A Shirt Torn From Behind

She would not accept that answer from him, so she tried to force him. He ran out of the room, opened the door and tried to leave, and she grabbed him by his shirt from behind and tried to pull him back — and his shirt was torn apart. At that moment, her husband walked in.

So they raced each other to the door, and she tore his shirt from behind, and they both found her lord at the door. "Lord" here means husband. She said: what is the recompense for one who intended evil against your wife?

Look at how she changed the story. What should the punishment be for a man who intended evil against your wife? She was able to come out with those words immediately — a sudden reaction, and it happened in front of Yūsuf (peace be upon him): a plain lie, told in front of him. And then she offered suggestions for the punishment. She did not only ask what punishment he should receive; she suggested it. What did she say? Except that he be put in prison, or a painful punishment. She did not say kill him. She did not say kill him, because she did not want him to be killed. She said put him in prison, or punish him — but she did not suggest killing him.

Yūsuf said: it was she who sought to seduce me. Now how could this problem be solved? Yūsuf was saying one thing, and the wife was saying something else. At that moment Allah (swt) sent one of their relatives, who came and said: I will tell you how we can know the truth. If Yūsuf's shirt is torn from the front, then she is telling the truth; if Yūsuf's shirt is torn from the back, then she is lying. Because if the shirt is torn from the front, it means Yūsuf was attacking her and she was fighting him, and so his shirt was torn; if it is torn from the back, it means she was running after him, trying to grab him. It was a very wise suggestion. His shirt was torn from the back, so she was lying.

So when he saw his shirt torn at the back, he said: surely this is a plot of you women; certainly mighty is your plot.