What Was the Greater Trial Yusuf Faced After the Well, and Why Was It Harder to Bear?
ما البلاء الأعظم الذي واجهه يوسف بعد البئر، ولماذا كان أشد احتمالا؟
Yusuf had the beauty, perfection, splendor, and goodness that made the wife of Al-Aziz ask him to engage in an act of indecency with her. Because he was her servant and under her care, and they lived in the same house, it would have been easy for him to do so discreetly. The woman set the scene for this crime, and Yusuf felt trapped. She locked the doors so that no one would enter, and so the room became safe, and then she seduced him. Yusuf was a stranger in that country, and no one knew him, and it would have been easy for him to comply with her wishes, unlike someone known in their own country and afraid for their reputation. He was her servant and a young man, and she was a woman from the upper class, and there was no doubt about her beauty. She threatened that if he did not do what she ordered, she would imprison him or inflict a painful torment upon him. Yet with all these reasons, Yusuf was patient and refrained from sinning in glorification of Allah, so he said, “Allah is my refuge,” and said it was not appropriate to meet the charity of the man who brought him into his house and ordered that he be treated with dignity and kindness with this act of betrayal to his family, “it is not right to betray my master, who has taken good care of me,” and whoever does so is unjust, and the oppressor is never successful. Yusuf wanted to escape from the woman and raced towards the door to end this seduction, and the woman followed him, “they raced for the door,” and she grabbed him by his shirt and it tore from the back. When they reached the door, they found her husband, Al-Aziz, unexpectedly there. Al-Aziz witnessed what no one would be happy to see, so the woman instantly lied and said it was Yusuf who had tried to seduce her, and said, “What is the penalty for someone who tried to violate your wife?” She said “who tried to violate” and did not say “who did violate your wife,” because she acquitted herself and him of the act. Then she mentioned the crime and its punishment, and suggested a light sentence for Yusuf, because she was so infatuated with him and did not want him killed. The punishment she suggested was imprisonment or painful torture. Yusuf defended himself, even though he was a stranger and a servant in the house of the master, because no one should surrender to these accusations, as they tarnish a person’s reputation for as long as they live, unless Allah shows their innocence. He said, “It was she who tried to seduce me.” Because the possibility of both honesty and lying was there, Allah caused one of her relatives to testify, saying, the shirt is the indicator of honesty or lying: if the shirt is ripped from the front, it is a sign that he approached her and she tried to defend herself and so tore the shirt, but if it was ripped from behind, it is a sign that he was running away and she wanted to catch up with him and caught him by the shirt. “If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth and he is a liar. But if it is torn from the back, then she has lied and he is truthful.” When they saw the shirt was torn from the back, it was a sign of Yusuf’s innocence from the charge against him. “So when her husband saw that Yusuf’s shirt was torn from the back.” When Al-Aziz was convinced of what happened, he said to Yusuf, “O Yusuf, forget about this,” meaning do not speak of it and forget it and do not mention it to anyone, to cover up for his family, “and you, O wife, seek forgiveness for your sin.” This ordeal was greater for Yusuf than the ordeal of his brothers throwing him in the well, and the patience required for it carried a greater reward, because his patience in this case was by choice. There were many reasons for the opportunity to give in to his desire, yet Yusuf preferred Allah’s love and was patient. His ordeal with his brothers, and his patience toward it, was not by choice, meaning he had no option but to be patient and hope for Allah’s reward for his patience, the same as when one is afflicted with sickness and disease and has no refuge but patience. “And the lady, in whose house he lived, tried to seduce him. She locked the doors firmly and said, ‘Come to me!’ He replied, ‘Allah is my refuge! It is not right to betray my master, who has taken good care of me. Indeed, the wrongdoers never succeed.’ She advanced towards him, and he would have done likewise, had he not seen a sign from his Lord. This is how We kept evil and indecency away from him, for he was truly one of Our chosen servants. They raced for the door and she tore his shirt from the back, only to find her husband at the door. She cried, ‘What is the penalty for someone who tried to violate your wife, except imprisonment or a painful punishment?’ Yusuf responded, ‘It was she who tried to seduce me.’ And a witness from her own family testified, ‘If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth and he is a liar. But if it is torn from the back, then she has lied and he is truthful.’ So when her husband saw that Yusuf’s shirt was torn from the back, he said to her, ‘This must be an example of the cunning of you women! Indeed, your cunning is so shrewd'” (Surah Yusuf 12:23-28).
كان ليوسف من الجمال والكمال والبهاء والحسن ما جعل امرأة العزيز تطلب منه أن يواقعها مواقعة الأزواج، وهو غلامها وتحت تدبيرها، ومسكنهما واحد، فقد يتيسر إيقاع ما تصبو إليه المرأة دون أن يشعر أحد أو يحس به بشر. هيّأت المرأة الأجواء لهذه الجريمة، فازدادت المصيبة على يوسف، فقامت المرأة بتغليق الأبواب لئلا يدخل عليها أحد، فصار المحل خاليا وهما آمنان من دخول أحد عليهما، وقد دعته إلى نفسها. يوسف عليه السلام رجل غريب على تلك البلاد لا يعرفه أهلها، ومن كان كذلك فقد لا يمتنع عما يمتنع عنه من كان في وطنه وبين معارفه، كما أنه خادم مملوك أسير تحت يد، وتلك المرأة لأنها من علية القوم فلا ريب أن يكون فيها من الجمال ما يدعو إلى الإذعان والخضوع لطلبها، وهو شاب عزب، وقد توعدته إن لم يفعل ما تأمره به بالسجن أو العذاب الأليم. ومع كل هذه الدواعي صبر يوسف عن معصية الله إجلالا لله وتعظيما له، ولذا قال: معاذ الله، كما أنه لا يليق أن يقابل إحسان الرجل الذي أدخله في بيته وأمر بإكرامه والإحسان إليه بهذا الفعل خيانة لأهله: إنه ربي أحسن مثواي، ومن فعل ذلك فإنه ظالم، والظالم لا يفلح ولا يوفق. ذهب يوسف عليه السلام ليهرب من تلك المرأة ويبادر إلى الخروج من الباب ليتخلص من هذه الفتنة، والمرأة تلحق به: واستبقا الباب، فبادرت إليه وتعلقت بقميصه حتى شقته من ظهره. وصلا إلى الباب في تلك الحال، فظهر ما لم يكن في الحسبان، إذ وجدا الزوج، وهو العزيز، لدى الباب. رأى العزيز ما لا يسر الرائي برؤيته، فبادرت المرأة إلى الكذب بأن المراودة قد كانت من يوسف، وقالت: مَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا، ولم تقل: من فعل بأهلك سوءا، تبرئة لها وله من الفعل، ثم ذكرت امرأة العزيز التهمة وأصدرت العقوبة المخففة لأن قلبها متعلق بيوسف، ولئلا يعاقب بقتل أو نحوه، ذكرت هي العقوبة، وهي السجن أو العذاب الموجع. دافع يوسف عن نفسه على الرغم من أنه غريب وخادم في بيت السيد، إلا أن هذه الجرائم لا يصلح الاستسلام لها لأنها تلطخ سمعة الإنسان ما حيي، إلا أن يظهر الله براءته، قال: هِيَ رَاوَدَتْنِي عَن نَّفْسِي. ومع احتمال الصدق والكذب في أحد الطرفين، أنطق الله أحد أقاربها ليشهد بما يقتضيه العقل وهو الموافق للحق، فقال: القميص هو القرينة على الصدق أو الكذب، فلو انقطع القميص من القُبل فذلك علامة على أنه اقترب منها فحاولت الدفاع عن نفسها حتى مزقت القميص، ولو انقطع من الخلف فهو علامة على أنه يهرب وهي تريد اللحاق به. قَالَ هِيَ رَاوَدَتْنِي عَن نَّفْسِي ۚ وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا إِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن قُبُلٍ فَصَدَقَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ ﴿٢٦﴾ وَإِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ فَكَذَبَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ ﴿٢٧﴾. فلما اطلعوا على القميص ورأوه قد انقطع من دبره لا من قُبله، كان علامة على براءة يوسف من التهمة التي نُسبت إليه: فَلَمَّا رَأَىٰ قَمِيصَهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ. ولما تحقق العزيز من الأمر، قال ليوسف: يُوسُفُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَـٰذَا، أي اترك الكلام فيه وتناسه ولا تذكره لأحد، طلبا للستر على أهله، وَاسْتَغْفِرِي أيتها المرأة لِذَنبِكِ إِنَّكِ كُنتِ مِنَ الْخَاطِئِينَ. وهذه المحنة العظيمة أعظم على يوسف من محنة إلقائه في البئر، وصبره عليها أعظم أجرا، لأنه صبر اختيار مع وجود الدواعي الكثيرة لوقوع الفعل، لكن يوسف قدّم محبة الله على هوى النفس. وأما محنته بإخوته فصبره صبر اضطرار، أي ليس له من خيار إلا أن يصبر ويحتسب الأجر عند الله، بمنزلة الأمراض والمكاره التي تصيب العبد بغير اختياره وليس له ملجأ إلا الصبر. وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الَّتِي هُوَ فِي بَيْتِهَا عَن نَّفْسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الْأَبْوَابَ وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ ۚ قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللَّـهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ رَبِّي أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَايَ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ ﴿٢٣﴾ وَلَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ ۖ وَهَمَّ بِهَا لَوْلَا أَن رَّأَىٰ بُرْهَانَ رَبِّهِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ لِنَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ السُّوءَ وَالْفَحْشَاءَ ۚ إِنَّهُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا الْمُخْلَصِينَ ﴿٢٤﴾ وَاسْتَبَقَا الْبَابَ وَقَدَّتْ قَمِيصَهُ مِن دُبُرٍ وَأَلْفَيَا سَيِّدَهَا لَدَى الْبَابِ ۚ قَالَتْ مَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِأَهْلِكَ سُوءًا إِلَّا أَن يُسْجَنَ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴿٢٥﴾ قَالَ هِيَ رَاوَدَتْنِي عَن نَّفْسِي ۚ وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌ مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا إِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن قُبُلٍ فَصَدَقَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ ﴿٢٦﴾ وَإِن كَانَ قَمِيصُهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ فَكَذَبَتْ وَهُوَ مِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ ﴿٢٧﴾ فَلَمَّا رَأَىٰ قَمِيصَهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ قَالَ إِنَّهُ مِن كَيْدِكُنَّ ۖ إِنَّ كَيْدَكُنَّ عَظِيمٌ ﴿٢٨﴾ (سورة يوسف: 23-28).
1. Why Choice Makes Patience Harder | لماذا يجعل الاختيار الصبر أشد
The original answer’s own conclusion, that this trial outweighed the well, rests on a specific distinction Islamic scholarship draws between two kinds of patience: sabr idtirar, forced patience with no alternative, and sabr ikhtiyar, patience chosen while a real alternative was available and appealing. Yusuf could not choose whether to be thrown in a well, but he could have chosen to sin here, and every circumstance, isolation, anonymity, threat, and attraction, made that choice easy. That he chose otherwise is precisely what the Quran and this answer treat as of greater weight.
يستند استنتاج الإجابة الأصلية، بأن هذا الابتلاء أثقل من ابتلاء البئر، إلى تمييز محدد يرسمه العلم الشرعي بين نوعين من الصبر: صبر اضطرار لا خيار فيه، وصبر اختيار يُصبر فيه مع وجود بديل حقيقي متاح ومغرٍ. فيوسف لم يكن له خيار في إلقائه بالبئر، لكن كان بإمكانه أن يختار المعصية هنا، وكل الظروف، من عزلة وغربة وتهديد وإغراء، جعلت هذا الاختيار سهلا. وكونه اختار خلاف ذلك هو بالضبط ما يعده القرآن الكريم وهذه الإجابة أثقل وزنا.
2. “A Sign From His Lord” | برهان ربه
Surah Yusuf 12:24 credits Yusuf’s restraint to “a sign from his Lord,” burhan rabbihi, a phrase classical commentators read as divine protection strengthening his own resolve at the critical moment rather than removing his agency entirely. The verse pairs human effort with divine support, Yusuf’s own refusal (“Allah is my refuge”) together with Allah’s intervention, a partnership the Quran credits for keeping him among “Our chosen servants.”
تنسب سورة يوسف 12:24 تعفف يوسف إلى “برهان من ربه”، وهي عبارة يفسرها المفسرون الكلاسيكيون بأنها حماية إلهية تعزز عزمه في اللحظة الحاسمة لا أنها تلغي إرادته كليا. وتجمع الآية بين الجهد البشري والتأييد الإلهي: رفض يوسف نفسه (“معاذ الله”) إلى جانب تدخل الله، وهي شراكة يعزو إليها القرآن الكريم بقاءه من “عباده المخلصين”.
3. Physical Evidence Settling a Case With No Witnesses | دليل مادي يحسم قضية بلا شهود
The household relative’s forensic-style reasoning, reading the direction of a tear in fabric to determine who pursued whom, is one of the earliest examples in the Quran of physical evidence resolving a dispute where no other witnesses existed. Scholars point to this passage as an early precedent for evidentiary reasoning in Islamic jurisprudence, judging a claim by tangible proof rather than by social status, since here the household servant’s word was ultimately vindicated over his employer’s wife.
يمثل الاستدلال شبه الجنائي لقريب الأسرة، بقراءة اتجاه تمزق القماش لتحديد من طارد من، أحد أقدم الأمثلة في القرآن الكريم على حسم نزاع بدليل مادي في غياب أي شهود آخرين. ويشير العلماء إلى هذا المقطع كسابقة مبكرة للاستدلال بالبينة في الفقه الإسلامي، إذ تُحكم الدعوى بالدليل الملموس لا بالمكانة الاجتماعية، فقد ثبتت هنا صدق كلمة الخادم على حساب زوجة سيده.
4. A Cover-Up That Did Not Erase the Consequences | تستّر لم يمحُ العواقب
Al-Aziz’s instruction to “forget about this” protected his household’s reputation, but it did not fully protect Yusuf, whose innocence, though established within the home, still led to imprisonment shortly after, covered in the questions that follow in this subcategory. This gap between private vindication and public consequence is a detail scholars use to illustrate how injustice can persist even after the truth has already been established.
حمت وصية العزيز بـ”الإعراض عن هذا” سمعة بيته، لكنها لم تحمِ يوسف كاملا، إذ إن براءته، رغم ثبوتها داخل البيت، أفضت بعد ذلك بوقت قصير إلى سجنه، وهو ما تتناوله الأسئلة التالية في هذا القسم الفرعي. وتُستخدم هذه الفجوة بين البراءة الخاصة والعاقبة العلنية كمثال يوضح كيف يمكن للظلم أن يستمر حتى بعد ثبوت الحق.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What trial did Yusuf face in Al-Aziz’s household?
Al-Aziz’s wife locked the doors and tried to seduce him, and he refused out of devotion to Allah and loyalty to his master.
How was Yusuf’s innocence proven?
A family member reasoned that a shirt torn from the back proved he was fleeing, not pursuing her.
Why is this trial considered greater than being thrown in the well?
Because his patience here was a matter of free choice with every incentive to give in, unlike the well, where he had no choice at all.