Quran Universe
12:35

ثُمَّ بَدَا لَهُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا رَأَوُاْ ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِ لَيَسۡجُنُنَّهُۥ حَتَّىٰ حِينٖ

Thumma bada lahum min baAAdi ma raawoo alayati layasjununnahu hatta heenin

Then it appeared to them after they had seen the signs that al-'Azeez should surely imprison him for a time.

Word by word
  1. ثُمَّThen
  2. بَدَا(it) appeared
  3. لَهُمto them
  4. مِّنۢafter
  5. بَعۡدِafter
  6. مَا[what]
  7. رَأَوُاْthey had seen
  8. ٱلۡأٓيَٰتِthe signs
  9. لَيَسۡجُنُنَّهُۥsurely they should imprison him
  10. حَتَّىٰuntil
  11. حِينٖa time
Yusuf · 12:35Makkah

They knew he was innocent and jailed him anyway.

Prison to save face

Their reasoning
the signsshirt, witness, confession
still
jail himfor a time
so that
the story flipshe looks guilty
Why the innocent paid
justicethe facts decide
imagethe household's name

Even after they saw the proofs of his innocence, they decided to imprison Yusuf. Ibn Kathir suggests they wanted people to think Yusuf was the guilty one, since the news had spread. Years later he would refuse to leave prison until his name was cleared.

The intern blamed so the senior manager keeps his bonus. The child punished because the adult is embarrassed. Sometimes people know the truth and still choose their image. Allah sees the full file.

If I am treated unfairly, it must mean my truth did not count.

People can bury the truth for a time, but they cannot erase it.

Try this

If you have let someone else carry blame that was yours, take one step to set it right.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Then it occurred to them, after they had seen the proofs (of his innocence), to imprison him for a time (35)

Yusuf is imprisoned without Justification

Allah says, 'Then it occurred to them that it would be in their interest to imprison Yusuf for a time, even after they were convinced of his innocence and saw the proofs of his truth, honesty and chastity.' It appears, and Allah knows best, that they imprisoned him after the news of what happened spread. They wanted to pretend that Yusuf was the one who tried to seduce the 'Aziz's wife and that they punished him with imprisonment. This is why when the Pharaoh asked Yusuf to leave jail a long time afterwards, he refused to leave until his innocence was acertained and the allegation of his betrayal was refuted. When this was successfully achieved, Yusuf left the prison with his honor intact, peace be upon him.