Yusuf (Joseph)

24. “And indeed she desired him, and he would have desired her if he had not seen the evidence of his Lord. Thus (it was) that We turned away from him evil and indecency. Verily he was (one) of Our chosen servants, (sincere and purified).”

Imam Sadiq (as) has said that /burhanu rabbi/ (a Sign from my Lord), is identical with the light of knowledge, certainty and wisdom which Allah has said in a phrase of the previous verses:

“We gave him wisdom and knowledge” and whatever has been mentioned in some narrations which claim that the “Sign from his Lord” means his witnessing the face of his father or that of Gabriel does not have a firm chain of transmission.

At any rate, if Divine assistance is absent, everyone is liable to commit mistakes. However, Allah protects His sincere subjects.

The incident with the wife of the ‘Aziz is a very sensitive issue. The holy Qur’an indicates her powerful sensuality and attractiveness when it says that she was about to seduce him and had it not been for Allah’s evidence which Yusuf had noticed, he would have fallen into her arms.

The verse says:

“And indeed she desired him, and he would have desired her if he had not seen the evidence of his Lord...”

Yusuf was a young man and not yet married, and he was confronting an extremely exciting sexual situation for the first time, with all these frailties he would have succumbed and given in, had it not been for the sake of Allah’s evidence.

That is, had it not been for Allah’s evidence, which means the essence of faith, piety, training, and, finally, the rank of inerrancy, it seems that he would have succumbed to the temptation despite his core of faith, virtue and chastity.

This interpretation has been concisely expressed in a noble narration from Imam Rida (as) where Ma’mun, the Abbasid caliph, asked the Imam:

“Aren’t you one who believes that the prophets are immaculate?”

He answered:

“Yes”.

Then Ma’mun asked:

“Then what is the interpretation of this Qur’anic verse, which says: “And indeed she desired him, and he would have desired her if he had not seen the evidence of his Lord...”

The Imam (as) answered:

“The wife of the ‘Aziz decided to gratify her desire with Yusuf and were it not for the evidence of Allah which Yusuf witnessed, he would also have decided the same way she had decided.

However, he was an immaculate person and such a person never intends to commit sin and never seeks to engage in sinful acts.¹

Ma’mun said:

“Well done O ’Abul Hassan!”

Let us turn to the commentary of the rest of the verse. The Glorious Qur’an implies that Allah (s.w.t.) showed Yusuf His evidence in order to divert him from evil and indecency, for he was one of His sincere and purified servants.

The verse says:

“…Thus (it was) that We turned away from him evil and indecency...”

The reason for this was, as Allah says, that:

“…Verily he was (one) of Our chosen servants, (sincere and purified).”

In this verse, allusion is made to the fact that He had sent invisible Divine assistance to rescue him from falling into evil and sin. This kind of Divine assistance, which comes during moments of trouble and crisis, is not confined to the prophets, such as Yusuf. They can also cover those sincere servants of Allah among ordinary people as well, who also deserve such favors.

Solemnity in Statement

One of the amazing things about the Qur’an, which is also one of its miracles, is its solemnity and its use of respectable language. That is, it never uses indecent words or concepts.

It’s speech is never in keeping with the ordinary and illiterate individuals, in the environment of ignorance, but at the same time, it is accessible to all, using a language that the ordinary men and the intellectual can understand.

Among all the biographies mentioned in the Qur’an, there is only one real love story which is the story of Yusuf and Zulaykha.

This story explains the ardent love of a beautiful sensual woman unto a handsome youth, but pure.

However, the Qur’an has beautifully combined precision in expression with solemnity and chastity, and despite the fact that it talks about affairs of the heart, it has utilized the principles of piety, morals and respect without being paralysed in the process.