Did Yusuf Leave Prison Immediately When the King Sent for Him?
هل خرج يوسف عليه السلام من السجن من فوره حين أرسل المَلِك في طلبه؟
Not at first. When the king’s messenger came to bring him out of prison, by order of the king, who wanted to hear him and verify his truthfulness, he refused to accompany them until the king and his entourage were assured of his innocence and chastity against the accusations of Al-Aziz’s wife. Yusuf told the messenger, “Tell the king to ask the women who cut their hands at the home of Al-Aziz’s wife why they reacted that way, their answers will reveal my innocence of what I have been accused of.” When they asked them, they told the truth about Yusuf, and the Chief Minister’s wife then admitted that it was she who had tried to seduce Yusuf and he had resisted. “The King then said, ‘Bring him to me.’ When the messenger came to him, Yusuf said, ‘Go back to your master and ask him about the case of the women who cut their hands. Surely my Lord has full knowledge of their cunning.’ The King asked the women, ‘What did you get when you tried to seduce Yusuf?’ They replied, ‘Allah forbid! We know nothing indecent about him.’ Then the Chief Minister’s wife admitted, ‘Now the truth has come to light. It was I who tried to seduce him, and he is surely truthful. From this, Yusuf should know that I did not speak dishonestly about him in his absence, for Allah certainly does not guide the scheming of the dishonest'” (Surah Yusuf 12:50-52).
لما جاء رسول المَلِك إلى يوسف عليه السلام ليخرجه من السجن بأمر المَلِك الذي أراد أن يستمع منه ويتحقق من صدقه، امتنع من الخروج حتى يتحقق المَلِك ومن حوله من براءته مما نسب إليه من قِبَل امرأة العزيز. فقال يوسف لرسول المَلِك: قل للمَلِك أن يسأل النسوة اللاتي قطعن أيديهن حينما كن عند امرأة العزيز لماذا فعلن ذلك، وفي جوابهن ما يكشف عن براءتي. فلما سألهن، قلن الحقيقة عن يوسف عليه السلام، واعترفت حينئذ امرأة العزيز أنها هي التي حاولت إغواءه. قال الله تعالى: وَقَالَ الْمَلِكُ ائْتُونِي بِهِ ۖ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُ الرَّسُولُ قَالَ ارْجِعْ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَاسْأَلْهُ مَا بَالُ النِّسْوَةِ اللَّاتِي قَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي بِكَيْدِهِنَّ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٥٠﴾ قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُنَّ إِذْ رَاوَدتُّنَّ يُوسُفَ عَن نَّفْسِهِ ۚ قُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّـهِ مَا عَلِمْنَا عَلَيْهِ مِن سُوءٍ ۚ قَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ الْعَزِيزِ الْآنَ حَصْحَصَ الْحَقُّ أَنَا رَاوَدتُّهُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ ﴿٥١﴾ ذَٰلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ وَأَنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يَهْدِي كَيْدَ الْخَائِنِينَ ﴿٥٢﴾ (سورة يوسف: 50-52).
1. What Her Confession Meant | معنى اعترافها
Surah Yusuf 12:52 records Al-Aziz’s wife explaining her own reason for admitting the truth, “so he would know I did not betray him in his absence.” The exegetes read these words in more than one way. Al-Qurtubi and al-Sa’di explain them as the wife’s words: she confessed so that Yusuf would know she had not lied about him in his absence. Ibn Kathir, and al-Sa’di as another possibility, take “him” to be her husband: she had tried to seduce Yusuf, but she had not betrayed her husband in deed. Al-Tabari takes them as Yusuf’s own words about his master, reporting this from Mujahid and Ibn Ishaq.
في قوله تعالى: (ذَٰلِكَ لِيَعْلَمَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَخُنْهُ بِالْغَيْبِ) (يوسف 12: 52) بيانٌ من امرأة العزيز لسبب اعترافها بالحق. وللمفسرين في هذه الكلمات أكثر من قول: فذكر القرطبي والسعدي أنها من كلام امرأة العزيز، أي أقرّت ليعلم يوسف أنها لم تكذب عليه في غيبته. وجعل ابن كثير الضمير لزوجها، وهو احتمال آخر عند السعدي، أي أنها راودت يوسف، لكنها لم تخن زوجها بفعل الفاحشة. وجعلها الطبري من كلام يوسف عليه السلام عن سيده، ونقل ذلك عن مجاهد وابن إسحاق.
2. A Principle Stated as Fact, Not Just Description | قاعدةٌ عامة لا وصفٌ لحادثة
The verse closes with a general statement, “Allah does not guide the scheming of the dishonest,” framed not as commentary on this one incident but as a universal principle. This shift from a specific confession to a broad truth uses a single episode to establish a lesson that applies far beyond the individuals involved.
وختم الله تعالى الآية بقوله: (وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي كَيْدَ الْخَائِنِينَ) (يوسف 12: 52)، فجاءت قاعدةً عامة، لا تعليقًا على هذه الحادثة وحدها. وبهذا الانتقال من اعتراف بعينه إلى حقيقة عامة، تصير الحادثة الواحدة درسًا عامًّا يتجاوز أصحابها.
3. The Full Sequence of His Release | تسلسل الأحداث حتى خروجه
This question focuses narrowly on Yusuf’s refusal and the wife’s final words. The complete sequence, the king’s dream, the interpretation, and everything leading up to this moment of vindication, is covered in full in Why Was Yusuf Released From Prison, and What Events Led to His Great Position in Egypt?
يقتصر هذا الجواب على امتناع يوسف عليه السلام عن الخروج وعلى ما قالته امرأة العزيز آخر الأمر. أما تسلسل الأحداث كاملًا، من رؤيا المَلِك وتأويلها إلى كل ما سبق ظهور براءته، فقد بيّناه في جواب: لماذا خرج يوسف عليه السلام من السجن، وما الأحداث التي أفضت إلى منصبه الرفيع في مصر؟
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Did Yusuf leave prison as soon as the king summoned him?
No, he refused until his innocence was investigated and confirmed.
Why did Al-Aziz’s wife say she was confessing?
In one reading (al-Qurtubi, al-Sa’di), so that Yusuf would know she had not lied about him in his absence; Ibn Kathir reads the pronoun as her husband, who should know she had not betrayed him in deed (Surah Yusuf 12:52).
What general principle does the verse state?
That Allah does not guide the scheming of the dishonest.