Surah 12. Yusuf, Ayah 53
| ۞ وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي ۚ إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- maa ubarri' nafs -e 'inna an- nafs la- 'ammaarah bi- as- so' 'illaa maa rah.ima rabb -e 'inna rabb -e ghafor rah.em |
| Pickthall | : | I do not exculpate myself. Lo! the (human) soul enjoineth unto evil, save that whereon my Lord hath mercy. My Lord is Forgiving, Merciful. |
| Asad | : | And yet, I am not trying to absolve myself: for, verily, man's inner self does incite [him] to evil,53 and saved are only they upon whom my Sustainer bestows His grace.54 Behold, my Sustainer is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!" |
| Malik | : | "Not that I am free from sin - man's soul is prone to evil, except the one to whom my Rabb has shown mercy, certainly my Rabb is Forgiving, Merciful". |
| Yusuf Ali | : | "Nor do I absolve my own self (of blame): the (human soul) is certainly prone to evil unless my Lord do bestow His Mercy: but surely certainly my Lord is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful." 1713 |
Note - 53Lit., "is indeed wont to command [the doing of] evil" -
i.e., is filled with impulses which often conflict with
what the mind regards as a moral good. This is obviously
a reference to the statement in verse {24} above - "she
desired him, and he desired her; [and he would have
succumbed,] had he not seen [in this temptation] an
evidence of his Sustainer's truth" - as well as to
Joseph's prayer in verse {33}, "unless Thou turn away
their guile from me, I might yet yield to their allure".
(See also note [23] above.) Joseph's stress on the
weakness inherent in human nature is a sublime expression
of humility on the part of one who himself had overcome
that very weakness: for, as the sequence shows, he
attributes his moral victory not to himself but solely to
the grace and mercy of God.
|
Note - 54Lit., "except those upon whom...", etc. According to most
of the commentators, the pronoun ma (lit., "that which")
is here synonymous with man ("he who" or "those who").
|
Note - 1713See n. 1712. I construe this verse to be a continuation
of the speech of the wife of the 'Aziz. It is more
appropriate to her than to Joseph.
|
Share your thoughts about this with others by posting a comment. Visit our FAQ for some ideas.
Filter Comments 
 |
Lit., "is indeed wont to command [the doing of] evil" - i.e., is filled with impulses which often conflict with what the mind regards as a moral good. This is obviously a reference to the statement in verse {24} above - "she desired him, and he desired her; [and he would have succumbed,] had he not seen [in this temptation] an evidence of his Sustainer's truth" - as well as to Joseph's prayer in verse {33}, "unless Thou turn away their guile from me, I might yet yield to their allure". (See also note [23] above.) Joseph's stress on the weakness inherent in human nature is a sublime expression of humility on the part of one who himself had overcome that very weakness: for, as the sequence shows, he attributes his moral victory not to himself but solely to the grace and mercy of God. |
