His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And the king said, 'Bring him to me.' So when the messenger came to him, he said, 'Return to your lord and ask him, what is the matter with the women who cut their hands? Indeed, my Lord is Knowing of their plan.'﴾

In the details of this verse, there are omissions that the apparent meaning provides and indicates. The meaning here is: the messenger returned to the assembly and the king and recounted to them the words of Yusuf. The king and those present saw the nobility of the expression and the beauty of the opinion, and the inclusion of the unseen in the matter of the eighth year, along with what the messenger described of the truth in the previous dream. Thus, Yusuf became great in the king's heart, and he said: ﴿Bring him to me.﴾ When the messenger arrived to bring him to him and said: 'Indeed, the king has commanded that you come out,' he said to him: ﴿Return to your lord﴾ meaning: the king, and say to him: ﴿What is the matter with the women?﴾ And Yusuf, peace be upon him, intended by this: 'And tell him to inquire about my guilt and to look into my matter, was I imprisoned justly or unjustly?' He outlined his story in a way that when the matter was looked at, everything would become clear, and he avoided mentioning the wife of the Aziz out of respect and care for the king's dignity.

Abu Bakr read from Asim and Abu Haywah: 'the women' with a dammah on the noon, and the others read: 'the women' with a kasrah on the noon. Both are dialects in the plural of 'women' which is a collective noun without a singular form. A group read: 'those who' with a ya, and a group read: 'those who' with a ta. Both are plural forms of 'the one who.'

And this action of Yusuf, peace be upon him, was patience, forbearance, and a request for the clearing of his name. This is because it is narrated that he feared that if he were to come out and attain a rank with the king, he would remain silent about his sin, and people would see him with that eye forever, and they would say: 'This is the one who attempted the wife of his master.' So Yusuf, peace be upon him, wanted his innocence to be established and his status of chastity and goodness to be confirmed, and then he would be brought out for the mistakes and the position. It is narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: 'May Allah have mercy on my brother Yusuf. He was patient and forbearing, and if I had remained in prison for the duration he did, I would have answered the call and not sought an excuse at that time.' This narration is reported in a similar manner from the route of Abdul Rahman ibn al-Qasim, a companion of Malik, in the book of Tafsir from Sahih al-Bukhari, and there is nothing else for Ibn al-Qasim in the diwan.

And here is an objection that should be separated from it. That is because the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, mentioned this saying in the context of praising Yusuf. So how could he himself depart from a state in which he praised another? The explanation for this is that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, took for himself another perspective of opinion regarding it as well, in terms of quality. That is: if I were in his place, I would have hastened to leave, then attempted to explain my excuse afterward. This is because these stories and incidents are meant for people to follow until the Day of Resurrection. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, wanted to encourage people towards the more prudent matters. This is because the one who deeply contemplates such an incident, neglecting the opportunity to escape from such imprisonment, may end up remaining in his prison. The soul of his liberator may turn away from him. Although Yusuf, peace be upon him, was safe from that due to his knowledge from Allah, others among the people do not have that safety. The state that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, went to was a state of prudence and praise. What Yusuf, peace be upon him, did was great patience and endurance.

And his saying: ﴿Indeed, my Lord is Knowing of their plan﴾ may mean by 'Lord' Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. In this verse, there is a threat and warning regarding this. It may also mean by 'Lord' the Mighty, his master. In that, there is a testimony against him and a reprimand for him. The pronoun in 'their plan' refers to the mentioned women, not to the general gender, as it is a state of being stopped for a sin.