The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 239
PT. 12 YUSUF CH. 12 قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُنَّ إِذْ رَاوَدُتُّنَ يُوسُفَ He (the King) said to the. 52 women, 'What was the matter عَنْ نَّفْسِهِ قُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّهِ مَا عَلِمْنَا with you when you sought to seduce Joseph against his will?' عَلَيْهِ مِنْ سُوءٍ ، قَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ الْعَزِيزِ They said, “He kept away from" الن حَصْحَصَ الْحَقُّ أَنَا رَاوَدْتُهُ عَنْ sin for fear of Allah we have نَّفْسِهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الصُّدِقِينَ known no evil against him. ' The wife of the ‘Aziz said, 'Now has the truth come to light. It was I who sought to seduce him against his will, and surely, he is of the truthful. '1555 "12:32. absorbed in conversation, had inadvertently cut their hands, or they might have declared that, by bringing a false accusation against Joseph, they had cut their own hands i. e. had landed themselves in a false position. If these words had only expressed the women's state of mind and nothing actual had happened, Joseph could not have referred to "the cutting of the hands. " 1555. Important Words: what was the matter with) ماخطبكن you) (khatbun) is the noun- infinitive from (khaṭaba). They sayi. e. he addressed the people and delivered to them an exhortation or admonition. means, he asked or demanded the woman in marriage. be means, a thing, an affair, or a business, small or great, that one seeks or desires to do or that may be a subject of discourse; a great thing or affair; or the cause or occasion of a thing or an 1447 event; or an affliction or calamity. They say i. e. what is the thing or affair or business that thou seekest or desirest to do; or, what is the cause of thy coming? (Lane). Commentary: This verse shows that the King had become SO convinced of the righteousness of Joseph that, on hearing of the accusation against him, he at once believed it to be false. This is why the women, judging from the way in which the King questioned them, realized that he looked upon Joseph as a righteous man, and so they confessed the truth. But by so doing they only bore witness to the innocence of Joseph, without in any way accusing Potiphar's wife. The latter, however, fearing lest after exonerating Joseph of all blame the women might proceed to testify to her misconduct, hastened to confess her guilt, although she had not yet been questioned by the King. She did