The Quran

Preface

فَلَمّا سَمِعَت بِمَكرِهِنَّ أَرسَلَت إِلَيهِنَّ وَأَعتَدَت لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً وَآتَت كُلَّ واحِدَةٍ مِنهُنَّ سِكّينًا وَقالَتِ اخرُج عَلَيهِنَّ ۖ فَلَمّا رَأَينَهُ أَكبَرنَهُ وَقَطَّعنَ أَيدِيَهُنَّ وَقُلنَ حاشَ لِلَّهِ ما هٰذا بَشَرًا إِن هٰذا إِلّا مَلَكٌ كَريمٌ

Yusuf Ali

When she heard of their malicious talk, she sent for them and prepared a banquet¹ for them: she gave each of them a knife: and she said (to Joseph), “Come out before them.” When they saw him, they did extol him, and (in their amazement) cut their hands: they said, “God preserve us! no mortal is this! this is none other than a noble angel!”

When her reputation began to be pulled to pieces with sundry exaggerations and distortions and malicious innuendos, the wife of 'Aziz invited all the ladies in society to a grand banquet. We can imagine them reclining at ease after the manner of fashionable banquets. When dessert was reached and the talk flowed freely about the gossip and scandal which made their hostess interesting, they were just about to cut the fruit with their knives, when, behold! Joseph was brought into their midst. Imagine the consternation which his beauty caused, and the havoc it played with their hearts! “Ah!”, thought the wife of ?Aziz “now is your hypocrisy self-exposed! What about your reproaches to me? You have yourselves so lost your self-control that you have cut your ringers!” (R).