Allah narrates to us that when the king was conveyed the interpretation of
his dream, he liked Yusuf's interpretation and felt sure that it was true. He
realized the virtue of Prophet Yusuf, recognized his knowledge in the
interpretation of dreams and valued his good conduct with his subjects in his
country. The king said,
[ائْتُونِى
بِهِ]
(Bring him to me.) `Release him from prison and bring him to me.' When the
king's emissary came to Yusuf and conveyed the news of his imminent release,
Yusuf refused to leave the prison until the king and his subjects declare his
innocence and the integrity of his honor, denouncing the false accusation that
the wife of the `Aziz made against him. He wanted them to know that sending him
to prison was an act of injustice and aggression, not that he committed an
offense that warranted it. He said,
[ارْجِعْ إِلَى
رَبِّكَ]
(Return to your lord (i.e. king...) The Sunnah of our Prophet praised Prophet
Yusuf and asserted his virtues, honor, elevated rank and patience, may Allah's
peace and blessings be on him. The Musnad and the Two Sahihs recorded that Abu
Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
«نَحْنُ أَحَقُّ
بِالشَّكِّ مِنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِذْ قَال»
(We are more liable to be in doubt than Ibrahim when he said,)
[رَبِّ أَرِنِى
كَيْفَ تُحْىِ الْمَوْتَى]
(My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead. ..)
«وَيَرْحَمُ اللهُ
لُوطًا لَقَدْ كَانَ يَأْوِي إِلَى رُكْنٍ شَدِيدٍ، وَلَوْ لَبِثْتُ فِي السِّجْنِ
مَا لَبِثَ يُوسُفُ لَأَجَبْتُ الدَّاعِي»
(And may Allah send His mercy on Lut! He wished to have powerful support! If
I were to stay in prison for such a long time as Yusuf did, I would have
accepted the offer.) In another narration collected by Ahmad from Abu Hurayrah,
the Prophet said about Yusuf's statement,
[فَاسْأَلْهُ مَا
بَالُ النِّسْوَةِ الَّـتِى قَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ إِنَّ رَبِّى بِكَيْدِهِنَّ
عَلِيمٌ]
("...and ask him, `What happened to the women who cut their hands Surely, my
Lord (Allah) is Well-Aware of their plot.''')
«لَوْ كُنْتُ أَنَا،
لَأَسْرَعْتُ الْإِجَابَةَ وَمَا ابْتَغَيْتُ الْعُذْر»
(If it was me, I would have accepted the offer rather than await my
exoneration first.) Allah said (that the king asked),
[قَالَ مَا
خَطْبُكُنَّ إِذْ رَاوَدتُنَّ يُوسُفَ عَن نَّفْسِهِ]
(He said, "What was your affair when you did seek to seduce Yusuf'') The king
gathered those women who cut their hands, while being hosted at the house of the
wife of the `Aziz. He asked them all, even though he was directing his speech at
the wife of his minister, the `Aziz in particular. He asked the women who cut
their hands,
[مَا
خَطْبُكُنَّ]
(What was your affair...), what was your story with regards to,
[إِذْ رَاوَدتُنَّ
يُوسُفَ عَن نَّفْسِهِ]
(when you did seek to seduce Yusuf) on the day of the banquet
[قُلْنَ حَاشَ للَّهِ
مَا عَلِمْنَا عَلَيْهِ مِن سُوءٍ]
(The women said: "Allah forbid! No evil know we against him!'') The women
answered the king, `Allah forbid that Yusuf be guilty of this, for by Allah, we
never knew him to do evil.' This is when,
[قَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ
الْعَزِيزِ الَنَ حَصْحَصَ الْحَقُّ]
(The wife of the `Aziz said: "Now the truth has Hashasa...'') or the truth is
manifest to all, according to Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and others. Hashasa also
means, `became clear and plain',
[أَنَاْ رَوَدْتُّهُ
عَن نَّفْسِهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الصَّـدِقِينَ]
(it was I who sought to seduce him, and he is surely of the truthful.) when
he said,
[هِىَ رَاوَدَتْنِى
عَن نَّفْسِى]
(It was she that sought to seduce me.)
[ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ
أَنِّى لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ]
(in order that he may know that I betrayed him not in (his) absence. ) She
said, `I admit this against myself so that my husband knows that I did not
betray him in his absence and that adultery did not occur. I tried to seduce
this young man and he refused, and I am admitting this so that he knows I am
innocent,'
[وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ
يَهْدِى كَيْدَ الْخَـئِنِينَوَمَآ أُبَرِّىءُ نَفْسِى]
(And, verily, Allah guides not the plot of the betrayers. And I free not
myself (from the blame).) She said, `I do not exonerate myself from blame,
because the soul wishes and lusts, and this is what made me seduce him,' for,
[النَّفْسَ
لأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلاَّ مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّى]
(Verily, the (human) self is inclined to evil, except when my Lord bestows
His mercy (upon whom He wills).) whom Allah the Exalted wills to grant them
immunity,
[إِنَّ رَبِّى
غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ]
(Verily, my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) This is the most viable
and suitable understanding for the continuity of the story and the meanings of
Arabic speech. Al-Mawardi mentioned this in his Tafsir, in support of it, it was
also preferred by Imam Abu Al-`Abbas Ibn Taymiyyah who wrote about it in detail
in a separate work. It was said Yusuf peace be upon him is the one who said,
[ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ
أَنِّى لَمْ أَخُنْهُ]
(in order that he (the `Aziz) may know that I betrayed him not) with his
wife,
[بِالْغَيْبِ]
(in (his) absence).) until the end of Ayah (53) He said, `I sent back the
emissary, so that the king would investigate my innocence and the `Aziz be
certain that,
[أَنِّى لَمْ
أَخُنْهُ]
(I betrayed him not), with his wife,
[بِالْغَيْبِ وَأَنَّ
اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِى كَيْدَ الْخَـئِنِينَ]
(in (his) absence. And, verily, Allah guides not the plot of the betrayers.)'
This is the only explanation presented by Ibn Jarir At-Tabari and Ibn Abi Hatim,
but the first view is stronger and more obvious because it is a continuation of
what the wife of the `Aziz said in the presence of the king. Yusuf was not
present at all during this time, for he was released later on and brought to the
king by his order.
[وَقَالَ الْمَلِكُ
ائْتُونِى بِهِ أَسْتَخْلِصْهُ لِنَفْسِى فَلَمَّا كَلَّمَهُ قَالَ إِنَّكَ
الْيَوْمَ لَدَيْنَا مِكِينٌ أَمِينٌ - قَالَ اجْعَلْنِى عَلَى خَزَآئِنِ الاٌّرْضِ
إِنِّى حَفِيظٌ عَلِيمٌ ]
(54. And the king said: "Bring him to me that I may attach him to my
person.'' Then, when he spoke to him, he said: "Verily, this day, you are with
us high in rank and fully trusted.'') (55. [Yusuf] said: "Set me over the
storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge.'')
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