The moment the wife of the minister saw him, she loved him and took him like the son she never had – a theme that we also see in the life story of Musa AS when he was adopted by the wife of Pharaoh.
His life as a slave led him to live in a palace, resplendent with its comforts but also its political intrigues. Despite his status as a slave, he lived in luxury and was beloved by everyone. Therefore in the calamity of slavery, Allah granted him dignity.
His physical features became more and more exquisite as he reached adulthood. A hadith relates that Allah gave Yusuf AS half of the beauty of humankind. He was dazzling to behold, and no one has possessed beauty and radiant looks of Yusuf AS ever since.
A problem arose. The wife of his master, who at first nurtured motherly love for him, was now smitten by him. Encouraged by the corrupted environment of palace life, her love developed into an illicit desire for him. This longing grew.
It is said that she was youthful and attractive. Employing her feminine tactics, one day, she beautified herself and invited Yusuf AS into her chamber. Closing the door behind them, she tried to seduce him in the privacy of her chamber. Yusuf AS exercised self-discipline, sought refuge in Allah against this immorality, and refused her advances.
Adultery and fornication are severe crimes, from which Prophets and Messengers are protected from committing. Yusuf AS was also a mere mortal which came with it natural physical desires, but it was his piety and the sign of his Lord that refrained him from succumbing. Of this, the Qur’an says:
“And indeed did she desire him and he would have inclined to her desire, had he not seen 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.” (Qur’an 12:24)
He told her that his lord, her husband, had been good to him and he refused to betray his master.
Intoxicated by lust, she still threw herself at him. He ran away from her, but she gave chase, clutching the back of his shirt and tearing the fabric as he prised himself away from her grip. Yusuf AS ran out of the chamber to escape, threw the door open, and found himself facing her husband!
Right away, to her shocked husband, she changed her behaviour. Pretending to be the victim in this drama, she outrageously accused Yusuf AS of trying to take advantage of her in her own house.
As we had already seen in Part 1 of this story, the sinner is quick to disclaim responsibility and quick to blame others. She said, “What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your wife but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment?” (Qur’an 12: 25)
The Evidence
Yusuf AS explained that she was the one who attempted to seduce him and that he was blameless of her accusations.
The crime allegedly committed by Yusuf AS bore heavy penalties of torture and imprisonment. The husband was a fair person, and gave Yusuf AS the benefit of the doubt while the matter was investigated.
A witness from her family suggested examining his shirt. If torn from the front, she had told the truth as it indicated that she was trying to fend off his advances. However, if the shirt was torn from the back, Yusuf AS had told the truth because it would be proof that he was trying to escape her. As in his childhood, Yusuf’s AS shirt was presented as an evidence of a crime.
The shirt was torn from the back, from where she had grabbed him. The evidence presented by his shirt rang with truth.
The Qur’an says:
So when her husband saw his shirt torn from the back, he said, “Indeed, it is of the women’s plan. Indeed, your plan is great. Joseph, ignore this. And, [my wife], ask forgiveness for your sin. Indeed, you were of the sinful.” (Qur’an 12:28 – 12:29)
Therefore, Yusuf AS was shown to be innocent, and his master asked him to conceal the matter. However, this scandal was too big to contain. All palaces have their own insidious grapevines and information networks, and somehow news of the incident spread. Within a few days the whole town was talking about how the governor’s wife tried to seduce a slave boy. It made for delicious gossip, not much different from stories run by cheap tabloids in circulation today. The women in the town sneered at her actions for having fallen in love with someone so clearly below her own station in life.
It is said that the plot of a woman is great, as compared to the plot of the devil. The devil’s plans are weak and easily foiled, whereas the scheming of a woman are intricate and powerful. Hence, if a woman falls into the hands of Shaitan, she is a malleable tool that can be manipulated by him to wreak havoc and destruction on society.
To save herself from being completely discredited, she invited these women for a banquet. She seated her guests and gave them fruits and sharp knives as part of the feast. Then, at the strategic time, she instructed Yusuf AS, who was dressed magnificently, to make an entrance and stand before them.
The ladies were so enraptured by this vision of beauty that they forgot themselves, and sliced their fingers instead of the fruit! They immediately cried out that he was not a human being but an angel!
Thus vindicated in the eyes of her peers, the proud lady of the house declared:
“This is he (the young man) about whom you did blame me, and I did seek to seduce him, but he refused. And now, if he refuses to obey my order, he shall certainly be case into prison, and will be one of those who is disgraced.” (Qur’an 12:32)
This was a corrupt company, for now, the women, realising the extent of his physical attributes, understood what fuelled her passion. In her support, used all means of pressure and persuasion, from every angle, for Yusuf AS to follow the command of the mistress, promising him numerous favours and rewards for agreeing to provide her with sexual favours.
A Prison or an Asylum?
Prophets and Messengers are not as supremely vulnerable as normal human beings. However, Yusuf AS was also of normal flesh and blood. He turned to Allah to save him from this situation, where if left to continue, he might feel inclined to give in to their desires and indulge in their wrongdoing.
He said: “O my Lord! Prison is dearer to me than that to which they invite me. Unless You turn away their plot from me, I will feel inclined towards them and be on (of those who commit sin and deserve blame or those who do deeds) of the ignorant.” (Qur’an 12:33)
Therefore, even with proof of his innocence apparent, he was imprisoned. This is reminiscent of society throughout the ages, where the innocent, at the order of the powerful, can be incarcerated indefinitely and for no justification. However, Yusuf AS preferred jail to committing a major sin such as the one asked for by the women.
Life in a Prison Cell
All Prophets and Messengers have to undergo calamities, a timing for preparation of revelation. Also, Messengers and Prophets need some time by themselves to worship and meditate alone, and think and wonder about Allah. Such isolation from the enticements of the material world generates patience and sincerity with Allah, and cannot be gained by mixing with other people.
The signs of Yusuf’s AS prophethood began to manifest themselves. He started inviting others towards Allah, and it is said that he was the only Muslim in this society at the time.
People around him recognized the signs of his piety. Narrated by Abu Hurairah that the Messenger SAW said that “The good dream of a man who is salih is a forty-sixth part of prophecy.” (Malik’s Muwatta). This is in respect of a clear dream from Allah, not the normal jumbled imaginings and fantasies that most of us have. In respect of Prophets and Messengers, their dreams are prophetic visions. Thus his reputation as the interpreter of signs and dreams spread.
And when Joseph reached maturity, We gave him judgment and knowledge. And thus We reward the doers of good. (Qur’an 12:22)
One day, he was met by two young prisoners, a baker and a cupbearer (a bartender or mixer of drinks) who wanted to consult him on their dreams.
One of them said, “Indeed, I have seen myself [in a dream] pressing wine.” The other said, “Indeed, I have seen myself carrying upon my head [some] bread, from which the birds were eating. Inform us of its interpretation; indeed, we see you to be of those who do good.” (Qur’an 12:36)
With the will of Allah, Yusuf could predict the food that would arrive for them. He tried to give them da’wah, calling upon others to follow the religion of his forefathers in ancestry and prophethood – Ibrahim AS, Ishaq AS and Yaqub AS. He asked them not to associate anything with Allah, and to worship one single God. He asked them to only obey Allah’s laws, and to worship none but Him.
In response to their initial question, Yusuf AS said:
O two companions of prison, as for one of you, he will give drink to his master of wine; but as for the other, he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from his head. The matter has been decreed about which you both inquire. (Qur’an 12:41)
The baker was to be executed and the cupbearer was to be released into the king’s employment. The matter had already been ordained and the topic was closed. There was no changing what had already been ordained – their fates were sealed.
Very soon, his prediction came to pass. The baker was crucified and the cupbearer was set free. Before the cupbearer was released from prison, Yusuf AS asked him to mention his case before his master. Yusuf AS wanted the cupbearer to remind the authorities of his wrongful imprisonment. However, Shaitan made the cupbearer forget to make this mention, resulting in Yusuf AS being imprisoned for a few more years.
Time to Reflect
The Power of Lust
In this story we see the shocking effects of uncontrollable lust. The wife of Yusuf’s AS master was so dominated by desire that she lost all reason, behaving in irrationally and shamefully, just to satisfy the cravings of the flesh. This is reminiscent of the people of Lut AS, whose desires drove them into a frenzied mob.
By the same token, Yusuf AS, realised his fallibility. After all, the incident happened when he was at his physical prime. To save himself from immoral acts, he turned to Allah for help and protection. This is a lesson for all of us. In the time of weakness and temptation, we should turn to Allah for strength and fortification against such desires.
Refraining at all costs
Ultimately, when the wife of Yusuf’s AS master still persisted in trying to get what she wanted from him, Yusuf AS preferred imprisonment to sin. To him, prison was infinitely better than indulging in such a major sin as fornication. His physical and spiritual purity took precedence over his surroundings. Today, when we think of all the temptations around us, sometimes even encouraged by society and the media we are continuously exposed to, would be set the same benchmark for ourselves? Incidents of sexual pressure amongst friends, in colleges and even in the workplace are not uncommon, and most of us have faced this issue at one time or other. We should remember the story of Yusuf AS, who maintained his chastity, even at the price of his physical liberty.
What is a Prison?
Throughout the strange turn of events in the life of Yusuf AS, we see a noticeable absence of self pity. Instead, he displayed patience at all the calamities, temptations and desires, never letting go of his faith in Allah. There was no incident of emotional breakdowns or despair. There is no mention of bitter complaints that he made against those who oppressed him. Instead, he continued on his mission in life with dignity, which is to continue spreading the message of Allah.
We may view the prison as a place of punishment, but in this context, it was also a spiritual asylum for Yusuf AS, as it protected him the adultery and fornication demanded by the wife of his master.
This displays the ultimate liberation – although his body was behind bars, his soul was very much at peace. Patience in Allah’s decree is a beautiful virtue, highly encouraged by Islam.
Trust in Allah alone
In one momentary lapse, we see that Yusuf AS placed his hopes on another human being, the cup bearer, instead of in Allah alone. It was Allah who had saved him from being murdered by his brothers, rescued him from the bottom of the well and placed him in a palace during his childhood years whereas he was a mere slave. At the moment where Yusuf AS asked the cupbearer for help, he put reliance on the cupbearer to rescue him instead of relying solely on Allah.
According to some scholars, the additional years in prison (by some accounts, slightly less than a decade) was Allah’s way of punishing Yusuf AS for a small mistake that he had made. Prophets and Messengers are only human, but whenever they are in error, their punishment is immediate. We saw this in the story of Yunus AS.
As human beings, we should take heed. Rather than believing in the power of others to help us, we should always remember that our first and last recourse should be with Allah alone. He is the one who can extricate us from any situation, no matter how impossible. All we need is unqualified faith in Him.
