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, sought to seduce him (to do an evil act), she closed the doors and said: "Come on, O you." He said: "I seek refuge in Allah (or Allah forbid)! Truly, he (your husband) is my master! He made my stay agreeable! (So I will never betray him). Verily, the Zalimun (wrong and evil-doers) will never be successful." 23 She started towards him, and he would have succumbed to her, if he had not seen a sign from his Lord -- We did this in order to keep evil and indecency away from him, for he was truly one of Our chosen servants. 24 So they raced with one another to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back. They both found her lord (i.e. her husband) at the door. She said: "What is the recompense (punishment) for him who intended an evil design against your wife, except that he be put in prison or a painful torment?" 25 (Joseph) said: She it was who asked of me an evil act. And a witness of her own folk testified: If his shirt is torn from before, then she speaketh truth and he is of the liars. 26 but if his shirt is torn from behind, she is lying and he is speaking the truth." 27 So when the governor saw his shirt torn from behind, he said, “Indeed this is a deception of women; undoubtedly the deception of women is very great.” 28 Ignore this affair, O Joseph; and you, O woman, ask forgiveness for your sin, for you were surely errant." 29