Yūsuf

ثُمَّ بَدَا لَهُمْ مِن بَعْدِ مَا رَأَوُاْ الاَيَاتِ لَيَسْجُنُنَّهُ حَتَّي حِينٍ

35. “Then it seemed to them, after they had seen the signs (of his innocence), to imprison him till a time.”

From Palace to Prison

The strange meeting between the Egyptian women and Yusuf in the palace of the ‘Aziz, with its particular tumult, ended. The fear of the increasing damage the sex scandal was causing to the prestige of his family. In the view of people, it was becoming more and more every day. The ‘Aziz and his advisors thought that the only way to rescue the situation was to remove Yusuf from the scene entirely, and the best way to do that was to send him to prison.

This would not only help the people forget about the situation, but would also make it seem that real culprit had been Yusuf himself. The Qur’an in this holy verse says:

“Then it seemed to them, after they had seen the signs (of his innocence), to imprison him till a time.”

In such morally decrepit environments, apparently freedom only belongs to those who are corrupt and so does everything else, whereas the pure and God-fearing individuals, like Yusuf, must be isolated and imprisoned. However, such a situation never lasts forever.

Explanations

1. Only a person with a distracted mind would engage in a fruitless act causing trouble for everyone, like throwing an important needle into the bottom of a well which could not be found and taken out by a hundred wise men.

2. Love is such a distraction. A woman fell in love and although many men and high-ranking officials of a country joined together to solve the problems caused by that woman, they were unable to find a solution.

3. Trials and courts are held in default of a person aften as ceremonial gestures in palaces where despots and dictators live, assure the condemnation of the innocent.

4. Those people who dwell in luxurious palaces are usually reckless and brash. Despite all the reasons in his favour, Yusuf was still convicted and sent to prison.