Witnesses to His Purity

Another matter of great interest is that Allah (swt) wholly exonerates Yūsuf (peace be upon him) of the evil and of unchastity. And hence there are several witnesses to his purity. The first is Allah Himself, through this sūrah. The second is Shayṭān. How does Shayṭān bear witness to the purity, or the sincerity, of Yūsuf (peace be upon him)? Because he says that he will mislead the people of Allah — give him respite and he will mislead every one of them, except the sincere servants. And Yūsuf (peace be upon him) was not misled. Which means that even by the witness of Shayṭān, who could not mislead him, Yūsuf (peace be upon him) is sincere. The third is Yūsuf (peace be upon him) himself, saying that he would rather go to prison than do this act — which is his own witness to his wish to be pure. The fourth is the wife, the one who tried to seduce him. She says, as is seen in verse 51:

Verse 51: so she bears witness that it was she who sought to seduce him. Then the next witness comes from the other women, for just before that they say mā ʿalimnā ʿalayhi min sūʾ: we know of no evil in him. So the women too bear witness for him, apart from the wife of the ʿAzīz of Miṣr. And the last comes, plainly, from that young child of the household who spoke of the tear, and of its being evidence as to who had sought to seduce whom, and who had set upon whom.

Another thing understood here is that even in the case of the prophets, when Allah (swt) wills to test someone and to do certain things in a certain way, it makes no difference: it will happen. Yūsuf (peace be upon him) taken away from his father; his father made to grieve so long a time. But, as Allah (swt) says at the end, this is a story for reflection, and for those especially who have intellect. May Allah (swt) make us of those who have intellect.