فَلَمّا رَأىٰ قَميصَهُ قُدَّ مِن دُبُرٍ قالَ إِنَّهُ مِن كَيدِكُنَّ ۖ إِنَّ كَيدَكُنَّ عَظيمٌ

So when he saw that his shirt was torn from behind, he said: ‘This is [a case] of you women’s guile! Your guile is great indeed!

EXEGESIS

Kaydikunna (you women’s guile): as mentioned in verse 5, kayd means a scheme or plan set out for achieving something and it may be used in either a negative or positive sense, although it usually carries with it a negative connotation.[1] The pronoun suffix kunna is the second person feminine plural, hence the chosen translation.

EXPOSITION

So when he saw that his shirt was torn from behind: ‘seeing’ here can either mean knowing and realising, or literally seeing.[2] Upon witnessing the evidence, the governor was convinced of Prophet Joseph’s (a) innocence. While the Quran only mentions the decisive proof, there may have been additional factors influencing the governor’s judgement. Prophet Joseph’s (a) well-known integrity, piety, and upright character made it difficult to believe he would commit such an act – his reputation alone rendered the accusations implausible.[3]

He said: the governor said,[4] turning to his wife, This is [a case] of you women’s guile! While some have said that this was in reference to her and her servant girls,[5] it is better to understand this to be a statement made about women in general. In other words, he meant that women’s guile is well known.[6] It should not be understood to mean that he was accusing other women of somehow being involved in his wife’s plot.

The statement carries a distinct tone of disapproval toward women, implying: you women are always scheming – this is precisely why I want nothing to do with you. This sentiment is reinforced in the subsequent verse where he dismissively tells Prophet Joseph (a), let this [matter] alone.

Your guile is great indeed: while these are the words of the governor and should not be understood as a Quranic maxim, it is also pointing to a real phenomenon. Throughout most of human history, women in general have enjoyed a weaker social status and influence and because they could rarely influence events directly, many resorted to more guileful means to see their will done.[7]

Some scholars have humorously mused that: ‘I fear the guile (kayd) of women more than the guile of Satan because the Quran describes women’s guile as great, whilst it says about the latter, indeed the stratagems (kayd) of Satan are always flimsy [4:76].’[8]

Finally, make note that this was the second (of a total of three) major appearances of Prophet Joseph’s (a) shirt. While his brothers tried to use his shirt to lie to their father, this time the shirt was used to prove his innocence.

[1] Raghib, p. 728, k-y-d.
[2] Tibyan, 6/127.
[3] Razi, 18/445-446. Commenting on verse 26, Rāzī mentions many other evidences, but they are all highly speculative.
[4] Tibyan, 6/127; Tabari, 12/117.
[5] Zamakhshari, 2/461.
[6] Mizan, 11/143.
[7] See also Fadlallah, 12/191-192.
[8] Zamakhshari, 2/461.