : thought) has been attributed to Zulaikha and Sayyidna Yusuf علیہ السلام both as in: وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ وَهَمَّ بِهَا (And she desired him. And he had desired her). And we know that the ` hamm' or thought of Zulaikha was that of sin. This could have raised a doubt that the ` thought' of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) may also have been of a similar nature - and this is, based on the consensus of the entire Muslim Ummah, contrary to the great station of a Nabiyy (prophet) and Rasul. The reason is that the majority of the Muslim Ummah holds the standard belief that the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all, are protected against all sorts of sins, minor or major. As for a major sin, it can neither be committed by them intentionally, nor is it possible through inadvertence or mistake. However, the probability that a minor sin could be committed through inadvertence or mistake does exist - but, on this too, the noble prophets, may peace be upon them all, are not allowed to remain - instead, they are warned and made to move away from it. (Musamarah)

Besides the fact that this question of the ` Ismah of Anbiya' (the state of being under Divine protection with which prophets are blessed) stands settled and proved under the authority of the Qur'an and Sunnah, it is also necessary, rationally too - because, should there remain the probability of a committal of sin by the Anbiya' (علیہم السلام) ، there remains no way one could place trust in the Din (religion) and Way (revelation) brought by them, and that their very coming into the world with a Divine Book revealed to them becomes totally fruitless. Therefore, Allah Ta` ala has kept every prophet of His totally ma` sum from every sin (ma` sum: technically, sinless or infallible; literally, protected by Allah).

So, speaking generally, it stands established that the ` thought' which crossed the mind of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was not a thought to be counted in the degree of sin. For details, we should understand that the word: ھَمّ (hamm: thought) in the Arabic language is used to convey two meanings: (1) Intend and be determined to do something; (2) a simple scruple in the heart or the appearance of a thought beyond …

Commentary

Described in the previous verses was the time when the wife of the Aziz of Misr was busy enticing Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) into sin, and he, on his part, was trying to stay away from it. But, there was the natural struggle with that non-voluntary thought too. So, to help his honourable prophet, Allah Ta ala showed a miracle, made something appear before him which drove even that thought out from his heart - whether that ` thing' be the face of his father, Sayyidna Ya` qub (علیہ السلام) ، or some verse out of the Divine revelation.

Told in the present verse (25) is that Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، once he saw this ` proof from his Lord,' ran away from that. private enclave and dashed for the door to get out from there. The wife of the ` Aziz of Misr ran after him to hold him back and, by grabbing his shirt, she tried to stop him from getting out. But, when he did not stop - being determined not to - the shirt was torn from behind him. However, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) did come out of the door, and so did Zulaikha behind him. Historical accounts mention that the door was locked from the inside. When Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ran and reached the door, this lock opened up by itself and dropped down.

When they both came out of the door, they saw the ` Aziz of Misr standing face to face. His wife was unnerved. In order to wriggle out of the awkward situation, and to put the blame on Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، she said: at can be the punishment of the one who intended evil with your wife except that he be imprisoned, or (given) a painful chastisement?

Injunctions and Rulings

The following rules and guiding principles have been deduced from the verses cited above:

1. From verse 25 beginning with the words: وَاسْتَبَقَا الْبَابَ (And they raced towards the door ... ), we learn that a place where there is a danger of getting involved in sin must be abandoned outright - as was practically demonstrated by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) by running away from there.

2. In matters requiring obedience to Divine injunctions, one should not, to the best of one's ability, let his efforts in that direction taper off - even if a tangible result from them does not seem to be coming out. Results rest in the hands of Allah Ta` ala. One's job is to channel and devote his or her effort and ability in the way of Allah - and proving one's iden-tity as a servant of Allah is the purpose. This is what was done by Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . All doors were closed, even locked, as reported in historical narrations. Yet, he spent out his maximum strength in running towards the door. In a situation like that, help and support from Allah jalla thana'uh is witnessed frequently when a servant of Allah has done his best, it transpires that He would also arrange the causes for His servant to succeed. However, should the situation be otherwise and one fails to achieve formal success as we know it, then, for a devoted servant of Allah, even this failure is no less than success (for this is the preference of his Lord).

It is said about a righteous elder confined to prison that he would, on every Friday take his bath, wash his clothes, get ready …

Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، because of his prophetic gentleness, may not have, perhaps, disclosed her secret. But, when she took the first step and presented a charge sheet of false accusation against him, he was compelled to tell the truth: هِيَ رَ‌اوَدَتْنِي عَن نَّفْسِي (It was she who sought to seduce me).

The matter was dense and delicate. For the ` Aziz of Misr, it was difficult to decide as to who should be taken as being true. That was no occasion for evidence and proof. But, Allah, great is whose majesty, has His own ways of saving His honourable servants from sin and keeping them unaffected and protected from it. He would do the same for them during their worldly life when He would arrange to save them from being disgraced, even if it would take a miracle to do that. Usually, on such occasions, infant children have been chosen to unfold truth, infants who are not expected to talk customarily. But, by giving them power of speech miraculously, Allah Ta’ ala would arrange for the acquittal of His favoured servants from accusations levelled against them. This happened when people started accusing Sayyidah Maryam falsely. Allah Tad gave a day old infant, Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، the ability to speak and it was through his tongue that He had the sanctity of his blessed mother manifested - a very special manifestation of His power indeed. Similarly, when another accusation of this nature was made under the umbrella of a major conspiracy against Jurayj, a pious elder among the Bani Israil, it was a new-born child who testified to his innocence. When Pharaoh got suspicious about Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، the small daughter of the personal lady hair-styler of the wife of the Pharaoh was given the power of speech and it was she who saved Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) during his childhood from being hurt by the Pharaoh.

Similarly, in this event relating to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، according to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas and Abu Hurairah ؓ ، Allah Ta’ ala bestowed that power of speech upon a small child - and that too in one of the finest ways of wisdom. This small child was lying in a cradle in this house. There was no way it could have occurred to anyone that this child would have watched their movements and understood what they were doing - and then, would be able to even go on to describe it in some manner. But, Allah is absolutely powerful. When He decides to highlight the greatness of those who strive in the mission of their obedience to Him, He is quite capable of demonstrating before the whole world that every particle of this universe works as His secret service which knows every criminal inside out and keeps a record of his or her crime and when the time comes, it speaks out the truth. Think of the Resurrection, the awesome plain of the Hashr when, at the time of the accounting of deeds, human beings will, goaded by their old worldly habit, refuse to admit their crimes, then, their very hands and feet and skins and surroundings will be called upon to stand as witnesses against them. Each such witness shall lay each and everything done by them bare before the unimaginably huge multitude gathered …

Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، because of his prophetic gentleness, may not have, perhaps, disclosed her secret. But, when she took the first step and presented a charge sheet of false accusation against him, he was compelled to tell the truth: هِيَ رَ‌اوَدَتْنِي عَن نَّفْسِي (It was she who sought to seduce me).

The matter was dense and delicate. For the ` Aziz of Misr, it was difficult to decide as to who should be taken as being true. That was no occasion for evidence and proof. But, Allah, great is whose majesty, has His own ways of saving His honourable servants from sin and keeping them unaffected and protected from it. He would do the same for them during their worldly life when He would arrange to save them from being disgraced, even if it would take a miracle to do that. Usually, on such occasions, infant children have been chosen to unfold truth, infants who are not expected to talk customarily. But, by giving them power of speech miraculously, Allah Ta’ ala would arrange for the acquittal of His favoured servants from accusations levelled against them. This happened when people started accusing Sayyidah Maryam falsely. Allah Tad gave a day old infant, Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) ، the ability to speak and it was through his tongue that He had the sanctity of his blessed mother manifested - a very special manifestation of His power indeed. Similarly, when another accusation of this nature was made under the umbrella of a major conspiracy against Jurayj, a pious elder among the Bani Israil, it was a new-born child who testified to his innocence. When Pharaoh got suspicious about Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، the small daughter of the personal lady hair-styler of the wife of the Pharaoh was given the power of speech and it was she who saved Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) during his childhood from being hurt by the Pharaoh.

Similarly, in this event relating to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) ، according to a narration of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas and Abu Hurairah ؓ ، Allah Ta’ ala bestowed that power of speech upon a small child - and that too in one of the finest ways of wisdom. This small child was lying in a cradle in this house. There was no way it could have occurred to anyone that this child would have watched their movements and understood what they were doing - and then, would be able to even go on to describe it in some manner. But, Allah is absolutely powerful. When He decides to highlight the greatness of those who strive in the mission of their obedience to Him, He is quite capable of demonstrating before the whole world that every particle of this universe works as His secret service which knows every criminal inside out and keeps a record of his or her crime and when the time comes, it speaks out the truth. Think of the Resurrection, the awesome plain of the Hashr when, at the time of the accounting of deeds, human beings will, goaded by their old worldly habit, refuse to admit their crimes, then, their very hands and feet and skins and surroundings will be called upon to stand as witnesses against them. Each such witness shall lay each and everything done by them bare before the unimaginably huge multitude gathered …

In the last two (28 29) of the verses cited above, it has been stated that the ` Aziz of Misr had already realized by having heard the child speak in the manner he did that some special supernatural situation was there to demonstrate the innocence of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . After that, according to what the child had said, when he saw that the very shirt of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) is really torn up from the back, he became certain that it was Zulaikha who was at fault and it was Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) who was innocent. So, first he addressed Zulaikha and said: إِنَّهُ مِن كَيْدِكُنَّ that is, all this is a guile of yours whereby you wish to pass on your wrongdoing to someone else. Then he said that great is the guile of women for it is difficult to understand and not easy to get out from. The reason is that they outwardly give the impression of being soft, delicate, even weak. A non-discerning onlooker is likely to believe in what they say. But, given a lack of wisdom and honesty, that could be a web of deception. (Mazhari)

According to a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ عنہ appearing in the Tafsir of Al-Qurtubi, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: The guile of women is stronger than the guile of Shaytan - because, about the guile of the Shaytan, Allah Ta ala has said that it is weak: كَيْدَ الشَّيْطَانِ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا (4:76); and about the guile of women, it was said: إِنَّ كَيْدَكُنَّ عَظِيمٌ (great is the guile of you women - 12:28). And it is obvious that not all women are meant here. Instead, meant here are only those of them who are involved in practicing guiles and excuses.

So, after having pointed out to Zulaikha her error, the ` Aziz of Misr said to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) : يُوسُفُ أَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنْ هَـٰذَا :'O Yusuf, ignore this matter' - that is, do not speak about it before others so there be no disgrace because of this. Then he addressed Zulaikha and said: وَاسْتَغْفِرِ‌ي لِذَنبِكِ ۖ إِنَّكِ كُنتِ مِنَ الْخَاطِئِين (and you [ 0 woman ] seek forgiveness for your sin. Surely, you were of the sinners). This obviously means that she should seek forgiveness from her hus-band. And it could also mean that she should seek forgiveness from Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) for it was she who made the error and put the blame on him.

Special Note

At this point, it is very surprising that a husband, who finds out an open proof of such immodesty and breach of trust on the part of his wife, would not be agitated, rather, go on talking with perfect peace of mind - unusual indeed, given the compulsion of human nature in such circumstances. Imam Al-Qurtubi has said that one of the reasons for this may be that the ` Aziz of Misr was someone lacking that kind of a sense of shame. And it is also possible that the way Allah Ta’ ala supernaturally arranged to save Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) first from sin and then from disgrace - in the same way, it was also a part of this arrangement that He did not let the ` Aziz of Misr become all agitated in anger. Otherwise, as customary, this would have been an occasion where one is likely to go to physical assault without bothering to investigate first, not to say much about verbal aggression, which would be rather elementary. If the ` Aziz of Misr, affected by common human response, were to be enraged, it is possible that he might have committed something, physically or verbally, something which would have been against the august status of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . These are the wonders of Divine Power which openly prove how those who stand steadfast in obedience to their most true Lord are protected at every step they take in His way. And the honour of creating what is there at its best goes only to Allah.

In the verses which will follow, mentioned there is another event which is connected with the story narrated earlier. There it has been said that this event, despite the effort to keep it concealed, spread around among women in the families of the courtiers. These women started blaming the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr. Some commentators have said that these were five women, all wives of officials close to the "Aziz of Misr. (Qurtubi, Mazhari)

These women were talking among themselves. They were saying: Look, how regrettable it is that the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr, despite enjoying a status so high, had become enamoured with her young slave and was looking for the fulfillment of what she wanted from him. In this, we think, she is in a grave error. The word used in the verse (30) is: فَتَاھَا (fate ha: translated as ` her youthful slave' ). Fata' denotes someone youthful. In customary usage, a boy slave when small is called a ghulam. If in his youth, the boy is called fata, and the girl, fata. Here, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) has been referred to as the slave of Zulaikha …

So, after having pointed out to Zulaikha her error, the ` Aziz of Misr said to Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) : يُوسُفُ أَعْرِ‌ضْ عَنْ هَـٰذَا :'O Yusuf, ignore this matter' - that is, do not speak about it before others so there be no disgrace because of this. Then he addressed Zulaikha and said: وَاسْتَغْفِرِ‌ي لِذَنبِكِ ۖ إِنَّكِ كُنتِ مِنَ الْخَاطِئِين (and you [ 0 woman ] seek forgiveness for your sin. Surely, you were of the sinners). This obviously means that she should seek forgiveness from her hus-band. And it could also mean that she should seek forgiveness from Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) for it was she who made the error and put the blame on him.

Special Note

At this point, it is very surprising that a husband, who finds out an open proof of such immodesty and breach of trust on the part of his wife, would not be agitated, rather, go on talking with perfect peace of mind - unusual indeed, given the compulsion of human nature in such circumstances. Imam Al-Qurtubi has said that one of the reasons for this may be that the ` Aziz of Misr was someone lacking that kind of a sense of shame. And it is also possible that the way Allah Ta’ ala supernaturally arranged to save Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) first from sin and then from disgrace - in the same way, it was also a part of this arrangement that He did not let the ` Aziz of Misr become all agitated in anger. Otherwise, as customary, this would have been an occasion where one is likely to go to physical assault without bothering to investigate first, not to say much about verbal aggression, which would be rather elementary. If the ` Aziz of Misr, affected by common human response, were to be enraged, it is possible that he might have committed something, physically or verbally, something which would have been against the august status of Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) . These are the wonders of Divine Power which openly prove how those who stand steadfast in obedience to their most true Lord are protected at every step they take in His way. And the honour of creating what is there at its best goes only to Allah.

In the verses which will follow, mentioned there is another event which is connected with the story narrated earlier. There it has been said that this event, despite the effort to keep it concealed, spread around among women in the families of the courtiers. These women started blaming the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr. Some commentators have said that these were five women, all wives of officials close to the "Aziz of Misr. (Qurtubi, Mazhari)

These women were talking among themselves. They were saying: Look, how regrettable it is that the wife of the ` Aziz of Misr, despite enjoying a status so high, had become enamoured with her young slave and was looking for the fulfillment of what she wanted from him. In this, we think, she is in a grave error. The word used in the verse (30) is: فَتَاھَا (fate ha: translated as ` her youthful slave' ). Fata' denotes someone youthful. In customary usage, a boy slave when small is called a ghulam. If in his youth, the boy is called fata, and the girl, fata. Here, Sayyidna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) has been referred to as the slave of Zulaikha …