The Quran

Preface

وَراوَدَتهُ الَّتي هُوَ في بَيتِها عَن نَفسِهِ وَغَلَّقَتِ الأَبوابَ وَقالَت هَيتَ لَكَ ۚ قالَ مَعاذَ اللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ رَبّي أَحسَنَ مَثوايَ ۖ إِنَّهُ لا يُفلِحُ الظّالِمونَ

Yusuf Ali

But she in whose house he was, sought to seduce him¹ from his (true) self: she fastened the doors, and said: “Now come, thou (dear one)!” He said: “God forbid! truly (thy husband) is my lord! he made my sojourn agreeable! truly to no good come those who do wrong!”²

The 'Aziz had treated Joseph with honour: he was more his guest and son than his slave. In trying to seduce Joseph in these circumstances, his wife was guilty of a crime against Joseph’s own honour and dignity. And there was a third fault in her earthly love. True love blots Self out: it thinks more of the loved one than of the Self. The 'Aziz’s wife was seeking the satisfaction of her own selfish passion, and was in treason against Joseph’s pure soul and his high destiny. It was inevitable that Joseph should repel the advances made by the wife of the courtier. (R).
Joseph’s plea in rejecting her advances is threefold:' (1) I owe a duty, and so do you, to your husband, | the 'Aziz; (2) the kindness, courtesy, and honour, with which he has treated me entitled him to more than mere gratitude from me; (3) in any case, do you not see that you are harbouring a guilty passion, and that no good can come out of guilt? we must all obey laws, human and divine.' (R).