And when Yusuf, blessings and peace be upon him, said that and refused to leave the prison before the matter was clarified, the messenger returned to the king and informed him of what he, blessings and peace be upon him, had said. It was as if it was said: What did the king do? It was said: 'He said' to the women after gathering them: "What is your affair?" meaning your great matter; and His saying: "When you sought to seduce Yusuf" means you deceived him with cunning, evasion, and maneuvering. "About himself" is evidence that his innocence was established with everyone who knew the story. It was as if the king and some of the people - even though they knew of their seduction and his chastity - did not know whether the seduction was for all of them or for some of them. It was as if it was said: What did they say? It was said: They plotted in their response when he asked them about what they had done of evil with him, so they turned away from him and answered by denying the evil against him, blessings and peace be upon him. This is because they said: "Far from it!" meaning seeking refuge with the greatest king and exalting him from this matter, thus implying their innocence from him. Then they explained this seeking refuge by saying, astonished by his chastity, which they had not seen the like of, and it did not occur to their imaginations that it could be for a human being, no matter how great he became: "We do not know of him any evil," meaning Yusuf, blessings and peace be upon him. They emphasized the denial, saying: "Of evil," thus specifying him with innocence. This is as previously mentioned in the saying of the nobles: "These are but confused dreams" [Yusuf: 44]. This is a response to the king, whose vision dazzles and whose might is feared. It was customary in the land not to express openly in speech - so that there would be no room for possibilities that could lead to evasion - and the worship of kings except for whom Allah wills among them.

And when that was completed, it was as if it was said: What did the one who is the origin of this matter say? It was said: "The wife of the Aziz said," clearly stating the truth of the situation: "Now the truth has been made clear," meaning it has become apparent in its most evident forms, and falsehood has been cut off by its emergence, from: to cut off his hair. When he uprooted it in such a way that what was beneath it appeared, and from it is the portion: a piece of something, and its counterpart is: to topple and to tumble, and to stop and to cease. This is an increase of emphasis, indicated by the derivation, and this is the saying of Al-Zajjaj - as said by Al-Rummani. Al-Razi agreed with him in Al-Lawami' and Al-Azhari said: It is when the camel has made its mark: its knees have left traces in the ground when it kneels until its marks become clear in it. "I sought to seduce him" means I deceived him and sought to seduce him "about himself" and confirmed what she had expressed in praise and denial of all evil by saying, affirming for the sake of what she had previously denied: "And indeed, he is among the truthful," meaning those who are established in this description regarding the seduction towards me and the exoneration of himself. All the women bore witness to his innocence, and indeed, nothing evil can be attributed to him. So whoever attributes to him after that a thought or otherwise is merely following his own desires regarding a prophet among the sincere.