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Tafsir of Yusuf 12:32

Surah Yusuf 12:32

ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ ﱷ

She said, "That is the one about whom you blamed me. And I certainly sought to seduce him, but he firmly refused; and if he will not do what I order him, he will surely be imprisoned and will be of those debased."

Tafsir

Mafatih al-Ghayb

Verse range: 12:32

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Surah Yusuf (12:32)

**{قَالَتْ فَذَٰلِكُنَّ الَّذِي لُمْتُنَّنِي فِيهِ}** (She said, "That is he about whom you blamed me.")

Know that when the women said concerning the wife of the 'Aziz (Potiphar's wife), "Indeed, she is passionately in love with him," and "We see her in manifest error," this greatly distressed her. So, she gathered them together.

**{فَلَمَّا رَأَيْنَهُ أَكْبَرْنَهُ وَقَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ}** (So when they saw him, they were greatly amazed by him and cut their hands.)

At that moment, she mentioned that they were more deserving of blame because a single glance caused them a greater affliction than what she suffered, despite her long association with him.

If it is asked: Why did she say, {فَذَٰلِكُنَّ} ("That is he") when Joseph (peace be upon him) was present?

The answer to this is in several aspects:

  1. First: Ibn al-Anbari said: She gestured with the form {فَذَٰلِكُنَّ} toward Joseph after he had left the gathering.
  2. Second: This is what the author of Al-Kashshaf mentioned, and it is the best explanation: The women were saying that she was infatuated with her Canaanite slave. When they saw him and were struck with that astonishment, she said: "This whom you have seen is that Canaanite slave about whom you blamed me." Meaning: You did not truly conceive of him as he is. If his image had entered your minds, you would have abandoned this criticism.

Know that when she revealed her excuse to the women regarding the intensity of her love for him, she unveiled the reality of the situation, saying:

**{وَلَقَدْ رَاوَدتُّهُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ فَاسْتَعْصَمَ}** (And I certainly tempted him concerning himself, but he refrained.)

Know that this is an explicit statement that he (peace be upon him) was innocent of that accusation. As for the narration from al-Saddi that he said: {فَاسْتَعْصَمَ} ("he refrained") occurred after the trousers were undone—what compels one to attach this corrupt and false addition to the clear text of the Book?

Then she said:

**{وَلَئِن لَّمْ يَفْعَلْ مَا آمُرُهُ لَيُسْجَنَنَّ وَلَيَكُونًا مِّنَ الصَّاغِرِينَ}** (And if he does not do what I order him, he will surely be imprisoned and will be one of the debased.)

What is meant is that if Joseph (peace be upon him) does not comply with her desire, he will be subjected to imprisonment and humiliation. It is known that threatening humiliation has a great impact on someone of noble spirit and high standing, like Joseph (peace be upon him).

And His saying {وَلَيَكُونًا} (and he will be): Hamzah and Al-Kisā’ī would pause after {وَلَيَكُونَا} with an alif (vowel), just as in His saying {لَنَسْفَعًا} (We will surely drag him) (Al-'Alaq: 15). And Allah knows best.

Surah Yusuf (12:33)

**{قَالَ رَبِّ السِّجْنُ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِمَّا يَدْعُونَنِي إِلَيْهِ ۚ وَإِلَّا تَصْرِفْ عَنِّي كَيْدَهُنَّ أَصْبُ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ}** (He said, "My Lord, prison is more beloved to me than that to which they invite me. And if You do not turn from me their plot, I may incline toward them and become one of the ignorant.")
**{فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ فَصَرَفَ عَنْهُ كَيْدَهُنَّ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ}** (So his Lord responded to him and averted from him their plot. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.)