52 Preface ذٰلِكَ لِيَعلَمَ أَنّي لَم أَخُنهُ بِالغَيبِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهدي كَيدَ الخائِنينَYusuf Ali“This (say I), in order that He may know that I have never been false to him in his absence, and that God will never guide the snare of the false ones.1I Construe verses 52 and 53 to be a continuation of the speech of the 'Aziz’s wife and have translated accordingly. There is both good reason and authority (e.g., Ibn Kathir) for this. But the majority of Commentators construe verses 52-53 to be spoken by Joseph, in which case they would mean that Joseph was referring to his fidelity to the 'Aziz, that he had never taken advantage of his absence to play false with his wife, although he (Joseph) was human and liable to err. In my view the 'Aziz’s wife while fully reprobating her own guilty conduct, claims that she has at least been constant, and that she hopes for mercy, forgiveness, and the capacity to understand at last what true love is. Whatever false charge she made, she made it in a moment of passion and to his face, (never in cold blood, or behind his back). Guide the snare of the false ones, i.e., allow such snare to attain its goal. (R).