Tafsir of Yusuf 12:23

This is a return to explaining what transpired with him—peace be upon him—in the house of al-Aziz, after he had ordered his wife to treat his stay with honor. The statement of the Exalted, "And thus did We establish Joseph," was an interpolation introduced as a sample of the story, so that the listener would know from the beginning that the trials he encountered—which will be narrated in detail—have a beautiful end and a commendable outcome, and that he—peace be upon him—was a doer of good in his actions, and nothing that would blemish his integrity proceeded from him.

"Al-Muraawadah" (seducing/soliciting) is a request made with gentleness, derived from raad-yaroodu (to go back and forth in search of something), from which comes the raa’id (the scout searching for pasture and water). In consideration of gentleness, it is said: "The camels raad in their walking," meaning they moved with a gentle gait. From this, the mirwad (probe/applicator) is named. It is said, "He awrada-yuwridu," meaning he acted gently. Al-Iradah (will) is derived from raad-yaroodu (to seek something), and this form (mufa'alah) originates from one party, such as the mutalabah (demanding) of a creditor and the mutalah (procrastinating) of a debtor, or the mudawah (treating) of a physician. These actions, even if they originate from one side, are attributed to both because the causes of one are rooted in the other.

The Sheikh al-Islam said: This is a subtle and precious topic based on a precise consideration. Its reality is that the cause of a thing takes its place and its name is applied to it, as in their saying: "As you judge, you shall be judged," meaning: "As you recompense, you shall be recompensed." For the action of the initiator, even if it is not the recompense itself, because it is the cause of the recompense, the name of the recompense is applied to it. Similarly, "the intention to stand for prayer" and "the intention to recite the Quran," since they are the causes for standing and reciting, the action itself is expressed through them; hence, it is said: "When you stand for prayer" and "When you recite the Quran." This is a consistent and continuous rule.

Since the causes of the aforementioned actions in this context originate from the side opposite to the actor—for the creditor's demand is for the debtor's procrastination, and the physician's treatment is for the patient's illness—the solicitation by the woman regarding the beauty of Joseph—peace be upon him—is treated as if its issuance from its place were the issuance of its consequences, which are those actions. Thus, the structure is built upon that. It is also narrated from the side of reality that the action is attributed to the actor, and it is inflicted upon the possessor of the cause. So, ponder this.

It seems he pointed to the command to ponder because of what it contains, which is not hidden from those who possess insight. In al-Kashf, it is stated that al-Muraawadah is a struggle in the seeking, such that the purpose of the coming and going is one thing, while the actor has another purpose opposing it in those movements. The meaning of the reciprocal form here is either exaggeration in her seeking, or an indication of their disagreement in it, for she sought the act from him, while he sought the avoidance from her, and this is more eloquent. Since it involves struggle, the particle "an" ('an) was brought in His saying: "And she sought to seduce him 'an (from) himself," just as you would say, "I pulled him away 'an (from) such-and-such," as an indication of distancing and the achievement of complete pulling away. For this reason, it is said in al-Asas: "Among the metaphors is 'he tried to seduce him 'an himself,' meaning he deceived him regarding it."

Al-Zamakhshari said here: "Meaning she did what a deceiver does to his companion regarding a thing he does not want to release from his hand." There is no doubt that this is attained through the struggle in the seeking. For this subtle reason, it was made a metonymy for the effort to gain his agreement, and the avoidance of mentioning her by name was for the sake of maintaining concealment as much as possible, or because mentioning it is considered shameful. The use of the relative pronoun instead of saying "the wife of al-Aziz"—even though that would be more concise and explicit—is to confirm the solicitation, for his being in her house invites that. It also serves to show the perfection of his integrity, peace be upon him; for his lack of inclination toward her, despite the constant observation of her charms, and his resistance against her, despite being under her hand, proclaims that he—peace be upon him—was at the highest rungs of chastity.

Attributing the "house" to her pronoun is because the Arabs attribute houses to women on the basis that they are the ones who manage their affairs or are constantly in them. Based on this, His saying, "And abide in your houses," and the frequency in their speech of calling a woman "the owner of the house" (sahibat al-bayt) or "the mistress of the house" (rabbat al-bayt). From this is: "O mistress of the house, arise, not as a captive."

"And she locked the doors" (ghallaqat al-abwab), meaning the doors of the house. The strengthening of the verb (by doubling the middle letter) is for exaggeration in the object if we say that the doors were seven, as is said. If we do not say so, then it is for the exaggeration of the action, as if she locked them once after another, or with one bolt after another. The plural "doors" then is either to make every part of it as if it were a door, or to treat the repetition of locking as equivalent to multiple doors. Some claimed that only two doors were locked: the door of the house and the door of the chamber in which they were.

Some later scholars claimed that the strengthening is for transitivity and that it being for exaggeration is an error, arguing that "ghallaqat al-abwab" (with the doubled lam) is a poor, abandoned linguistic form, as mentioned by al-Jawhari. This was countered by the fact that expressing transitivity does not negate expressing exaggeration alongside it; for mere transitivity is achieved through the form af'ala (the causative). Thus, choosing taf'ila (the doubled form) over it must be for one of the two reasons. That is why al-Jawhari also said: "And she locked (ghallaqat) the doors"—it was strengthened for exaggeration. In the Shahabiyyah footnotes, it is noted that the critic did not pay attention to the intended meaning, because what he reported is against him, not for him; for the "poor" usage mentioned by linguists is the use of the simple (non-doubled) triliteral verb, not that it has a simple triliteral verb that is intransitive, such that the taf'ila form would be required for transitivity. Its transitivity is mandatory in the triliteral and other forms, whether it is poor or eloquent. Thus, it is established that it is for exaggeration. Many have stated this; therefore, the mistaken one is the cousin of the one who caused the illusion—so understand.

"And she said: 'Hayta laka'" (Come here!): Meaning, hasten! It is an imperative verbal noun fixed on a fatha, like "ayna" (where). Al-Kisa'i and al-Farra' interpreted it as "ta'ala" (come here), claiming it is a Hawranian word that reached the people of the Hijaz, who then adopted it. Abu Zayd said it is Hebrew, while Ibn Abbas and al-Hasan said it is Syriac. Al-Suddi said it is Coptic. Mujahid and others said it is Arabic, calling him to herself, and it is a word of urging and approaching. The lam (in laka) is for clarification, like that in "suqyan laka" (a watering for you); it is connected to an omitted element, meaning: "My desire is for you" or "I say to you." It is also permissible that it is an informative verbal noun like "hayhata" (far be it), and the lam is connected to it, the meaning being: "I have prepared myself for you." Some, on this account, also made it for clarification, connected to an omitted element, because a preposition cannot be connected to a verbal noun, and the ta (in hayta) is part of the structure of the word. Its interpretation as "I have prepared myself" is not because the ta indicates the first person, so it would be rejected that when it has the meaning of "I prepared," it would not be a verbal noun but a verb ascribed to the first-person pronoun; rather, it is because when she explained the "preparation" as being for him, it necessitates that she is the one who is prepared, just as if it were said to you: "Bring me closer to you," and you said, "Hayhata!" (Far!), it indicates the meaning of distance by context.

Ibn Kathir and the people of Makkah read it as hayta (with a fatha on the ha, a sukun on the ya, and a damma on the ta), likening it to "haythu." Abu al-Aswad, Ibn Abi Ishaq, Ibn Muhaisin, and Isa of Basra—and this is also narrated from Ibn Abbas—read it as hayti (with a fatha on the ha, sukun on the ya, and a kasra on the ta), likening it to "jiri." The discussion regarding these two readings is like the discussion regarding the previous reading.

Nafi', Ibn Amir, Ibn Dhakwan, al-A'raj, Shaybah, and Abu Ja'far read it as hiita (with a kasra on the ha, followed by a sukin ya, and a fatha on the ta). Al-Halwani reported from Hisham that he read it likewise, except that he pronounced a hamza. Al-Dani, following Abu Ali al-Farisi in al-Hujjah, criticized this, and a group followed him, saying that the fatha on the ta in the aforementioned is an error by the narrator, because the verb would then be from "to prepare" (tahayyu'), and Joseph—peace be upon him—did not prepare himself for her, as evidenced by "And she seduced him," etc. Therefore, the ta must be with a damma. The author of al-Nashr refuted this, saying the meaning in that case is: "Your matter has been prepared for me," because she had not been able to have privacy with him before, or "You have beautified your appearance," and laka (for you) on both meanings is for clarification. The narration from Hisham is authentic and came through several paths. It is also narrated from him that he read it with a kasra on the ha, a hamza, and a damma on the ta, which is also a narration from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Amir, and Abu Amr. Abu Raja', Abu Wa'il, Ikrimah, Mujahid, Qatadah, Talhah, and others read it similarly.

Zayd bin Ali and Ibn Abi Ishaq read it likewise, except they softened the hamza. al-Nahhas mentioned that it was read with a kasra on the ha, followed by a sukin ya, and a kasra on the ta. It was also read as hayya, with a kasra on the ha, fatha on the ha, and a shadda on the ya. According to what Ibn Hisham said, this is a dialect for hayta. Some said that all these readings are dialects and that the word in them is a verbal noun meaning "come," and the ta is not a pronoun. Another said: They are dialects, and the word in them is a verbal noun, except for the reading of the damma on the ta with the hamza and its omission, for the word in that case could be a verb elevating the first-person pronoun from ha'a (to look good), like ja'a-yaji'u (to come), if the appearance is improved, or in the meaning of "I prepared," as it is said: hi'tu and tahayya'tu mean the same. And when it is a verb, the lam is connected to it. It is also narrated from Ibn Abbas that he read it as hayyitu, like hababtu; it is in that instance a passive verb, softening the hamza from hayya'tu (I prepared) the thing, as if someone prepared her for him—peace be upon him.

"He said: 'Ma'adha Allah'" (I seek refuge in Allah): This is in the accusative case as an infinitive (masdar). It is said: 'udthu 'awdhan, 'iyadhan, 'iyadhatan, wa ma'adhan, meaning "I seek refuge in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, as a refuge from what you want from me." This is his avoidance—peace be upon him—in the most perfect of ways, and an indication of the justification that it is a horrific abomination from which one must seek refuge in Allah, the Glorious, to be saved from it. This is only because he knew, through what Allah the Exalted showed him, what it is in its essence regarding the ultimate ugliness and the end of evil.

His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, my master has made my dwelling good," is a justification using some of the external causes that might be influential to her and a call for her to consider it after the warning of its intrinsic cause, which she could hardly accept due to what her soul had embellished for her. The pronoun refers to the "matter" (sha'n). In starting the sentence with it, there is an indication of the magnitude of its content, with a strengthening of it in the mind, meaning: "The serious matter is this—that he is my master, the Aziz, who has made my care good by ordering you to honor me in the most perfect way; how, then, could I treat him poorly by betraying him in his sanctuary?" In this is a guidance for her to respect the right of the Aziz in the most subtle way. To this meaning, the Exalted reached...

(The text repeats here in the source material, proceeding to the conclusion):

“Indeed, the wrongdoers do not succeed.” This is a justification after a justification for the aforementioned refusal. Success is victory and reaching the goal. This is of two types: worldly and otherworldly. The first is victory in the happiness through which the life of this world becomes pleasant, which is survival, wealth, and honor. The second is four things: survival without annihilation, wealth without poverty, honor without humiliation, and knowledge without ignorance. For this reason, it is said: "There is no life except the life of the Hereafter." The meaning of aflaha (he succeeded) is "he entered into success," like asbaha (he became/entered the morning) and its peers. Perhaps the intent here is otherworldly success. By "the wrongdoers," it means everyone who does wrong, whoever they may be. Thus, those who recompense kindness with evil and those who disobey the command of Allah the Exalted enter into this primarily. It is said: They are the adulterers, because they are wrongdoers to themselves and to the one whose wife is being illicitly approached. It is said: They are the traitors, because they are also wrongdoers to themselves and to those whom they betrayed.