Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:53
And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."
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: وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي إِنَّ رَبِّي غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (And I do not absolve my soul; indeed, the soul ever commands evil, except for that upon which my Lord has had mercy — indeed, my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful. — 12:53)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Yūsuf, the blessings of Allah be upon him, says: I do not declare my soul free of error and stumbling so as to praise it; (inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ): he says: the souls — the souls of the servants — command them to do that which they desire, even if their desire is contrary to what is pleasing to Allah; (illā mā raḥima rabbī): except when my Lord wishes to be merciful to whom He wills of His creatures, and saves him from following its desire and from obeying it in the evil that it commands him; (inna rabbī ghafūrun raḥīm).
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'Mā' in His words (illā mā raḥima rabbī) is in the accusative, for it is a disjunctive exception from what precedes it — like His words: وَلا هُمْ يُنْقَذُونَ * إِلا رَحْمَةً مِنَّا [Surah Yā-Sīn: 43, 44] with the meaning: unless they are treated mercifully. 'An', when it bears the meaning of a noun, resembles 'mā'.
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By His words (inna rabbī ghafūrun raḥīm) he means: Allah is the One who overlooks the sins of whoever repents of his sins, by not punishing him and not putting him to shame thereby; 'raḥīm' — merciful — to him after his repentance, so that He does not punish him for it.
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It has been related that Yūsuf spoke these words because, after Yūsuf had said: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ, an angel from among the angels said: 'And not even on the day when you intended something!' Whereupon Yūsuf then said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
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It has also been said that the one who called out to Yūsuf: 'And also on the day when you intended toward her — and you had loosened your undergarment!' was the wife of the ʿAzīz, and Yūsuf answered her with this reply.
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And it has been said that Yūsuf said this of his own accord and on his own initiative.
Mention of who said this:
19428 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ 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: When the king gathered the women together and asked them: 'Did you attempt to seduce Yūsuf?' they said: حَاشَ للهِ مَا عَلِمْنَا عَلَيْهِ مِنْ سُوءٍ. The wife of the ʿAzīz said: الآنَ حَصْحَصَ الْحَقُّ — the āya. Yūsuf said: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ. Then Jibrīl said to him: 'And not even on the day when you intended what you intended!' Whereupon he said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19429 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my 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: When the king gathered the women together, he said to them: 'Did you attempt to seduce Yūsuf?' — then he mentioned the rest of the ḥadīth, identical to the ḥadīth of Abū Kurayb, on the authority of Wakīʿ.
19430 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When Pharaoh gathered the women together, he said: 'Did you attempt to seduce Yūsuf?' — then he mentioned something similar; but he said: Jibrīl nudged him and said: 'And not even at the moment when you intended toward her!' Yūsuf said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19431 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us; on the authority of Misʿar, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: After Yūsuf had said: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ, Jibrīl — or an angel — said: 'And not even on the day when you intended what you intended?' Whereupon he said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19432 — ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Misʿar related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — something similar; but he said: the angel said to him: 'And not even at the moment when you intended toward her?' — he did not say: 'or Jibrīl' — then he mentioned the rest of the ḥadīth identically.
19433 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bishr and Aḥmad ibn Bishr related to us, on the authority of Misʿar, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ — the angel said — or: Jibrīl: 'And not even at the moment when you intended toward her?' Yūsuf said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19434 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of Ibn Abī al-Hudhayl, who said: After Yūsuf had said: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ, Jibrīl said to him: 'And not even on the day when you intended what you intended?' Whereupon he said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19435 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of Ibn Abī al-Hudhayl — identically.
19436 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Misʿar informed us, on the authority of Abū Ḥaṣīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — identical to the ḥadīth of Ibn Wakīʿ, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Bishr and Aḥmad ibn Bishr, word for word.
19437 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār and Zayd ibn Ḥubbāb related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Salama, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ — Jibrīl said to him: 'Remember your intention!' Whereupon he said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19438 — Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAffān related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ — Jibrīl said: 'O Yūsuf, remember your intention!' He said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19439 — Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Sālim, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, concerning His words: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ — he said: these are the words of Yūsuf; Jibrīl said to him: 'And not even when you had loosened your undergarment?' Yūsuf said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ) — the āya.
19440 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Sālim, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ — something similar.
19441 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ — it has been related to us that the angel who was with Yūsuf said to him: 'Remember what you intended.' The Prophet of Allah said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
19442 — 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, who said: It reached me that the angel said to him — after he had said what he said: 'Do you remember your intention?' Whereupon he said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ illā mā raḥima rabbī).
19443 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His words: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ — the angel said, while nudging him in his side: 'O Yūsuf, and not even at the moment when you intended?' Whereupon he said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī).
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Mention of those who said: the one who spoke this to him was the woman.
19444 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAmr related to us, on the authority of Asbāṭ, on the authority of al-Suddī: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ — he said: Yūsuf spoke this when he was brought in, so that the ʿAzīz would know that he had not betrayed him with his wife in his absence, and that Allah does not guide the scheming of the treacherous to good. Then the wife of the ʿAzīz said: 'O Yūsuf, and not even on the day when you had loosened your undergarment?' Yūsuf said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ).
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Mention of those who said: the one who spoke this was Yūsuf himself, without anyone reminding him of it, but rather he reminded himself of what had occurred from him in that matter.
19445 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: ذَلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي كَيْدَ الْخَائِنِينَ — these are the words of Yūsuf to his king, after Allah had shown him his vindication; he recalled that he had indeed harbored the intention toward her and she toward him, and Yūsuf said: (wa-mā ubarriʾu nafsī inna al-nafsa la-ammāratun bi-al-sūʾ) — the āya.
