Tafsir of Yusuf 12:30

"And some women in the city said..."

The popular opinion, and that which Abu Hayyan adopted, is that it [i.e., niswah] is a broken plural of paucity, like sibyah (a group of boys) and ghilmah (a group of youths). It has no singular from its own root, but rather from its meaning, which is imra’ah (woman). Ibn al-Sarraj argued that it is a collective noun. In any case, its feminization is not "real" (grammatically), and there is no need to consider the singular as being a "real" feminine, because with the arrival of that [the collective noun] which deviates from that [the singular], it does not behave like other singular nouns; hence, its verb was not feminized.

There are two dialects regarding its nun: the kasrah, which is the most well-known, and the dammah, which Al-Mufaddal, Al-A‘mash, and Al-Sulami recited, as Al-Qurtubi mentioned. Therefore, there is no consideration for those who denied this; and in such a state, it is a collective noun without dispute. It is broken for plurality into nisa’ and niswan. According to what is narrated from Muqatil, there were five: the baker’s wife, the cupbearer’s wife, the doorman’s wife, the jailer’s wife, and the stable-master’s wife. Al-Kalbi narrated that there were four, omitting the doorman’s wife.

"In the city..."

By this, Egypt is meant. The prepositional phrase is in the position of an adjective for niswah, according to what some have upheld. They were described as such because the annoyance caused by their speech, in this regard, is because they are characterized by that which strengthens the aspect of truthfulness; for the speech of Bedouin women, due to their distance from the loci of assembly and awareness of the true circumstances of urban, secluded women, is not given heed to, and thus does not cause such annoyance. The majority, however, chose the view that it connects to "said," meaning that their speaking "in the city" implies the spreading and disclosing of the matter therein. This has been countered by the argument that it is contrary to the apparent meaning.

"The wife of the Aziz..."

He is originally one who dominates and is not dominated, as if derived from ‘izz, meaning he attained ‘aziz—which is hard earth that is difficult to tread upon. It is also used for a king. Perhaps they used it at that time among themselves for anyone whom the king appointed over a specific province of importance. Thus, it seems to be among the qualities of those of high status and fortified position. It is in this sense that it is intended here, for it refers to Qatifir, who, as you know, was (according to the most popular view) only the overseer of the king’s storehouses, while the king was Al-Rayyan ibn al-Walid. It is also said that it refers to the king himself, and that Qatifir was the king of Egypt and Alexandria.

Attributing them to her by this title, rather than declaring her name or his name, is to make it appear that she is among those of great importance, thereby aiding in the spreading of the news, given that people are more inclined to hear the news of those of high status. It is also said—and this is more appropriate—that this was to intend hyperbole in blaming her by their saying:

"She is seducing her young man [fata]..."

Meaning, she is seeking to have intercourse with him and is exerting effort to that end. Their preference for the imperfect tense (yurawidu) indicates the continuity of this seduction, as if it had become her habit. Al-fata among people is the fresh/young man; its origin is fatay (with a ya), because they say in the dual—which returns things to their origins—fatayan. Thus, futuwwah (youthfulness) is anomalous based on this. Its plural is fityah and fityan. It is also said that it is both ya’i and wawi, like kanawt and kanayt, and it has many parallels. It is applied to a slave or servant because most servants are young. In the Hadith: "Let none of you say 'my slave' or 'my slave-girl', but let him say 'my fata (young man) and my fatat (young woman)'." It is applied to Joseph (peace be upon him) here because he used to serve her. It is also said it is because her husband gifted him to her, so he was her slave by the women's assumption. Their expression of him—peace be upon him—as such, attributed to her and not to the Aziz, is to show the clear disparity between them arising from the relationship of servant and served, or master and slave.

All of this is to cultivate the aforementioned exaggeration in blame. For a woman who has no husband, or has a lowly husband, is excused in seducing lovers, especially if they possess high status. But as for one who has a husband—and what a husband!—her seducing someone else, especially someone who has no parity with her, and her persisting in that, is the height of transgression and the end of straying.

"He has captivated her with love..."

Meaning, his love has split the shaghaf of her heart, which is its covering. It is also said: it is a thin skin called the "tongue of the heart," until it reached her fu’ad (inner heart). By this, the hyperbole in describing her love for him is achieved. It is also said: the shaghaf is the suwayda (the black spot/core) of the heart; thus, the hyperbole is manifest. To this returns what is narrated from Al-Hasan, that the shaghaf is the interior of the heart, and what is recounted from Abu ‘Ali that it is the center of it.

The verb is pronounced with an open ghayn (the letter ghayn with fatha) according to the majority. Thabit al-Banani recited it with a kasrah, which is the dialect of Tamim. Ali (may Allah honor his face), Ali ibn al-Husayn, his son Muhammad, his son Ja’far (may Allah be pleased with them), Al-Sha’bi, and ‘Awf al-A’rabi recited sha‘afaha with an open ‘ayn (the letter ‘ayn with fatha); this is also a narration from Qatadah, Ibn Hurmuz, Mujahid, Humayd, and Al-Zuhri. It is narrated from Thabit al-Banani that he also recited it likewise, except that he pronounced the ‘ayn with a kasrah. This is from the sha‘af of a camel, when he treats it with tar, burning it. So the meaning is: his love reached her heart until it was almost burning.

Al-Raghib mentioned that it is from the sha‘fah of the heart, which is its top where the pericardium hangs. It is said that the top of a mountain is also called sha‘fah. Ibn Abi Hatim and Abu al-Shaykh narrated from Ibn Abbas that shaghaf is the "killing love," and sha‘af is a love less than that. They also narrated from Al-Sha’bi that shaghaf is love and sha‘af is madness. They also narrated from Ibn Zayd that shaghaf is in love and sha‘af is in hatred—though this meaning is impossible to intend here given this reading.

In the book Asrar al-Balaghah, in the chapter on the ordering of love, it states: The first stage of love is hawa (inclination), then ‘alaqah (attachment), which is the love that adheres to the heart, then kalaf (infatuation), which is intensity of love, then ‘ishq (passionate love), which is the name for what exceeds the measure called love, then shaghaf (with the undotted ha) which is the burning of the heart with a pleasure felt therein—likewise law’ah and la’ij—then shaghaf (with the dotted kha) which is for love to reach the covering of the heart, then jawa (hidden love), which is the inward inclination, then taym (enslavement), which is for love to enslave the person, then tabal (wasting), which is for love to make the person ill, then tadalluh (distraction), which is the loss of reason due to love, then hiyam (wandering), which is for the man to go off aimlessly due to the overwhelming nature of passion upon him.

Whatever the case may be, the sentence is either a second predicate or a circumstantial clause from the doer of "seducing" or from its object. The intention behind it is to repeat the blame and confirm the reproach by clarifying the variation in her internal states, just as there was in her external states. Abu al-Baqa’ permitted it to be an initial sentence; in that case, according to what is said, it is in the position of providing the reason for the persistence of the seduction—though this is not very strong, because if considered from the aspect of "being," it would result in inferring the obscure from the evident, and if considered from the aspect of "why," it would contain an inclination toward laying a pretext for her, and the context is not for that.

The accusative of hubban (love) is as a tamyiz (specification), transformed from the doer, for the origin is "his love captivated her," as indicated. The two grammarians [Sibawayh and Al-Farra], Hamzah, Hisham, and Ibn Muhaysin assimilated the dal of qad into the shin of shaghafh.

"We surely see her..."

Meaning, we know her. So the "seeing" is of the heart (intellectual). Its usage in the sense of "knowing" is literal, just as its usage in the sense of "sensing by sight" is. If the sensory meaning of sight is intended, and then it is used metaphorically for knowledge, it is more eloquent in conveying that she is firmly established in what she did of seduction and excessive love.

"...in manifest error."

Meaning, a great error from the path of guidance and rectitude, or the norms of reason. "Manifest" means clear, that its being an error is not hidden from anyone, or that it is something that exposes her affair among people. The nunation (tanwin) is for magnification. The sentence confirms the content of the two previous sentences which were brought for the sake of blame and vilification, recording against her that she is in a state of great error regarding her affair.

They did not say "She is in a manifest error" to imply—as was said—that this judgment does not issue from them as a matter of conjecture, but rather from knowledge and opinion, while hinting that they are far removed from the likes of that which she is in. It is said that blame for shaghaf (captivation) is valid because it is a matter of choice, considering its preliminaries, as indicated by the saying: "He teased her, so she fell in love with him, and love's beginning is teasing." Otherwise, that which is not a matter of choice should not be blamed, as Al-Busiri indicated by his saying: "O you who blame me for the chaste love, my apology is to you, and had you been fair, you would not have blamed." It is said that the blame for it is in consideration of yielding to it and abandoning its remedy. They have made clear that it is among the ailments and have mentioned for it what they mentioned of treatment. Among the best treatments mentioned for it is remembering the flaws of the beloved and reflecting upon its consequences; for it is said: "If the lover reflected upon the end of the beauty of the one who captivates him, he would not be captivated." The complete discourse on this subject is sought in its proper place.