Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 23

(Ayah 23) ➊ {وَ رَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِيْ هُوَ فِيْ بَيْتِهَا: ’’ رَاوَدَ ‘‘} is from the form of "mufa‘alah," meaning to repeatedly and gently demand, to entice, to induce someone to do something wrong through deception. Here, the form "mufa‘alah" is not for participation but for emphasis, meaning she repeatedly and in every way tried to entice. Because living in the same house, a servant serving can be approached in a thousand ways and repeatedly, for example, if the servant brings food, the order may be, "Why are you sitting far? Come and sit here with me," etc. {’’بَيْتٌ‘‘ ’’بَاتَ يَبِيْتُ‘‘ } (to spend the night) is originally used for the place where a person stays at night, then it began to be used in the meaning of a house. Even now, its original use is for a house made of bricks and stones or a tent made of wool, hair, or cloth, etc. Generally, the entire house including the courtyard is called {’’دَارٌ‘‘ }. When Yusuf (peace be upon him) was a child, the wife of Aziz looked at him with affection and love, but when he reached youth, that gaze was no longer the same. This is the real difference between a real son and an adopted one. Allah Almighty had blessed Yusuf (peace be upon him) with unparalleled beauty. In the hadith of Mi‘raj, it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said about meeting Yusuf (peace be upon him): [ وَ إِذَا هُوَ قَدْ أُعْطِيَ شَطْرَ الْحُسْنِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب الإسراء … :۱۶۲] "He was given half of beauty." "Shatr" means half or a portion (Qamus), meaning Yusuf (peace be upon him) was given a significant portion of beauty. One of the reasons for the wife of Aziz going astray is also the disobedience of Allah's command found in Tirmidhi (2165), that no woman should be alone with a non-mahram man, otherwise the third among them will be Satan (who will make them appear beautiful to each other). Here, Yusuf (peace be upon him) was already protected from Satan, although being a slave, hijab was not obligatory, but years of seclusion in the same house and room drowned the wife of the Aziz of Egypt. Alas! Muslims still do not care about this, even though the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade seclusion even with a husband's brother, saying: [ اَلْحَمْوُ الْمَوْتُ ] [ بخاری، النکاح، باب لا یخلون رجل… : ۵۲۳۲ ] "The husband's brother is death."
➋ Allah Almighty did not mention the name of the woman in whose house Yusuf (peace be upon him) was. The truth is that we should also not mention it, especially when we do not know her name from any authentic source, and mentioning the name would expose the fault of a sinner, especially a woman. Therefore, those who repeatedly say Zulaikha should learn from the Qur'an and abandon this practice.
➌ { عَنْ نَّفْسِهٖ:} Observe the purity of the Qur'an's expression; the whole matter is understood and not a single indecent word has been used.
➍ { وَ غَلَّقَتِ الْاَبْوَابَ …: ’’ غَلَّقَ ‘‘} Being from the form "taf‘il," the translation is "she locked the doors well." {’’هَيْتَ لَكَ ‘‘} is an imperative noun meaning "come, hurry." {’’ لَكَ ‘‘} is for specifying the address, as is said: {’’شُكْرًا لَكَ، سَقْيًا لَكَ ‘‘} The scholars say that at that time, every means to commit the sin was present for Yusuf (peace be upon him), and there was nothing in the world to prevent him. Yusuf (peace be upon him) had health, youth, strength, seclusion, the beauty of the other party, her offer, her insistence—everything was there to tempt him, whereas what prevents a person is his own physical or sexual weakness, or the lack of beauty in the other party, or the possibility of refusal or resistance from the other side, or the fear of exposure, or the fear of disgrace among family, tribe, or people. None of these things were obstacles in his way. He was in the prime of youth, had unparalleled beauty, the doors were locked, the offer and even the request and insistence were from the other side, he was far from his homeland, so there was no fear of disgrace among his tribe or people. Here, many people go abroad and, being away from their own, go astray; then the doors were well locked, there was no way for the secret to be revealed, and when the mistress herself is saying it, what fear of punishment?
➎ { قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللّٰهِ :} When Yusuf (peace be upon him) saw no way to escape, he sought refuge with that Pure Being, after whose protection no one can harm anyone. {’’ مَعَاذَ ‘‘} is an imperative noun, meaning: {’’ أَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰهِ مَعَاذًا مِمَّا تُرِيْدِيْنَ‘‘} That is, I seek Allah's refuge from what you desire, that He may protect me from it by taking me into His protection.
➎ { اِنَّهٗ رَبِّيْۤ اَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ :} This can have two meanings, and among the commentators, each has preferred one meaning according to their own understanding. One is that I seek Allah's refuge; indeed, He is my Lord, He has given me a good place to stay, I cannot be among the wrongdoers by disobeying Him. The second meaning is that I seek refuge from this act with Allah; you are the wife of the Aziz of Egypt, who is my master, I am his slave, he has arranged such a good place for me to live, how can I betray my master? This is sheer injustice. In the first meaning, the wife of Aziz is warned of Allah and reminded of His favors; in the second meaning, she is shamed by her husband, perhaps she may desist in this way. The reality is that both meanings are correct, both can be intended at the same time, but the second meaning seems closer, that he, being content with his Lord's decree, considered himself the slave of the Aziz of Egypt and served and obeyed him in every way. Therefore, he was not ready to repay his master and benefactor's favor with injustice, and the word "Rabb" for the master of a slave has been used several times in this surah by Yusuf (peace be upon him), as he said: «{ قَالَ ارْجِعْ اِلٰى رَبِّكَ فَسْـَٔلْهُ }» [ یوسف : ۵۰ ] and he said: «{ اَمَّاۤ اَحَدُكُمَا فَيَسْقِيْ رَبَّهٗ خَمْرًا }» [ یوسف : ۴۱ ] and he said: «{ اذْكُرْنِيْ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ فَاَنْسٰىهُ الشَّيْطٰنُ ذِكْرَ رَبِّهٖ }» [ یوسف : ۴۲ ]
➐ { اِنَّهٗ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظّٰلِمُوْنَ :} That is, adultery is injustice, and the reality is that the wrongdoers never succeed. Adultery is injustice to oneself, injustice to the woman, injustice to her husband, injustice to one's own family and to the family of her husband, because a child of one family will be counted as a child of another, lineage will be destroyed. Adultery is injustice to all humanity, as Allah Almighty said: «{ وَ لَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنٰۤى اِنَّهٗ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَ سَآءَ سَبِيْلًا }» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۳۲ ] "And do not go near adultery; indeed, it is ever an immorality and is an evil way." That is, adultery is not only immorality but also an evil way, which today leads you to destroy someone else's honor, and tomorrow may bring someone to your own house. For example, when the Shariah forbade you from stealing, it did not only forbid you, but millions and billions from stealing from you. If you do not desist, why would others desist? The disbelievers are extremely envious of the preservation of Muslims' lineage and the purity of their society. After being deprived of this honor themselves, they now want to deprive us of it by spreading immorality among us. The conduct of Yusuf (peace be upon him) is the best guiding light for us in this matter.

23. 1. Here, a new trial of Prophet Yusuf (علیہ السلام) began. The wife of the Aziz of Egypt, whom her husband had instructed to treat Yusuf (علیہ السلام) with honor and respect, became infatuated with the beauty and elegance of Prophet Yusuf (علیہ السلام) and began to invite him to sin, which Prophet Yusuf (علیہ السلام) rejected.

23. And the woman in whose house he was living tried to seduce him. She closed the doors and said [22], "Come to me." He said, "Allah forbid! Indeed, my Lord [23] has given me a good position. Indeed, the wrongdoers never succeed."

[22]
The Period of Trial for Sayyiduna Yusuf (علیہ السلام):

During his stay in the house of the Aziz of Egypt, while Sayyiduna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) attained the aforementioned benefits, this period of residence also proved to be a time of trial and testing for him. He was extremely handsome and beautiful, unmarried, and in the prime of his youth. On the other hand, the wife of the Aziz of Egypt was young, childless, and presented herself with attractive clothing and all her charms.

Zulaikha Tempts Yusuf (علیہ السلام) Towards Immorality:

On the third side, the society was of a civilized type, like today's Western society, in which the mixing of men and women is not considered objectionable, veiling is considered outdated, and even if both parties commit immorality with mutual consent, it is not regarded as worthy of attention. In these circumstances, the wife of the Aziz of Egypt, Zulaikha, began to feel the stirrings of lustful desires, which eventually reached the limits of infatuation. But Sayyiduna Yusuf (علیہ السلام) was completely pure and free from such feelings. When Zulaikha saw such indifference from Yusuf (علیہ السلام) and perceived an aspect of insult to herself in it, she resorted to direct action by exercising her proprietary rights. One day, when her husband was not at home, she closed all the doors of the house and, in clear words and a commanding manner, called Yusuf (علیہ السلام) towards herself so that her lustful desires could be satisfied.

[23] Sayyiduna Yusuf (علیہ السلام), instead of going to her, replied that my Lord has bestowed so many favors and honors upon me, and should I commit such immorality in disobedience to Him? This is not possible for me, and he clearly refused. Some commentators have taken the meaning of "Rabb" here as master and owner, which is linguistically correct, and the Noble Quran itself has used the word "Rabb" in the sense of master and owner. In this regard, the meaning would be that when the Aziz of Egypt has been so kind to me, how can I commit such treachery in his house while living under his roof? Such ingratitude is not possible for me. We have preferred the first meaning because for a Prophet or a future Prophet to call an ordinary worldly chief his "Rabb" is far from reason and transmission, and there is no example of this in the Quran. Secondly, when the meaning derived from the first interpretation is more significant and comprehensive, then what need remains to take the second meaning?