Yusuf · Makki · ayah 23 of 111

Yusuf 12:23

وَرَٰوَدَتْهُ ٱلَّتِى هُوَ فِى بَيْتِهَا عَن نَّفْسِهِۦ وَغَلَّقَتِ ٱلْأَبْوَٰبَ وَقَالَتْ هَيْتَ لَكَ ۚ قَالَ مَعَاذَ ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ رَبِّىٓ أَحْسَنَ مَثْوَاىَ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ

“And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him. She closed the doors and said, "Come, you." He said, "[I seek] the refuge of Allāh. Indeed, he[591] is my master, who has made good my residence. Indeed, wrongdoers will not succeed."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Behind bolted doors, called by the woman of the house, Yusuf answers with refuge in Allah, loyalty to his master, and the end of wrongdoers.

A reflection

Every door shut but one

She shut the doors. The verb is ghallaqat, a stronger form than simply closing. The lexicons read it as many doors shut, or one door shut again and again, or a door bolted fast. Its root is one thing caught fast in another, like a bolt shot home.

Then she called him. His answer begins with two words: maʿādha llāh, refuge in Allah. Not 'I can't'. Not 'what if we are caught'. Refuge.

The root of that word has a tender first picture. The Arabs called a camel or gazelle that had just given birth ʿāʾidh, for about seven days, because her young clung to her side. The plant that grows at the foot of a rock, sheltered from the wind, comes from the same root. Refuge is the small one pressed against the larger one, holding on while the cold goes past.

That is what Yusuf does in a room where every exit has been shut. He does not look for a door first. He presses himself against his Lord.

The commentaries gloss it simply: I seek refuge in Allah from that. One commentator reads more in it. Yusuf is asking Allah to strengthen the pull towards obedience in him and to take away the pull towards sin. Later he says it plainly: unless You turn their scheming away from me, I will incline towards them (12:33). The strongest man in the story knew he was not strong enough alone.

A locked door is the oldest picture of being trapped. But nobody can bolt the way to Allah. It opens from the heart, and it is never locked from His side.

Hold that picture: the newborn pressed to its mother's side, with the doors bolted all around.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.