And the man from Egypt who bought him said to his wife: "Make his stay [with us] honourable; he may well be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son. And thus We gave unto Joseph a firm place on earth; and [We did this] so that We might impart unto him some understanding of the inner meaning of happenings. For, God always prevails in whatever be His purpose: but most people know it not. 21 And when he reached full manhood, We bestowed upon him the ability to judge [between right and wrong,] as well as [innate] knowledge: for thus do We reward the doers of good. 22 And she in whose house he was, solicited him against himself; and she fastened the doors, and said: come on, O thou! He said: Allah be my refuge: verily he is my lord; he hath made me a goodly dwelling; verily the wrong-doers fare not well. 23 And she advanced towards him, and had Joseph not perceived a sign from his Lord he too would have advanced towards her. Thus was Joseph shown a sign from his Lord that We might avert from him all evil and indecency, for indeed he was one of Our chosen servants. 24 And they both raced to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back, and they found her husband at the door. She said, "What is the recompense of one who intended evil for your wife but that he be imprisoned or a painful punishment?" 25 [Joseph] said, "It was she who sought to seduce me." And a witness from her family testified. "If his shirt is torn from the front, then she has told the truth, and he is of the liars. 26 And if his shirt is rent from behind, she tells a lie and he is one of the truthful. 27 When the husband saw the shirt torn at the back, he said: "Surely this is a woman's ruse, and the wiles of women are great. 28 Joseph, ignore this. And, [my wife], ask forgiveness for your sin. Indeed, you were of the sinful." 29