这段经文讲述了约瑟夫故事的第二个情节。当时他已抵达埃及，并在那里被卖为奴隶。然而，买下他的那个人觉得这个少年是个好人。这样的感觉往往可以从一个人的external相貌中察觉，尤其是当它与良好的品行相结合时。因此，这个人嘱咐自己的妻子要好好照顾这个少年。约瑟夫梦想成真的第一条线索，就从这里开始。

This passage relates the second episode of Joseph’s story, after he had reached Egypt where he was sold as a slave. However, the man who bought him felt that the boy was a good person. Such feelings may be sensed from a person’s looks, particularly if they are coupled with good manners. Hence the man recommends his wife to take good care of the boy. Here begins the first thread in how his dream comes true.

但是，约瑟夫在成年时，还要面对另一种截然不同的考验。在此之前，他已被赐予智慧与知识，使他能够面对即将到来的考验——那是只有蒙受真主恩典的人才能承受并抵御的考验。这是一场发生在宫廷中的诱惑考验，而宫廷这种贵族环境往往以道德松弛为特征。约瑟夫在这场考验中，其道德与信仰的价值观毫发无损地走了出来。

But another trial of a totally different type was awaiting Joseph when he reached his prime. Prior to this, he would have been given wisdom and knowledge which would help him confront the forthcoming trial, one which only those on whom God bestows His grace can stand up to and resist. It was a trial of seduction in palaces where the aristocratic environment is often characterized by loose morality. Joseph emerged unscathed from it in his moral and religious values.

埃及买下他的那个人对妻子说："要善待他。他或许会对我们有用，或者我们可以收他为养子。"这样，我使约瑟在那片土地上有了地位，并教他解释事物的真义。真主的意志总能实现，只是大多数人并不知道。

The man from Egypt who bought him said to his wife: Be kind to him. He may well be of use to us, or we may adopt him as our son. Thus We established Joseph in the land, and We imparted to him some understanding of the real meaning of statements. God always prevails in whatever be His purpose; though most people may not know it.

（第21节）

(Verse 21)

该章尚未透露买下他的人的身份。过了很长时间，我们才得知此人地位极高，或许是埃及的宰相。但目前我们只知道，约瑟已经到达了一个安全的地方，他的第一次考验已经过去，光明的前景正等待着他。

The sūrah does not as yet reveal the identity of the person who bought him. After a long time we learn that he is a person in a very high position, perhaps Egypt’s chief minister. But for now we only know that Joseph has reached a safe place, and that his first trial is over, and that bright prospects await him.

“请善待他。”（第21节）这是大多数《古兰经》译者对购买约瑟的那个人所说的第一句话的译法。字面上，这个人说的是：“要优待他的居所。”虽然这句话的本意是要求善待他，但这一表达所指的是更大的善意，与约瑟在井中的经历以及与那段经历相伴的种种恐惧形成对照。

“Be kind to him.” (Verse 21) This is how most translators of the Qur’ān render the first statement said by the man who bought Joseph. Literally the man says: “Be generous in his place of abode.” Although this is meant to be an instruction to treat him kindly, the expression signifies greater kindness to be contrasted with his stay in the well and all the fears that were associated with that experience.

但这个男人更进一步，告诉他的妻子他对儿子未来的期望：

But the man goes further and tells his wife of what he hopes for the boy’s future:

“或许他会对我们有用，或者我们可以收养他作儿子。”（第21节）有些传述提到，他们或许没有子女。因此，这个人开始想，如果这孩子在才智、品行和容貌上都能符合主人的期望，他或许会收养他作自己的儿子。

“He may well be of use to us, or we may adopt him as our son.” (Verse 21) Perhaps they did not have any children, as some reports suggest. Hence, the man started thinking that should the boy prove himself to be up to his master’s expectations, with regard to intelligence, character and good looks, he might adopt him as his own.

在叙事的这一处，本章稍作停顿，说明这一切都是真主的安排。约瑟得以在这片土地上确立地位，正是出于祂的设计。这始于他在那人心中以及在其家中站稳了脚跟。本章接着说，约瑟将继续沿着同样的道路前行，真主将赋予他正确、准确地解释话语的能力。本章评述约瑟地位初步巩固的过程，指出真主的旨意必将实现，任何事物都无法阻碍或阻止它。祂全然掌控宇宙间的一切。“这样，我使约瑟在那片土地上获得了地位，并教他解释事物的真义。真主总是能成就祂的旨意。”（第21节）

At this point in the narrative, the sūrah pauses a little to state that all this was God’s arrangement. It was through His design that Joseph was established in the land. This began with him occupying a firm position in the man’s heart and in his home. The sūrah then says that Joseph would continue along the same road, and that God would give him the faculty to interpret statements properly and accurately. It comments on the early steps in consolidating Joseph’s position by saying that God’s will shall always be done. Nothing can impede or stop it. He is in full control of everything in the universe. “Thus We established Joseph in the land, and We imparted to him some understanding of the real meaning of statements. God always prevails in whatever be His purpose.” (Verse 21)

在这一时刻，约瑟经历了他一生中的第二次考验。这次考验比第一次更为严峻、更为深刻。它降临之时，他已被赐予智慧与知识，那是真主恩典的体现。因此，他坦然面对这一考验，并因他的行善而得以获救。这次考验以诱惑的形式出现，经文以极具张力的笔触描绘了整个经过，当时约瑟正处于巨大风险之中，显得十分脆弱。

At this point Joseph experiences the second trial in his life. It is much more severe and profound than the first one. It comes when he has been given wisdom and knowledge as a gesture of God’s grace. Hence, he faces it squarely, and he is saved from it as a reward for doing good. This trial takes the form of temptation, and the sūrah paints a very charged picture of the whole encounter, when Joseph was vulnerable to great risks.

她所住的屋子的主妇试图引诱他。她关上门，说："来吧。"他说："愿真主保护我。我的主人使我在此处过得很好。作恶的人不会有好结果。"她确实渴望他，他也渴望她。〔若非他看见了主的一个明显迹象，他差点就屈服了。〕这样，我使邪恶和淫秽远离他。他确是我忠诚的仆人之一。他们两人都冲向门口。她从背后扯破了他的衬衫。他们在门口碰见了她的丈夫。她说："对想要玷污你妻子的人，除了把他投入监狱或施以严厉的惩罚，还应该怎样处罚呢？"〔约瑟〕说："是她想引诱我。"她家里的一个人作证说："如果他的衬衫是从前面撕破的，那么她说的是实话，他在说谎；但如果衬衫是从后面撕破的，那么她在说谎，他说的是实话。"当她丈夫看到约瑟的衬衫是从后面撕破的，便对她说："这确实是你们女人的诡计，你们的诡计多么可怕！约瑟，这件事就算了吧！你这女人，为你的罪过求饶吧。"

She in whose house he was living tried to seduce him. She bolted the doors and said, ‘Come.’ He said: ‘God protect me. Goodly has my master made my stay here. Those who do wrong come to no good.’ She truly desired him, and he desired her. [He would have succumbed] had he not seen a clear sign from his Lord. Thus We averted from him evil and indecency. He was truly one of Our faithful servants. And they both rushed to the door. She tore his shirt from behind. And at the door they met her husband. She said: ‘What ought to be the punishment of someone who had evil designs on your wife other than that he should be thrown in prison or some grievous punishment.’ [Joseph] said: It was she who sought to seduce me.’ One of her own household testified: ‘If his shirt has been torn from the front, then she is speaking the truth and he is lying. But if it has been torn from behind, then she is lying, and he is speaking the truth.’ When [her husband] saw that Joseph’s shirt was torn from behind, he said to her: ‘This is indeed [an instance] of the guile of you, women. Your guile is awesome indeed!’ Joseph, let this pass! And you, woman, ask forgiveness for your sin.

“你们确实犯了严重的过错。”（经文23至29节）

You have been seriously at fault.’ (Verses 23-29)

《古兰经》这一章并未提及约瑟夫与那位女子当时的年龄。因此，让我们来思考这个问题，并推测他们各自的年龄。

The sūrah does not mention the ages of Joseph and the woman at the time. So let us consider the matter and estimate their respective ages.

约瑟夫被商队救起并在埃及被卖掉的时候，正处于青春期初期。他当时必定约十四岁，或许更小，但绝不会超过这个年龄。他正处于阿拉伯语中可以用"ghulām"（少年）一词来称呼他的年纪。

Joseph was in early adolescence at the time the caravan picked him up and sold him in Egypt. He must have been around 14, or maybe less, but certainly no more than that. He was at an age when the Arabic term, ghulām, may be applied to him.

“她确实想要他，他也想要她。[若非]他看见了主的一个明证，他［本会屈从］。”（第24节）古今所有《古兰经》注释者都把注意力集中在这最后一件事上。那些从犹太来源取材的人，提到许多传说性的记载，描述约瑟是一个欲火难耐的人，而真主尽管有一切明证，也无法约束他。据说他看见了父亲的影像出现在天花板上，正咬着自己的手指。另有一种这样的记载说，他看见几块书法板，上面写着《古兰经》的经文，［是的，正是《古兰经》！］斥责这种行为，但他仍继续行事，仿佛什么也没有看见。随后真主派遣天使吉卜利勒，吩咐他去拯救约瑟。

“She truly desired him, and he desired her. [He would have succumbed] had he not seen a clear sign from his Lord.” (Verse 24) All commentators on the Qur’ān, past and present alike, have focused their attention on this last incident. Those who have taken their information from Jewish sources mention numerous legendary reports describing Joseph as one driven by insatiable desire, and God unable to restrain him despite all His evidence. He is said to have seen his father’s image on the ceiling, biting his finger. Another such report suggests that he saw several plates of calligraphy, with verses of the Qur’ān, [Yes, the Qur’ān!] denouncing such action, but he continues as though he saw nothing. Then God sent the angel Gabriel, telling him to save Joseph.

天使击打了他的胸口。关于此类的报道有很多，但它们显然毫无根据，明显是捏造的。

The angel hit him in the chest. There are many such reports, but they are all clearly groundless and manifestly fabricated.

大多数古兰经注释学者认为，她的欲念是肉体上的，而他的则是精神上的。然后他看到了来自他主的明证，于是他能够抵御诱惑。

Most commentators on the Qur’ān say that her desire was physical, whilst his was mental. Then he saw the evidence from his Lord, and he was able to resist temptation.

已故学者拉希德·里达（Rashīd Riđā’）完全否定这种观点。他说，她之所以想要打他，是因为他对她的诱惑予以有尊严的抵抗，而当时她是必须被顺从的主人。另一方面，他本想推开她，但他宁愿设法逃走。

The late scholar, Rashīd Riđā’, rejects this view altogether. He says that she desired to hit him because of his dignified resistance when she was the mistress to be obeyed. On the other hand, he desired to repel her, but he preferred to try to escape.

然而，她追上他，从背后扯裂了他的衬衫。把这节经文解释为她想打他、而他想抵御侵犯，仅仅是想把约瑟从当时对诱惑的回应中引开的尝试。这种解释是武断的，缺乏恰当的依据。

However, she caught up with him and tore his shirt from behind. To interpret the verse as her desire to hit him and his desire to repel the aggression however is merely an attempt to draw Joseph away from responding to temptation at that particular moment. This is an arbitrary interpretation which lacks proper support.

鉴于约瑟夫在王宫中生活了相当长的时间,我认为《古兰经》中的这句话:"她确已想要他,他也会想要她,若非他看见了他主的明证,他就会那样做了。"概括了一个长期的诱惑过程,一开始是抵抗,之后是动摇。这正是一个善良的人类灵魂的真实写照:抵御诱惑,接着有片刻软弱,然后转向真主求助,最终安然脱身。这段经文并未长篇铺陈这种相互冲突的情感,因为《古兰经》并不意图把那一时刻描绘成远超故事本身、或超出人类生活一般情况的宏大场景。因此,这一章在开头和结尾都提到约瑟夫的抵抗,中间只穿插一个软弱的时刻。这样便给出了一幅可信而切合实际的图景。

Looking at the text here, and reviewing Joseph’s situation, given that he had lived for quite some time in the palace, I feel that the Qur’ānic statement, “She truly desired him, and he desired her. [He would have succumbed] had he not seen a clear sign from his Lord,” represents the culmination of a long line of temptation on the one hand, and initial resistance on the other. This is a true description of a goodly human soul, resisting temptation, then weakening a little, then turning to God for support and escaping unscathed. The sūrah does not dwell for long on these conflicting emotions, because the Qur’ān does not aim to paint that moment into a panoramic scene that is far larger than what is appropriate to the story, or to human life in general. Hence, the sūrah mentions Joseph’s resistance at the outset and at the end, with a moment of weakness in between. This then gives us a credible and practical picture.

丈夫并没有采取任何行动来分开他的妻子和他的奴隶。他只是让事情一如既往地继续下去，因为宫廷处理此类事务向来如此。

The husband did not take any action to separate his wife and his slave. He simply let matters go on as previously, because this is how palaces deal with such affairs.

但宫殿里墙有耳，流言蜚语总是四处传播。这类丑闻总能带来有趣的谈资："城里的妇人们在议论说：'总督的妻子正在引诱她的仆人少年，她对他痴迷不已。我们看到她显然已经误入歧途了。'"（第30节）

But palaces are walls with ears, and gossip is always rife. For such scandals always provide interesting conversations: “In the city, women were saying: ‘The Chief Minister’s wife is trying to seduce her slave lad, as she is passionately in love with him. We see that she is clearly going astray.’“ (Verse 30)

这正是一切蒙昧（jāhiliyyah）社会中，女性在此类事务上所说的那类话。

This is the sort of thing women say about such matters in all jāhiliyyah societies.

第一次,我们得知这位女子的身份,也得知买下约瑟夫的人是埃及的宰相。这一切是在丑闻公开时宣布的,其处境被生动地描绘出来:“宰相的妻子正在引诱她的奴仆少年,因为她热烈地爱上了他。”(第30节)她的爱是一种吞噬一切、彻底占据心神的爱。因此有这样的评论:“我们看到她显然已经迷失了方向。”(第30节)她本应是榜样,因为她嫁给了政府中的一位要员。然而她却迷恋上丈夫买来的那个年轻人。或许人们只是在评论她成了丑闻的中心。应受谴责的并不是罪过本身,而是被人发现。若事情仍被隐瞒,便不会有任何指责。

For the first time we learn who the woman is, and we learn that the man who bought Joseph was Egypt’s Chief Minister. This is announced as the scandal becomes public, with her position graphically described: “The Chief Minister’s wife is trying to seduce her slave lad, as she is passionately in love with him.” (Verse 30) Hers is a consuming love that takes complete hold. Hence the comment: “We see that she is clearly going astray.” (Verse 30) She is supposed to be the role model as she is married to a leading personality in government. Yet she is infatuated with the young man her husband had bought. Or perhaps they were merely commenting on the fact that she had become the centre of a scandal. It is not the offence itself that is reproachable, but of being found out doing it. If it remains concealed, no blame is attached.

再一次，这种事只发生在上层社会之中。我们看到那位大胆女子进一步的谋划："当她听到她们的恶意议论时，便派人请她们来，为她们准备了一席丰盛的宴席，并给了每人一把刀，然后对（约瑟夫）说：'出来，让她们看看你。'当她们看见他时，都对他惊叹不已，割伤了自己的手，并喊道：'主啊，求你保佑！这不是凡人，这无疑是一位高贵的天使。'她说：'这就是你们因为他而责怪我的那个人！我确实曾想引诱他，但他保守了自己的贞洁。现在，如果他不照我的吩咐去做，他一定会被投入监狱，并且必将受到羞辱。'"（第31-32节）

Again we see something that happens only amongst the higher classes. We are shown a scene of that bold woman’s further engineering: “When she heard of their malicious talk, she sent for them, and prepared for them a sumptuous repast, and handed each one of them a knife and said (to Joseph]: ‘Come out and present yourself to them.’ When they saw him, they were amazed at him, and they cut their hands, exclaiming: ‘God preserve us! This is no mortal man! This is none other than a noble angel.’ Said she: ‘This is he on whose account you have been blaming me! Indeed I have tried to seduce him, but he guarded his chastity. Now, however, if he does not do what I bid him, he shall certainly be thrown in prison, and shall indeed be humiliated.’ (Verses 31-32)