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 matured to his full strength, We bestowed him wisdom and knowledge; and this is how We reward the virtuous. 22 And it so happened that the lady in whose house Joseph was living, sought to tempt him to herself, and one day bolting the doors she said: "Come on now!" Joseph answered: "May Allah grant me refuge! My Lord has provided an honourable abode for me (so how can I do something so evil)? Such wrong-doers never prosper." 23 But the woman desired him, and he would have desired her but for the indication he received from his Lord. This was so that We may avert both evil and lechery from him, for he was one of Our chosen devotees. 24 And they both hastened to the door, and she rent his shirt from behind and they met her husband at the door. She said: What is the punishment of him who intends evil to your wife except imprisonment or a painful chastisement? 25 Joseph said, "It was she who sought to seduce me." One of her household testified, "If his shirt is torn at the front then she is speaking the truth, and he is lying. 26 "But if it be that his shirt is torn from the back, then is she the liar, and he is telling the truth!" 27 When the master saw that Joseph's shirt was torn from behind, he told his wife, "This is some of your womanly guile in which you are certainly skillful. 28 Joseph, stay away from such affairs and you, woman, ask forgiveness for your sin; the guilt is yours." 29