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 maturity, We bestowed on him right judgement and knowledge. Thus We reward those who do 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 raced with one another to the door, and she tore his shirt from behind, and they met her lord and master at the door. She said: What shall be his reward, who wisheth evil to thy folk, save prison or a painful doom? 25 He said: "It was she that sought to seduce me - from my (true) self." And one of her household saw (this) and bore witness, (thus):- "If it be that his shirt is rent from the front, then is her tale true, and he is a liar! 26 And if his shirt be rent from behind, then she lieth, and he is of the truth-tellers. 27 So when he saw his shirt,- that it was torn at the back,- (her husband) said: "Behold! It is a snare of you women! truly, mighty is your snare! 28 Joseph, disregard this. And you - woman - ask forgiveness for your sin, for indeed it is you who has been at fault." 29