Yusuf and the Minister's Wife — Chastity and the Witness Shirt
stories
Level: basic
prophets
st-050
Quranic context:
The minister's wife tried to seduce Yusuf and locked the doors. He sought refuge in Allah and fled. His shirt was torn from behind, proving his innocence.
Context:
She sought to imprison him in revenge after her plot was exposed. She gathered the women of the city, gave them knives, and revealed Yusuf — they cut their hands in awe. She finally confessed: "Now the truth has come to light."
Lesson:
Chastity and seeking refuge in Allah are weapons against temptation. The shirt in the story was a just witness: torn from the front means the woman was truthful; torn from behind means Yusuf was truthful — truth emerges through evidence.
Source: Ibn Kathir Tafsir (4/368); Al-Tabari Tafsir (16/21)
Question: How was Yusuf's innocence proven against the minister's wife's accusation?
Answer: His shirt was torn from behind, indicating he was fleeing from her rather than pursuing her.