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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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The story of Yusuf, peace be upon him,

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with the wife of the 'Aziz.

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Truthfulness has clear signs.

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Indeed, Allah's promise is true and never fails,

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and Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, has promised to grant victory to His prophets and messengers, saying:

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“Lo! We verily do help Our messengers, and those who believe, in the life of the world and on the day when the witnesses arise,” (40:51)

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“The day when their excuse availeth not the evil-doers, and theirs is the curse, and theirs the ill abode.” (40:52)

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"and theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be the evil abode."

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And He also promised to defend the believers generally,

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as He, the Exalted, said:

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“Lo! Allah defendeth those who are true. Lo! Allah loveth not each treacherous ingrate.” (22:38)

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“Lo! Allah defendeth those who are true. Lo! Allah loveth not each treacherous ingrate.” (22:38)

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How, then, did Allah grant victory to Yusuf, peace be upon him, in this incident?

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The details of the scene

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revolve around the accusation brought by the wife of the 'Aziz against Yusuf, alleging that he tried to assault her.

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Yusuf, peace be upon him, refuted this accusation, stating that she was the one who sought to assault him.

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The 'Aziz of Egypt was confronted with two conflicting claims,

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one of which inevitably had to be true, and the other false,

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for two opposites can never be reconciled, neither logically nor according to the sacred law.

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Here, a third party intervened with an appeal to pure rational deduction,

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which guided them toward discerning the truthful party from the liar.

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That was the witness whom Allah mentioned in His saying:

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“(Joseph) said: She it was who asked of me an evil act. And a witness of her own folk testified: If his shirt is torn from before, then she speaketh truth and he is of the liars.” (12:26)

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But who was this witness?

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And is there any substantial benefit in knowing his exact identity?

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The sound methodology that we ought to adhere to

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in reflecting upon the Qur'an, comprehending its meanings, and drawing admonition from its exhortations,

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is to suffice ourselves with what Allah has related to us in His Book,

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and what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, clarified for us in his Sunnah regarding the verses.

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As for what Allah has concealed from us and left unexplained,

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delving into it will yield no certain conclusion,

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nor will the benefit gained from it be of any significant value.

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For had there been an admonition or a benefit for us in knowing it,

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Allah would certainly have mentioned and clarified it for us,

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or His Messenger, peace be upon him, would have elucidated it for us.

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Pursuing this is merely curiosity about obscure and ambiguous matters,

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and preoccupying the soul away from the clear, evident truths

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that were recounted to us for contemplation and moral instruction.

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Indeed, this is the way of Iblis to divert people from understanding the Noble Qur'an.

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Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, described the witness as being from her own household.

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His being a witness to the incident

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implies that he was present with the 'Aziz

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when Yusuf and the wife of the 'Aziz raced to the door.

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This means that the 'Aziz was not the only one who witnessed the scene,

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making the concealment of such an event from society exceedingly difficult.

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And since the witness belonged to her household,

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what is normally expected is that a woman's family will side with her

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and defend her even through falsehood, because she represents their honor and her conduct reflects disgrace upon them.

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Yet this witness did not do so;

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rather, he treated both disputants with justice: Yusuf, peace be upon him,

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and the wife of the 'Aziz, who was his own relative.

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In this lies an important lesson for us:

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that we must never show bias toward either party in a dispute

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on account of kinship between us and them,

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or out of tribal solidarity,

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or due to affiliation with a particular group.

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For doing so constitutes ruling unjustly by falsehood.

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Indeed, Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, has commanded us to judge with justice, even if it be against ourselves.

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He, the Exalted, said:

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"O you who have believed,

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be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah,

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even if it be against yourselves,

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even if it be against yourselves

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or parents and relatives.

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Whether one is rich or poor,

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Allah is more worthy of both.

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So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just.

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And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it],

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then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted."

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Another remarkable aspect concerning this witness

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is that he was a sensible, perceptive, and deeply discerning man,

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who utilized his intellect to distinguish truth from falsehood.

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He guided them to identify the truthful from the untruthful by examining the circumstantial evidence surrounding the event,

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saying: "If his shirt is torn from the front..."

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“(Joseph) said: She it was who asked of me an evil act. And a witness of her own folk testified: If his shirt is torn from before, then she speaketh truth and he is of the liars.” (12:26)

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“And if his shirt is torn from behind, then she hath lied and he is of the truthful.” (12:27)

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“And if his shirt is torn from behind, then she hath lied and he is of the truthful.” (12:27)

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This logical deduction dictates:

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let us examine the tear in the shirt to see from which side it occurred.

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It can only be one of two possibilities:

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either the tear is from the front,

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which would serve as circumstantial evidence that Yusuf assaulted the woman,

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and that she defended herself by tearing his shirt;

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and in that case, she would be telling the truth in her claim,

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while he would be lying in his;

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or the tear is from behind,

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which is proof that Yusuf was fleeing from the woman's assault upon him;

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and in that case, Yusuf would be telling the truth in his claim,

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while she would be lying in hers.

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Thus, it behooves everyone upon whom Allah has bestowed the blessing of intellect

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to utilize it in distinguishing truth from falsehood

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through the circumstantial evidence that points toward it,

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without partisanship toward nationality or lineage,

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or affiliation with any particular group.

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For such bias obstructs the intellect from arriving at the truth

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when conflicting claims are raised

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and viewpoints and opinions diverge on any given issue.

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Judging on the basis of circumstantial evidence is a valid and recognized proof in Islamic law,

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used to discern truth from falsehood,

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to distinguish the truthful from the hypocrites,

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and to recognize the true defenders of the religion from the enemies who lie in wait against it.

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Allah the Exalted said concerning the hypocrites:

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“And if We would, We could show them unto thee (Muhammad) so that thou shouldst know them surely by their marks. And thou shalt know them by the burden of their talk. And Allah knoweth your deeds.” (47:30)

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“And if We would, We could show them unto thee (Muhammad) so that thou shouldst know them surely by their marks. And thou shalt know them by the burden of their talk. And Allah knoweth your deeds.” (47:30)

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"and Allah knows your deeds."

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And on the authority of Sahl Ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him,

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'Uwaymir came to 'Asim Ibn 'Adiyy,

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who was the chief of the Banu 'Ajlan,

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and said:

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"What would you say about a man who finds another man with his wife?

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Should he kill him, whereupon you would kill him in retaliation,

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or what should he do?

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Ask the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about that."

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So 'Asim went to the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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and said, "O Messenger of Allah..."

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but the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, disliked such inquiries.

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Then 'Uwaymir asked him,

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and he said that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

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disliked such inquiries and criticized them.

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'Uwaymir said:

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"By Allah, I will not rest until I ask the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, about this."

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So 'Uwaymir came and said:

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"O Messenger of Allah,

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a man finds another man with his wife;

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should he kill him, whereupon you would kill him in retaliation,

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or what should he do?"

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The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

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"Allah has revealed the Qur'an concerning you and your wife."

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So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, commanded them to perform the mutual imprecation (li'an) as Allah designated in His Book.

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Thereupon, he invoked the curse upon her,

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and then said: "O Messenger of Allah,

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if I were to keep her, I would have wronged her,"

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so he divorced her.

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And that became a Sunnah for all those who engage in mutual imprecation after them.

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Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

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"Look:

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if she gives birth to a child who is blackish with intensely black eyes,

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large buttocks,

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and plump calves,

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then I cannot but think that 'Uwaymir spoke the truth regarding her;

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but if she gives birth to a reddish child looking like a gecko,

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then I cannot but think that 'Uwaymir lied against her."

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She then delivered the child matching the description given by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

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that corroborated 'Uwaymir's truthfulness;

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consequently, the child was thereafter attributed only to his mother.

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Al-Shinqiti, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

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"It is understood from this verse

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that it is necessary to judge by clear circumstantial evidence that indicates the truthfulness of one disputant and the falsehood of the other.

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For Allah's mention of this story

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in the context of accepting the deduction drawn from that circumstantial evidence as proof of Yusuf's innocence

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indicates that judging by such means is both true and sound.

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For the fact that the shirt was torn from the back

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is clear proof that he was fleeing from her,

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while she was grabbing him from behind."

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Indeed, Allah's defense of Yusuf

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and His granting him victory came through this unexpected avenue,

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which the wife of the 'Aziz never anticipated would turn against her:

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namely, that the witness was from her own household,

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yet he gave testimony that proved the falsity of her claim.

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For she had expected that he would side with her and support her,

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but Allah subjected him to aid Yusuf, peace be upon him,

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so that people may know that Allah grants victory to His allies from sources they could never fathom.

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But what was the reaction of the 'Aziz

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when he saw the conclusive result and the clear evidence demonstrating his wife's falsehood?

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The discourse remains to be continued;

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we shall continue in our next session, if Allah wills,

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the story of Yusuf with the wife of the 'Aziz.