Overview (Verse 50)

Court Summons

At this point the sūrah again moves to the next scene, leaving a gap between the one just ending and the one about to begin. What happens during this gap is left for us to imagine. The curtains are then once again raised in the King’s palace. The sūrah leaves out what the man tells of the interpretation of the King’s dream, and what he says about Joseph, his imprisonment and its cause, and his present situation. What we have instead is the effect of all this, embodied in the King’s expressed desire to see him and his order that he should be brought before him.

“The King said: ‘Bring this man before me.’” (Verse 50) Again the sūrah leaves out the details of carrying out the King’s order. We simply find Joseph replying to the King’s emissary. He has spent so long in prison that he is in no hurry to leave until his case has been properly investigated. He wants the truth to be clearly known and his innocence to be declared to all people. All the false accusations hurled at him must be known for what they were: mere lies. He has been looked after by his Lord, and the way he has been brought up gives him reassurance and peace of mind. He is in no hurry until the truth is known.

The impact of the care God has taken of Joseph in bringing him up is clearly seen in the difference between his present attitude and his earlier one. Formerly, he had asked his prison companion to remember him to his master. Now he wants his innocence to be established first. Hence he says to the King’s emissary: “Go back to your lord and ask him about the women who cut their hands.” (Verse 50) The gulf between these two situations is great indeed.

Joseph refused to go to the King until the latter had investigated his case. He specifically mentions the women who cut their hands so that the circumstances leading to this, and what happened later will all be revealed. Moreover, he wanted all this to be done before leaving prison, so that the whole truth be known and without him having to question the women himself. He could afford to do this because he was absolutely certain of his own innocence, reassured that the truth would not be suppressed.

The Qur’ān quotes Joseph using the term, Rabb, or Lord, in its full meaning with regard to himself and to the King’s messenger. The King is the messenger’s lord, because he is his master whom he obeys, while God is Joseph’s Lord whom Joseph obeys and submits to.

The messenger went back to the King and reported Joseph’s reply. The King called in the women and interrogated them. The sūrah leaves this out, allowing us to know its conclusion: “The King asked [the women]: ‘What was the matter with you when you tried to seduce Joseph?” (Verse 51)