Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:26
[Joseph] said, "It was she who sought to seduce me." And a witness from her family testified. "If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth, and he is of the liars.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: قَالَ هِيَ رَاوَدَتْنِي عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا إِنْ كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِنْ قُبُلٍ فَصَدَقَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ (He said: "She sought to seduce me to give myself to her." And a witness from her family bore witness: "If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has spoken the truth and he is of the liars.") (verse 26)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted says: Yūsuf said, after the wife of the ʿAzīz had accused him of intending to commit the indecency (al-fāḥisha) with her — while he gave her the lie in her accusation and warded off the charge from himself: "It was not I who sought to seduce her to give herself to me — rather, she sought to seduce me to give myself to her."
It has been said that Yūsuf would not have wished to mention this, were it not that she had accused him in the presence of her master.
Mention of those who said this:
19098. Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra related to me, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Shaybān informed us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Nawf al-Shāmī, who said: Yūsuf did not wish to mention it — until she said: مَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا (the verse); he said: he became enraged and said: (She sought to seduce me to give myself to her).
Concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — the scholars differed concerning the nature of the witness.
Some said: it was a suckling infant in the cradle.
Mention of those who said this:
19099. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Four [children] spoke while they were still sucklings: the son of the hairdresser of the daughter of Pharaoh, the witness of Yūsuf, the companion of Jurayj, and ʿĪsā the son of Maryam, peace be upon him.
19100. Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Abū Bakr al-Hudhalī, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: ʿĪsā, and the companion of Yūsuf, and the companion of Jurayj — that is to say: they spoke while they were sucklings.
19101. Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Zāʾida related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a suckling infant.
19102. Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: it was a suckling infant in the cradle.
19103. Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd al-Muḥāribī related to me, saying: Ayyūb ibn Jābir related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a suckling infant.
19104. Yaḥyā ibn Ṭalḥa al-Yarbūʿī related to me, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — with the like of it.
19105. Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: his father related to us — on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Sālim, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: it was a suckling infant in its cradle.
19106. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Hilāl ibn Yasāf: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a suckling infant in the cradle.
19107. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Abū Marzūq, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a suckling infant whom Allah had brought to speech. It is also said: a man who judged according to his own opinion.
19108. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAffān informed us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — he said: "Four [children] spoke while they were still small" — and he mentioned among them the witness of Yūsuf.
19109. It was related to me from al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — it is claimed that it was a suckling infant in the house.
19110. Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: his father related to him, saying: his uncle related to us, saying: his father related to him, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: it was a suckling infant in the cradle.
Others said: it was a man with a beard.
Mention of those who said this:
19111. Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: his father related to us — on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: he had a beard.
19112. Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: his father related to us — on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: he was a close confidant of the king.
19113. And by the same isnād his father related to us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr — he heard ʿIkrima say: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: it was not a suckling infant, but a wise man.
19114. Sawwār ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, saying: ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima — and he mentioned it in his presence: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — they said: it was a suckling infant. But he said: it was not a suckling infant; it was a wise man.
19115. Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: his father related to us — on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: it was a man.
19116. Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a man.
19117. Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a man.
19118. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a man.
19119. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a man with a beard.
19120. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: her cousin (the son of her paternal uncle) was the witness from her family.
19121. Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a man with a beard.
19122. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ghassān related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: a man with a beard.
19123. Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Qays related to us, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: he was a close confidant of the king.
19124. Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a wise man from her family.
19125. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a wise man from her family.
19126. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: it was a man.
19127. Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of one of his companions, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: a man of sound judgment who judged according to his own discernment.
19128. Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: it is said that the witness was merely a counselor — a man from the circle of Iṭfīr whose judgment he used to consult — but he said: "I bear witness that if his shirt is torn from the front, she has spoken the truth and he is of the liars."
It has also been said: the meaning of (and a witness bore witness) is: a judge passed judgment.
19129. This was related to me on the authority of al-Farrāʾ, on the authority of Muʿallā ibn Hilāl, on the authority of Abū Yaḥyā, on the authority of Mujāhid.
Others said: by the witness is meant the torn shirt.
Mention of those who said this:
19130. Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: his shirt was torn from behind; that is the testimony.
19131. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — his shirt was torn from behind; that is the testimony.
19132. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — it was not from among human beings.
19133. He said: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And a witness from her family bore witness) — he said: it was a decree from Allah, and was not a human being.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The correct view is that of those who said it was a suckling infant in the cradle — on account of the report which we have cited from the Prophet ﷺ, in which he named those who spoke as sucklings. And he mentioned among them that one of them was the companion of Yūsuf.
As for what Mujāhid said — that it was the torn shirt — that has no basis; for Allah the Exalted reported concerning the witness who attested to that, that he belonged to the family of the woman: (And a witness from her family bore witness). And of a shirt it cannot be said that it belongs to the family of the man or the woman.
Concerning His word: (If his shirt is torn from the front, she has spoken the truth and he is of the liars) — for the one who flees, when he flees away, is approached from behind by the pursuer. It was thus clear that if the tearing had been from the front, he was not the one who fled and was pursued. Rather, he would then have been the one who was the pursuer and was pushed away — and that would have been a testimony to his lie.
19134. Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: he said: "I bear witness that if his shirt is torn from the front, she has spoken the truth and he is of the liars."
