Page 232 - Mary: An Exemplary Muslim Woman

230

was content with him as a master and therefore could not betray him. He
also told her that evildoers would not find salvation and that
what she desired was evil. Allah relates the entire event in

the following verse:
The woman whose house it was solicited him. She barred the
doors and said: "Come over here." He said: "Allah is my refuge!
He is my lord and has been good to me with where I live. Those
who do wrong will surely not succeed." (Surah Yusuf: 23)

Fully aware of the limits established for hu-
manity by Allah, the Prophet Joseph (pbuh) re-
buffed her advances:
She wanted him and he would have wanted her, had
he not seen the Clear Proof of his Lord. That hap-
pened so that We might avert from him
all evil and lust. He was Our
chosen servant. (Surah
Yusuf: 24)

During this
confrontation, the
woman's husband en-
tered the room. To pre-
serve her reputation, the
woman lied and, despite the
Prophet Joseph's (pbuh) chaste
and devout behavior, accused
him of trying to seduce her, and
demanded that he be punished.
The Qur'anic account relates:

They raced to the door. She tore
his shirt at the back. They met

Mary: An Exemplary Muslim Woman