According to Zemahşerî, the witness testifying in Yusuf's favor is an arrangement from Allah in order to make the argument stronger against the woman and to make Yusuf's acquittal more solid. He transmits multiple reports regarding who this person was (his uncle's son, someone sitting at the door, a judge, a child in the cradle) and mentions a hadith transmitted from the Prophet indicating that one of the four people speaking about this matter was this witness. Furthermore, he compares this incident with the similar acquittal of Moses, Mary, and Aisha, emphasizing that the acquittal in Aisha's case (the Ifk incident) was greater and more miraculous, and that this demonstrated the Prophet's exalted station.

قيل كان ابن عم لها ، إنما ألقى الله الشهادة على لسان من هو من أهلها ؛ لتكون أوجب للحجة عليها ، وأوثق لبراءة يوسف ، وأنفى للتهمة عنه

According to Râzî, the mention that the 'witness' was from among the woman's relatives is in order to make his testimony more acceptable; because it is assumed that one of the woman's relatives would not intend harm or injury to her. Furthermore, he notes that the word 'shahid' (witness) in common usage is only used for someone who knew the matter beforehand and was familiar with it. Three views are transmitted regarding who the witness was: that the woman had a judge uncle's son, or that the witness was the shirt itself (the view of Mujahid); however, this is considered weak because the shirt cannot be attributed to a 'family.'

وإنما قال من أهلها / ليكون أولى بالقبول في حق المرأة لأن الظاهر من حال من يكون من أقرباء المرأة ومن أهلها أن لا يقصدها بالسوء والإضرار

Kurtubî addresses three issues in this verse: that Yusuf spoke the truth with his statement 'she sought to seduce me,' the grammatical examination of the use of the verb 'kana' (to be) with a conditional particle, and the identity of the person bearing witness. He transmits four views regarding the witness: a child in the cradle, the shirt itself, a creature that is neither human nor jinn, or an intelligent adult judge; he himself prefers the last view (that he was an intelligent, judicious man).

قال أبو جعفر النحاس : والأشبه بالمعنى والله أعلم أن يكون رجلا عاقلا حكيما شاوره الملك فجاء بهذه الدلالة ولو كان طفلا لكانت شهادته ليوسف صلى الله عليه وسلم تغني عن أن يأتي بدليل من العادة لأن كلام الطفل آية معجزة

According to Ibn Kesîr, the woman ran after Yusuf and tore his shirt from the front; this is explained by the fact that when Yusuf called to her, the woman resisted him and pushed him, and thus the truth of the woman's statement was revealed. Different views are transmitted among the exegetes regarding the identity of the witness: some mention him as one of the king's special servants, some as the woman's cousin, and some as a child in the cradle.

وذكر أنها اتبعته تجذبه إليها حتى قدت قميصه أي من قدامه ( فصدقت ) أي في قولها إنه راودها على نفسها لأنه يكون لما دعاها وأبت عليه دفعته في صدره فقدت قميصه فيصح ما قالت

According to Beydâvî, Yusuf's statement 'She sought to seduce me' was said in order to avert the threat of imprisonment or painful punishment directed at him; he would not have said this if the woman had not slandered him. The person bearing witness is noted to be from among the woman's relatives, a child speaking in the cradle, and Allah's placement of testimony from His witness on the tongue of one of her family members is in order for the evidence to be more binding against the woman. The tearing of the shirt from the front is explained as signs pointing to Yusuf's truthfulness, and the tearing from the back as signs pointing to the woman's falsity.

وإنما قال ذلك دفعا لما عرضته له من السجن أو العذاب الأليم، ولو لم تكذب عليه لما قاله. وشهد شاهد من أهلها قيل ابن عم لها. وقيل ابن خال لها صبيا في المهد.

Taberî transmits the disagreement among exegetes regarding the identity of the 'witness' in the Chapter of Yusuf. According to some reports, this witness was a child speaking in the cradle, according to some reports he was a bearded adult man, and according to others he was one of the king's special servants. Furthermore, according to one view, it was not the person bearing witness but rather the evidence of the shirt torn from behind that testified.

قال: ما كان بصبي، ولكن كان رجلا حكيما