How Did Al-Aziz’s Wife Defend Herself When the Women of the City Gossiped About Her?
كيف دافعت امرأة العزيز عن نفسها أمام نساء المدينة؟
She invited them all to her house and prepared a meal for them and gave them knives, then she asked Yusuf to come out to them. When the women saw him, they gasped and cut their hands with the knives they had, while they were dazzled by him. She told them, “So how could you wrong me for my feelings for him?” They said, “He is not human, rather he is one of the noble angels.” “Some women of the city gossiped, ‘The Chief Minister’s wife is trying to seduce her slave-boy. Love for him has plagued her heart. Indeed, we see that she is clearly mistaken.’ When she heard about their gossip, she invited them and set a banquet for them. She gave each one a knife, then said to Yusuf, ‘Come out before them.’ When they saw him, they were so stunned by his beauty that they cut their hands, and exclaimed, ‘Good Allah! This cannot be human; this must be a noble angel!'” (Surah Yusuf 12:30-31).
أرسلت امرأة العزيز إلى نساء المدينة تدعوهن إلى منزلها، وأعدت لهن مفارش وسكاكين مع طعام، وأمرت يوسف عليه السلام أن يدخل عليهن. فلما رأته النسوة أعظمن شأنه وأجللن قدره، وجعلن يجرحن أيديهن دهشا برؤيته. قالت لهن: فكيف أُلام أنا؟ فقلن: هذا ليس بشرا من الناس، وإنما هو أحد ملائكة الله المكرمين. وَقَالَ نِسْوَةٌ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ امْرَأَتُ الْعَزِيزِ تُرَاوِدُ فَتَاهَا عَن نَّفْسِهِ ۖ قَدْ شَغَفَهَا حُبًّا ۖ إِنَّا لَنَرَاهَا فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ ﴿٣٠﴾ فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ بِمَكْرِهِنَّ أَرْسَلَتْ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَعْتَدَتْ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً وَآتَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِّنْهُنَّ سِكِّينًا وَقَالَتِ اخْرُجْ عَلَيْهِنَّ ۖ فَلَمَّا رَأَيْنَهُ أَكْبَرْنَهُ وَقَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ وَقُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّـهِ مَا هَـٰذَا بَشَرًا إِنْ هَـٰذَا إِلَّا مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ ﴿٣١﴾ (سورة يوسف: 30-31).
1. A Defense That Proved Her Point Rather Than Denying It | دفاع أثبت وجهة نظرها بدلا من إنكارها
Rather than deny her feelings, Al-Aziz’s wife chose to demonstrate why they were understandable, staging a scene calculated to make her critics experience the same overwhelming reaction she had. This unconventional defense, proving a point through direct experience rather than argument, shows a shrewdness the Quran had already flagged earlier in the story when Al-Aziz called her behavior “the cunning of you women.”
بدلا من إنكار مشاعرها، اختارت امرأة العزيز أن تُثبت لماذا كانت مفهومة، فدبّرت مشهدا محسوبا ليجعل منتقداتها يعشن رد الفعل الطاغي نفسه الذي عاشته. ويكشف هذا الدفاع غير المألوف، إثبات وجهة النظر بالتجربة المباشرة لا بالحجة، عن دهاء سبق أن أشار إليه القرآن الكريم في القصة حين وصف العزيز تصرفها بـ”كيدكن”.
2. A Detail That Reveals the Scale of the Reaction | تفصيل يكشف حجم رد الفعل
That the women cut their own hands without noticing, so absorbed were they by what they saw, is one of the Quran’s most vivid single images, conveying a reaction beyond ordinary admiration without needing to describe Yusuf’s appearance directly at all. Commentators note the Quran never once describes Yusuf’s physical features explicitly anywhere in the surah; his beauty is always shown through the reactions of others, this scene being the most striking example.
إن جرح النساء أيديهن دون أن يشعرن، لفرط انشغالهن بما رأينه، من أكثر الصور المفردة حيوية في القرآن الكريم، إذ تنقل رد فعل يتجاوز الإعجاب العادي دون الحاجة إلى وصف مظهر يوسف مباشرة على الإطلاق. ويلاحظ المفسرون أن القرآن الكريم لم يصف مطلقا ملامح يوسف الجسدية صراحة في أي موضع من السورة؛ بل يُظهر جماله دوما عبر ردود أفعال الآخرين، وهذا المشهد أبرز مثال على ذلك.
3. A Public Vindication That Became a Private Trap | تبرئة علنية تحولت إلى فخ خاص
While the banquet succeeded in making the other women sympathize with her, it also publicly confirmed Yusuf’s extraordinary beauty before an audience, arguably intensifying the pressure on him rather than resolving anything in his favor. What happened next, how this incident led directly to Yusuf’s imprisonment, is covered in the questions that follow in this subcategory.
ومع أن المأدبة نجحت في جعل بقية النساء يتعاطفن معها، فإنها أيضا أكدت علنا جمال يوسف غير العادي أمام حضور، ما يمكن القول إنه زاد الضغط عليه بدلا من أن يحل أي شيء لصالحه. وما حدث بعد ذلك، وكيف أدى هذا الحادث مباشرة إلى سجن يوسف، تتناوله الأسئلة التالية في هذا القسم الفرعي.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
How did Al-Aziz’s wife respond to the city’s gossip about her?
She invited the women to a banquet, gave them knives, and had Yusuf walk in among them.
What happened when the women saw Yusuf?
They were so stunned by his beauty that they cut their own hands without noticing, exclaiming he must be an angel.
Does the Quran ever physically describe Yusuf’s appearance?
No, his beauty is always conveyed through the reactions of others rather than direct description.