Part of The Story of Yusuf and al-'Aziz's Wife (series completed)
· Lesson 22 of 25
The story of Joseph and the wife of Al-Aziz | Episode (22) | What about the women who cut off their hands?
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The story of Yusuf (peace be upon him) with the wife of al-Aziz:
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"What was the affair of the women who cut their hands?"
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When Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, wills to grant victory to one of His servants,
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He orchestrates means for him that never even cross his mind.
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In the story of Yusuf with the wife of al-Aziz lies a magnificent example of this.
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For after they unjustly sentenced Yusuf (peace be upon him) to imprisonment,
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for an indefinite period,
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leaving him in prison without reviewing his case or the reasons for his incarceration,
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Allah prepared the means for his release.
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The first means was that two young men were imprisoned alongside him;
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each of them had a dream,
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and they related their dreams to Yusuf, who interpreted them,
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and both interpretations came to pass exactly as he had foretold.
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The second means was a dream seen by the king himself,
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which he presented to his courtiers, among whom was the man who had been saved from prison.
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The king asked for an interpretation of his dream,
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and the surviving companion directed them to Yusuf (peace be upon him).
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In these circumstances that Allah has related to us in the story of Yusuf (peace be upon him),
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there is a profound lesson for every wronged person:
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that Allah will surely grant him victory and change his circumstances one day.
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So let him not rush for relief,
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but remain steadfast upon the truth, no matter how long it takes.
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The unjust conduct adopted by the Aziz of Egypt and his wife toward Yusuf—imprisoning him without trial,
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without looking into his case,
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and abandoning him in prison for an indefinite term,
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despite knowing full well his innocence of the accusation leveled against him—
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is a form of oppression that, in this very manner or similar ones,
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persists in our world today.
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Scholars, callers to Allah, and reformers are imprisoned without genuine charges;
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they are never granted a trial,
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and if they are judged, they are not treated with justice,
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only to be left imprisoned indefinitely.
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“And it seemed good to them (the men-folk) after they had seen the signs (of his innocence) to imprison him for a time.” (12:35)
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Relief from Allah arrived years after the release of the youth who was spared imprisonment and execution,
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who had since become a courtier to the king.
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Yusuf interpreted the dream,
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and the king was deeply impressed by his interpretation,
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requesting to meet him and ordering his release from prison.
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However, Yusuf refused to leave
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before the full truth behind his imprisonment came to light.
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Thus, he said to the king's messenger with consummate courtesy,
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exemplifying the noble character of prophethood,
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exceptional wisdom, and sound judgment in dealing with the situation:
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"Return to your master,
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and ask him: What was the affair of the women who cut their hands?"
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“And the king said: Bring him unto me. And when the messenger came unto him, he (Joseph) said: Return unto thy lord and ask him what was the case of the women who cut their hands. Lo! my Lord knoweth their guile.” (12:50)
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Yusuf refused to leave the prison
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until the truth became entirely clear to the king
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regarding the accusation falsely cast upon him and for which he was imprisoned.
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Yusuf refused to leave the prison
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so that the king and his subjects would know that his incarceration was not due to any wrongdoing on his part,
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but was purely an act of injustice and transgression.
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Yusuf refused to leave the prison
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lest it be said
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that the king only freed him out of gratitude for his interpretation of the royal dream.
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Yusuf refused to leave the prison
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until his complete innocence was demonstrated before both the king and the public,
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so that no one could ever slander his honor thereafter.
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The first step toward establishing his innocence
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was refusing to leave prison
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until he was proven blameless regarding the pretext for which he was confined.
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In this lies a lesson for every wronged and imprisoned individual:
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that it is his right to defend himself,
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to refute the false charges pinned upon him,
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especially those concerning his honor and integrity.
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The second step
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was framed by Yusuf as a question to be directed to the king,
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and he presented it accordingly.
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In this question, the refined etiquette of Yusuf (peace be upon him) shines brightly
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in his treatment of the one who had treated him kindly
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and in whose palace he had lived—
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namely, the Aziz of Egypt.
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He did not explicitly mention the Aziz's wife, who was the direct instigator of the affair
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and the one who had ordered his imprisonment.
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He also took into consideration the feelings of the king,
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who regarded the Aziz of Egypt
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as a senior dignitary of his realm;
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so Yusuf did not trouble the king by singling her out.
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For had he mentioned her directly,
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the king might have refrained from investigating a matter
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that directly touched the honor of the wife of one of his highest officials.
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Instead, he mentioned the women who had cut their hands,
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inquiring into the reason behind that incident.
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An investigation into that matter
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would inevitably lead back to the wife of the Aziz,
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who had arranged that gathering for them
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in which they cut their hands,
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and who had already confessed to them that she had solicited him,
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insisted upon her desire,
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and threatened him with imprisonment if he did not comply.
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If this testimony were presented in the presence of the king through those women
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rather than directly through Yusuf,
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the truth would become unmistakably manifest to the king,
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Yusuf's honor would remain untarnished by false accusation,
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his standing would be elevated in the eyes of the king,
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and the king would realize with certainty that everything that had occurred
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was merely the result of women's plotting,
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just as Yusuf (peace be upon him) said.
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“And the king said: Bring him unto me. And when the messenger came unto him, he (Joseph) said: Return unto thy lord and ask him what was the case of the women who cut their hands. Lo! my Lord knoweth their guile.” (12:50)
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So what happened with the women during their interrogation?
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How did they answer when they were questioned?
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And was their response free of feminine intrigue?
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The discussion will be continued.
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We shall resume in our next gathering, if Allah wills,
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with the story of Yusuf and the wife of al-Aziz.