يُوسُفُ أَعْرِضْ عَنْ هَذَا وَاسْتَغْفِرِي لِذَنْبِكِ إِنَّكِ كُنْتِ مِنَ الْخَاطِئِينَ ﴿۲۹﴾ وَقَالَ نِسْوَةٌ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ امْرَأَتُ الْعَزِيزِ تُرَاوِدُ فَتَاهَا عَنْ نَفْسِهِ قَدْ شَغَفَهَا حُبًّا إِنَّا لَنَرَاهَا فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ﴿۳۰﴾ فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ بِمَكْرِهِنَّ أَرْسَلَتْ إِلَيْهِنَّ وَأَعْتَدَتْ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً وَآتَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ سِكِّينًا وَقَالَتِ اخْرُجْ عَلَيْهِنَّ فَلَمَّا رَأَيْنَهُ أَكْبَرْنَهُ وَقَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ وَقُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّهِ مَا هَذَا بَشَرًا إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ ﴿۳۱﴾

﴾29﴿ Yoosufu a'rid 'an haaza wastaghfiree li zanbiki innaki kunti minal khaati'een
﴾30﴿ Wa qaala niswatun fil madeenatim ra atul'Azeezi turaawidu fataahaa 'an nafsihee qad shaghafahaa hubbaa; innaa lana raahaa fee dalaalim mubeen
﴾31﴿ Falammaa sami'at bimak rihinna arsalat ilaihinna wa a'tadat lahunna muttaka anw wa aatat kulla waahidatim min hunna sikkeenanw wa qaala tikh ruj 'alaihinna falammaa ra aynahooo akbarnahoo wa qatta'na aydiyahunna wa qulna haasha lillaahi maa haaza basharaa; in haazaaa illaa malakun kareem

﴾29﴿ O Joseph, turn away from this matter (do not spread it), and (O woman) seek forgiveness for your sin; indeed, you have been among the wrongdoers
﴾30﴿ And the women in the city said, 'The wife of the governor is seducing her servant; indeed, his love has captivated her heart. Truly, we see her in clear error
﴾31﴿ So when she heard their taunting remarks, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them, and gave each of them a knife. Then she said, Come out before them, O Yusuf (Joseph)! When they saw him, they were so astonished by his beauty that they cut their hands and exclaimed, Glory be to Allah! This is no mortal; this is none other than a noble angel

[29] In this verse, the instruction given to Yusuf (peace be upon him) was to keep the incident hidden, so as to avoid public scandal. As for the instruction to Zuleikha, it was to seek forgiveness—either from Yusuf (peace be upon him), or from her husband, or from Allah Almighty.
This is because they believed in Allah, though their belief was mixed with shirk (polytheism).
The lack of anger shown by the Aziz of Egypt toward Zuleikha is attributed to his weak sense of honor (ghayrah)—as mentioned in some sources.
According to the outcome of the arbitration, it would have been appropriate for the woman to receive a clear punishment, yet that did not happen—indicating his leniency or low level of protective jealousy.
[30] From this verse to verse (35), it marks the fourth stage in the story, and in this stage four types of plotting (makr) are mentioned:
1. The first plot is by the general women along with Zuleikha—they criticize and taunt her.
2. The second plot is Zuleikha’s plot against those same women.
3. The third plot is the collective plotting of all the women against Yusuf (peace be upon him).
4. The fourth plot is their pressuring him, which leads to him being imprisoned.
In verse (35), the taunting of the women toward Zuleikha includes ten points:
1. She is a married woman.
2. Her husband is the Aziz of Egypt.
3. She was the one who pursued Yusuf.
4. She did so with effort and exaggeration.
5. She pursued a servant.
6. She openly declared her desire during the pursuit.
7. Her own self confessed to her love for him.
8. The love penetrated deeply into her heart, referred to as shaghaf.
9. She is clearly in the wrong.
10. Her error is obvious to everyone.
(شَغَفَهَا) – Shaghaf originally refers to the protective membrane of the heart. So, the meaning here is that her love for Yusuf entered the covering of her heart, reaching its very core.
[31] In this verse, Zuleikha is shown defending herself against the taunts of the women. Their mockery had personally affected her, so she sought to justify her love for Yusuf (peace be upon him) and make her case clear.
(بِمَكْرِهِنَّ) – The term makr (plotting) is used because these women used their words as a means to undermine Yusuf’s religion, or because this gossip was backbiting, which, like plotting, is done secretly.
(مُتَّكَأً) – This refers either to pillows and cushions (places to recline), or to the meal served while reclining. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) discouraged this by saying: “I do not eat while reclining.”
Another opinion is that muttaka refers to foods that are cut with a knife.
(سِكِّينًا) – Eating with a knife was a refined custom of that time.
(أَكْبَرْنَهُ) – Meaning they were stunned and awestruck by his outer beauty. In addition to the beauty of prophethood and his noble character, it is authentically narrated that Yusuf (peace be upon him) was given half of all beauty.
(وَقَطَّعْنَ أَيْدِيَهُنَّ) – This refers to wounding their hands in astonishment at Yusuf’s beauty.
(حَاشَ لِلَّهِ) – This is a phrase used customarily to express wonder, meaning SubhanAllah or I seek refuge in Allah. It shows that they acknowledged Allah’s purity.
(إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ) – This is a metaphor for chastity—that Yusuf is as pure as an angel. Or it may refer to his beauty, since although they had never seen angels, angels are commonly associated with beauty, just as Shaytan is known for ugliness.