Surah Yusuf ayat 24 Tafsir Quran 12:24

﴿وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ ۖ وَهَمَّ بِهَا لَوْلَا أَن رَّأَىٰ بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَاءَ ۚ إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ﴾
[ يوسف: 24]

12:24 And she certainly determined [to seduce] him, and he would have inclined to her had he not seen the proof of his Lord. And thus [it was] that We should avert from him evil and immorality. Indeed, he was of Our chosen servants.

And she certainly desired him she sought sexual intercourse with him and he would have desired her too he would have sought the same had it not been that he saw the proof of his Lord Ibn ‘Abbās said ‘Jacob was made to appear before him and he struck his Joseph’s breast whereupon his sexual desire withdrew from his body through his fingernails the response to lawlā ‘had it not been’ has been omitted understood to be la-jāma‘ahā ‘he would have lain with her’. So it was that We made him see the proof that We might ward off from him evil betrayal and lewdness the act of fornication. Truly he was of Our devoted servants in terms of obedience mukhlisīn a variant reading has mukhlasīn in other words ‘chosen/purified servants’.

She had a passionate and libidinous desire of him, a desire she meant to bring to effect physically, and he had a desire of her, a desire that was psychical. It might have been physical, had he not felt Allah in his bosom and the internal recognition of the moral quality of ones motives and actions approving the right and condemning the wrong. We stirred his mind and his heart to live in the conscientious practice of all that is good so that We guard him from evil and immorality; He was indeed one of Our sincere worshippers

«يَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالَى: إِذَا هَمَّ عَبْدِي بِحَسَنَةٍ فَاكْتُبُوهَا لَهُ حَسَنَةً، فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا لَهُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا، وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا حَسَنَةً، فَإِنَّمَا تَرَكَهَا مِنْ جَرّائِي، فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا بِمِثْلِهَا»
( Allah the Exalted said, `If my slave intends to perform a good deed, then record it for him as one good deed; if he performs it, then record it for him multiplied ten folds.
If he intends to commit an evil act but did not commit it, then record it for him as one good deed, if he left it for My sake.
But if he commits it, then write it as one evil deed.' ) This Hadith was also collected in the Two Sahihs using various wording, this is one of them.
It was also reported that the Ayah means that Yusuf was about to beat her.
As for the evidence that Yusuf saw at that moment, there are conflicting opinions to what it was.
Ibn Jarir At-Tabari said, "The correct opinion is that we should say that he saw an Ayah from among Allah's Ayat that repelled the thought that crossed his mind.
This evidence might have been the image of Ya`qub, or the image of an angel, or a divine statement that forbade him from doing that evil sin, etc.
There are no clear proofs to support any of these statements in specific, so it should be left vague, as Allah left it.
Allah's statement next, كَذَلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَآءَ ( Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and immoral sins. ) means, `Just as We showed him the evidence that turned him away from that sin, We save him from all types of evil and illegal sexual activity in all his affairs,' because, إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ ( Surely, he was one of Our Mukhlasin servants.
) meaning, chosen, purified, designated, appointed and righte- ous.
May Allah's peace and blessings be on him." وَاسُتَبَقَا الْبَابَ وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُ مِن دُبُرٍ وَأَلْفَيَا سَيِّدَهَا لَدَى الْبَابِ قَالَتْ مَا جَزَآءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا إِلاَ أَن يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ - قَالَ هِىَ رَاوَدَتْنِى عَن نَّفْسِى وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَآ إِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن قُبُلٍ فَصَدَقَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ الكَـذِبِينَ - وَإِنْ كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ فَكَذَبَتْ وَهُوَ مِن الصَّـدِقِينَ - فَلَمَّا رَأَى قَمِيصَهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ قَالَ إِنَّهُ مِن كَيْدِكُنَّ إِنَّ كَيْدَكُنَّ عَظِيمٌ

(12:24) She advanced towards him, and he also would have advanced towards her, had he not perceived his Lord's argument. *22 This was so that We may remove indecency and immodesty from him; *23 indeed he was one of Our chosen servants.

And she certainly determined [to seduce] him, meaning

*22) " His Lord's argument " means inspiration from Allah to rouse his conscience to the fact that it was not worthy of him to yield to the temptation by the woman.
As regards the question, " What was that argument ", it has been stated in the preceding verse, that is, " My Lord has shown much kindness towards me.
Should I, then, misbehave like this? Such workers of iniquity never fare well.
" This was the " Divine argument " that saved Prophet Joseph in the prime of youth from that great temptation.
The significance of " Joseph also would have advanced towards her, had he not seen his Lord's argument " is this: " Even a Prophet like Joseph ( Allah's peace be upon him ) could not have been able to save himself from sin, had not Allah guided him rightly with His argument.
Incidentally, this verse makes plain the nature of the "Immunity" of Prophets from sin.
It does not mean that a Prophet is infallible and incapable of committing any error, offence or sin or doing wrong or making a mistake.
What it means is this: though a Prophet possesses passions, emotions, and carnal desires like other human beings, and is capable of committing a sin, he is so virtuous and God-fearing that he never deliberately cherishes any evil intentions, for he is endowed with such great arguments from his Lord as do not allow the lusts of the flesh over-power the voice of his conscience.
And if ever he succumbs inadvertently to any of the human weaknesses, Allah at once sends a Revelation to him to set him on the right path.
For the consequences of his error do not remain confined to his own person but react on the whole mankind, for even his slightest error might mislead the world to the most horrible sins.

*23) "....so that We may remove indecency and immodesty from him" implies two things.
First, "It was because of Our grace that he could perceive Our argument, and save himself from sin, for We willed to remove indecency and immodesty from Our chosen servant.
" The second meaning is rather deeper: This incident took place in the life of Joseph because this was essential for his spiritual training: "It was Our will to pass him through this hard test so that he should become immune from indecency and immodesty, for he would have to apply all his powers of piety to withstand such a great temptation, and thus become really so strong as not to yield to such things in future as well" .
The importance and the need of such a hard training becomes quite obvious, if we keep in view the moral conditions of the Egyptian society of that period.
We can have a glimpse of this from vv.
30-32.
It appears that the women in general and the "ladies" of high society in particular, enjoyed almost the same sexual freedom as is rampant today in the "civilized" West and in the Westernized East.
Allah made arrangements for the special training of Prophet Joseph in the house of his master because he had to perform his Divine Mission in a perverted society, and that too as a ruler and not as a common man.
It is thus obvious from the behaviour of those "ladies" of high rank, who did not feel any shame nor modesty in openly admiring the beauty of the young slave and from that of the "lady" of the house who was not ashamed of confessing openly that she did her best to tempt him and would continue to do so, that they would have done all they could to allure the young handsome ruler.
Thus Allah not only made Prophet Joseph strong enough to resist such temptations in future by passing him through the hard test, but also filled the ladies with despair of gaining any "success" in this matter.

 

«يَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالَى: إِذَا هَمَّ عَبْدِي بِحَسَنَةٍ فَاكْتُبُوهَا لَهُ حَسَنَةً، فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا لَهُ بِعَشْرِ أَمْثَالِهَا، وَإِنْ هَمَّ بِسَيِّئَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا حَسَنَةً، فَإِنَّمَا تَرَكَهَا مِنْ جَرّائِي، فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا بِمِثْلِهَا» ( Allah the Exalted said, `If my slave intends to perform a good deed, then record it for him as one good deed; if he performs it, then record it for him multiplied ten folds.
If he intends to commit an evil act but did not commit it, then record it for him as one good deed, if he left it for My sake.
But if he commits it, then write it as one evil deed.' ) This Hadith was also collected in the Two Sahihs using various wording, this is one of them.
It was also reported that the Ayah means that Yusuf was about to beat her.
As for the evidence that Yusuf saw at that moment, there are conflicting opinions to what it was.
Ibn Jarir At-Tabari said, "The correct opinion is that we should say that he saw an Ayah from among Allah's Ayat that repelled the thought that crossed his mind.
This evidence might have been the image of Ya`qub, or the image of an angel, or a divine statement that forbade him from doing that evil sin, etc.
There are no clear proofs to support any of these statements in specific, so it should be left vague, as Allah left it.
Allah's statement next, كَذَلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَآءَ ( Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and immoral sins. ) means, `Just as We showed him the evidence that turned him away from that sin, We save him from all types of evil and illegal sexual activity in all his affairs,' because, إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ ( Surely, he was one of Our Mukhlasin servants.
) meaning, chosen, purified, designated, appointed and righte- ous.
May Allah's peace and blessings be on him." وَاسُتَبَقَا الْبَابَ وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُ مِن دُبُرٍ وَأَلْفَيَا سَيِّدَهَا لَدَى الْبَابِ قَالَتْ مَا جَزَآءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا إِلاَ أَن يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ - قَالَ هِىَ رَاوَدَتْنِى عَن نَّفْسِى وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَآ إِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن قُبُلٍ فَصَدَقَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ الكَـذِبِينَ - وَإِنْ كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ فَكَذَبَتْ وَهُوَ مِن الصَّـدِقِينَ - فَلَمَّا رَأَى قَمِيصَهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ قَالَ إِنَّهُ مِن كَيْدِكُنَّ إِنَّ كَيْدَكُنَّ عَظِيمٌ

( She ) the woman ( verily desired him, and he ) Joseph ( would have desired her if it had not been that he saw the argument of his Lord ) if he had not seen that the chastisement of his Lord would befall him; it is also said that this means: if he had not seen the figure of his father; and it is also said that this means: if he had not seen the proof of his Lord. ( Thus it was, that We might ward off from him evil and lewdness ) adultery. ( Lo! he was of Our chosen slaves ) who are protected from adultery.

And indeed she did desire him and he would have inclined to her desire, had he not seen the evidence of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our chosen, guided slaves.

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