Al-Qur'an Surah Yusuf Verse 31

Mufti Taqi Usmani

So, when she heard of their taunting comments, she extended an invitation to them and arranged for them a comfortable place (to sit and dine) and gave everyone a knife, and said (to Yūsuf): “come out to them.” So when they saw him, they found him great, and (were so stunned that they) cut their hands and said, “Oh God! He is no human being. He is but a noble angel.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

When she heard about their gossip,[[ lit., ‘their cunning’ because the women themselves were probably interested in Joseph. ]] she invited them and set a banquet for them. She gave each one a knife, then said ˹to Joseph˺, “Come out before them.” When they saw him, they were so stunned ˹by his beauty˺ that they cut their hands,[[ The women were cutting fruit, and when Joseph came out they were so impressed by his beauty that they sliced through the fruit and into their hands without knowing.]] and exclaimed, “Good God! This cannot be human; this must be a noble angel!”

Ruwwad Translation Center

When she heard of their gossip, she invited them and arranged for them a banquet, and gave each one of them a knife, and said [to Joseph], “Come out before them.” When they saw him, they were stunned by his beauty that they cut their hands, and said, “Great God! This cannot be human; this must be a noble angel.”

A. J. Arberry

When she heard their sly whispers, she sent to them, and made ready for them a repast, then she gave to each one of them a knife. 'Come forth, attend to them,' she said. And when they saw him, they so admired him that they cut their hands, saying, 'God save us! This is no mortal; he is no other but a noble angel.'

Abdul Haleem

When she heard their malicious talk, she prepared a banquet and sent for them, giving each of them a knife. She said to Joseph, ‘Come out and show yourself to them!’ and when the women saw him, they were stunned by his beauty, and cut their hands, exclaiming, ‘Great God! He cannot be mortal! He must be a precious angel!’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Then, when she heard of their cunning talk, she sent unto them a messenger, and got ready for them a cushioned Couch, and gave a knife to each of them. And she said: come forth to them. Then when they saw him, they were astonished at him, and they made a cut in their hands, and said: how perfect is God! no man is he: he is naught but an angel noble.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

When she heard of their malicious talk, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them; she gave each of them a knife; and she said (to Joseph), "Come out before them." When they saw him, they did extol him, and (in their amazement) cut their hands; they said, "Allah preserve us! no mortal is this! this is none other than a noble angel!"

Abul Ala Maududi

Hearing of their sly talk the chief's wife sent for those ladies, and arranged for them a banquet, and got ready couches, and gave each guest a knife. Then, while they were cutting and eating the fruit, she signalled Joseph: "Come out to them." When the ladies saw him they were so struck with admiration that they cut their hands, exclaiming: "Allah preserve us. This is no mortal human. This is nothing but a noble angel!"

Ahmed Ali

When she heard their slanderings, she sent for them and prepared a banquet, and gave each of them a knife (for paring fruit), and called (to Joseph): "Come out before them." When they saw him, the women were so wonderstruck they cut their hands, and exclaimed: "O Lord preserve us! He is no mortal but an honourable angel."

Ahmed Raza Khan

And when she heard of their secret talk, she sent for them and prepared cushioned mattresses for them and gave a knife to each one of them and said to Yusuf, “Come out before them!” When the women saw him they praised him and cut their hands, and said, “Purity is to Allah – this is no human being; this is not but an honourable angel!”

Ali Quli Qarai

When she heard of their machinations, she sent for them and arranged a repast, and gave each of them a knife, and said [to Joseph], ‘Come out before them.’ So when they saw him, they marvelled at him and cut their hands [absent-mindedly], and they said, ‘Good heavens! This is not a human being! This is but a noble angel!’

Ali Ünal

When she heard of their sly whispers, she sent for them, and prepared for them a place of reclining for a sumptuous meal. She gave to each one of them a knife and said (to Joseph): "Come out before them!" When they saw him, they were so stricken with admiration of him that they cut their hands, exclaiming: "God save us! This is no human mortal; he is but a noble angel!"

Amatul Rahman Omar

And when she heard of their sly whisperings (and taunting remarks), she sent for them and prepared a repast for them, then (on the women´s arrival) she gave to each one of them a knife (to eat fruit therewith) and said (to Joseph then), `Come forth in their presence.´ So when they saw him they found him a dignified personality and cut their hands (through wonder and) said, `Glory be to Allâh! He is not a human being. He is but a noble angel.´

English Literal

So when she heard with their (F) cheating/deceit , she sent to them (F), and she prepared for them (F) a recliner/support/cushion and she gave/brought each one (F) from them (F) a knife and said: "Get out/appear/emerge on them." So when they saw him, they (F) greatened/exalted/revered him, and they (F) cut off/cut to pieces/amputated their (F) hands, and they said: "Remoteness to God that (is) not a human, that this (is) except (an) honoured/kind/noble angel/owner/possessor ."

Faridul Haque

And when she heard of their secret talk, she sent for them and prepared cushioned mattresses for them and gave a knife to each one of them and said to Yusuf, "Come out before them!" When the women saw him they praised him and cut their hands, and said, "Purity is to Allah - this is no human being; this is not but an honourable angel!"

Hamid S. Aziz

And some women in the city said, "The wife of the King´s Minister seeks to seduce her slave for his person; truly, he has infatuated (smitten) her with lust: verily, we see her in manifest error."

Hilali & Khan

So when she heard of their accusation, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them; she gave each one of them a knife (to cut the foodstuff with), and she said [(to Yusuf (Joseph)]: "Come out before them." Then, when they saw him, they exalted him (at his beauty) and (in their astonishment) cut their hands. They said: "How perfect is Allah (or Allah forbid)! No man is this! This is none other than a noble angel!"

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And the women in the city said: The chief’s wife seeks to seduce her slave. He has indeed affected her deeply with (his) love. Truly we see her in manifest error.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

So when she heard of their sly talk she sent for them and prepared for them a repast, and gave each of them a knife, and said (to Yusuf): Come forth to them. So when they saw him, they deemed him great, and cut their hands (in amazement), and said: Remote is Allah (from imperfection); this is not a mortal; this is but a noble angel.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And when she heard of their sly talk, she sent to them and prepared for them a cushioned couch (to lie on at the feast) and gave to every one of them a knife and said (to Joseph): Come out unto them! And when they saw him they exalted him and cut their hands, exclaiming: Allah Blameless! This is no a human being. This is not other than some gracious angel.

Muhammad Sarwar

When she heard their gossiping, she invited them to her house for a banquet and gave a knife to each of them. Then she told Joseph to appear before them. When they saw Joseph, they were so amazed that they cut their hands and said, "Goodness gracious! He is not a mortal but is a charming angel!"

Qaribullah & Darwish

When she heard of their sly whispers, she sent for them and prepared a banquet. To each she gave a knife, (then called Joseph saying:) 'Come and attend to them' When they saw him, they were so taken with him that they cut their hands, and said: 'Allah save us! This is no mortal, he is no other but a noble angel'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

So when she heard of their accusation, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them; she gave each one of them a knife, and she said [to Yusuf]: "Come out before them." Then, when they saw him, they exalted him (at his beauty) and (in their astonishment) cut their hands. They said: "How perfect is Allah! No man is this! This is none other than a noble angel!"

Wahiduddin Khan

When she heard of their intrigues, she sent for them and prepared a party for them. She gave a knife to each of them [to cut fruits, etc.] and then asked Joseph to appear before them. When the women saw him, they were greatly amazed [at his beauty], and they cut their hands, exclaiming, "God preserve us! This is no human being but a noble angel!"

Talal Itani

And when she heard of their gossip, she invited them, and prepared for them a banquet, and she gave each one of them a knife. She said, “Come out before them.” And when they saw him, they marveled at him, and cut their hands. They said, “Good God, this is not a human, this must be a precious angel.”

Tafsir jalalayn

And when she heard of their machinations, their backbiting of her, she sent for them and prepared for them a repast (muttaka' is food that requires cutting with a knife, since one leans upon it (ittik'); this [repast] was utruj, `citron'). She then gave each one of them a knife and said, to Joseph; `Come out before them!' And when they saw him, they were in awe of, they exalted, him and cut their hands, with the knives, without feeling any pain, because their hearts were so engrossed by Joseph, and they exclaimed; `God preserve us! -- in exaltation of him -- This, namely, Joseph, is no human being; this is but a noble angel!', on account of his all-encompassing beauty, which is [a characteristic] not usually found among humankind. In the Sahh [of al-Bukhr], it is [reported] that one half of all beauty was given to him.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ بِمَكْرِهِنَّ

(So when she heard of their accusation,) especially their statement, "indeed she loves him violently." Muhammad bin Ishaq commented, "They heard of Yusuf's beauty and wanted to see him, so they said these words in order to get a look at him. " This is when,

أَرْسَلَتْ إِلَيْهِنَّ

she sent for them,

invited them to her house,

وَأَعْتَدَتْ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً

and prepared a banquet for them.

Ibn Abbas, Sa'id bin Jubayr, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, As-Suddi and several others commented that;

she prepared a sitting room which had couches, pillows (to recline on) and food that requires knives to cut, such as citron.

This is why Allah said next,

وَاتَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِّنْهُنَّ سِكِّينًا

and she gave each one of them a knife,

as a part of her plan of revenge for their plot to see Yusuf,

وَقَالَتِ اخْرُجْ عَلَيْهِنَّ

and she said (to Yusuf);"Come out before them."

for she had asked him to stay somewhere else in the house,

فَلَمَّا

Then, when,

he went out and,

رَأَيْنَهُ أَكْبَرْنَهُ

they saw him, they exalted him,

they thought highly of him and were astonished at what they saw.

وَقَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ

and (in their astonishment) cut their hands.

They started cutting their hands in amazement at his beauty, while thinking that they were cutting the citron with their knives.

Therefore, they injured their hands with the knives they were holding, according to several reports of Tafsir.

Others said that;

after they ate and felt comfortable, and after having placed citron in front of them, giving each one of them a knife, the wife of the Aziz asked them, "Would you like to see Yusuf?"

They said, "Yes."

So she sent for him to come in front of them and when they saw him, they started cutting their hands.

She ordered him to keep coming and going, so that they saw him from all sides, and he went back in while they were still cutting their hands. When they felt the pain, they started screaming and she said to them, "You did all this from one look at him, so how can I be blamed?

وَقُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلّهِ مَا هَـذَا بَشَرًا إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاَّ مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ



They said;"How perfect is Allah! No man is this! This is none other than a noble angel!"

They said to her, "We do not blame you anymore after the sight that we saw."

They never saw anyone like Yusuf before, for he, peace be upon him, was given half of all beauty.

An authentic Hadith stated that the Messenger of Allah passed by Prophet Yusuf, during the Night of Isra' in the third heaven and commented,

فَإِذَا هُوَ قَدْ أُعْطِيَ شَطْرَ الْحُسْن

He was given a half of all beauty.

Mujahid and others said (they said);

"We seek refuge from Allah,
مَا هَـذَا بَشَرًا
(No man is this!)"

They said next,

إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاإَّ مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ