The Ramayana and Odyssey have several similarities and differences. Both stories have a protagonist who is a hero: Rama and Odysseus. The main similarities between Rama and Odysseus is that they both get separated from their wives and take a long journey to get back home. The difference between both of their situation is that Odysseus leaves his wife and home for the war and Rama gets separated from his wife and home by a force. It makes the story slightly different from each other towards to the end. Rama gets back to his wife who was stolen by Ravana while Odysseus just gets back home to his wife. In the Ramayana, relationship plays a big role. When Rama’s wife Sita was with Ravana, she tries to commit suicide because she gets depressed after hearing Ravana’s words. She realizes that she can hang herself with her long hair on a tree, but she begins thinking about if it is right to do as a wife of Rama and a daughter of the city ruler, King Janak. It shows the strong relationship between Rama and Sita; Sita changes her mind not to commit suicide and Rama comes to rescue Sita. In the Ramayana, each character deals with individual conflicts. Rama says, “Tell me what I must do. I will obey my father even if he wishes me to drink poison and die.” It shows that he is very loyalty to his father. Rama conflicts with himself because of his loyalty to family, “My heart knows that Sita is pure. Yest my subjects force me to renounce my devoted wife for a second time.” It shows that loyalty plays in a role within himself. For Sita, she has a conflict with people from outside. She is fooled and naive.

What purpose does the retelling of the Joseph story serve in the sections of the Qur’an you’ve read?

The retelling of the story of Joseph in the Qur’an seems to be analogous to what Muhamad and other devote Muslims would face while practicing their beliefs. Joseph received a prophecy from god that he would be supreme over everyone else, even though at the time he was one of the youngest in his family, making it sound very unlikely. Joseph’s belief that god will fulfill this prophesy kept his faith strong, even though it caused his siblings to hate him and get rid of him. Joseph’s unfaltering belief caused him to go through many troubles and perils, however by the end of it, it is obvious that his belief paid off. This is just like when Muhamad received the Qur’an, he was told that he and his nation would rise above all others, which would seem unlikely for a new religion. The Qur’an is trying to forewarn the people who will follow the religion that, no matter how unlikely the promises in the Qur’an seem and how much opposition they will face, if they maintain their faith they will receive all that was promised and end up on top. The story also shows that, no matter what people do to put you down because of your beliefs, you should never hold a grudge; even when you’re on top you should forgive and forget the bad things people did to you.

Justice and mercy in the Koran are two very interesting concepts. Mercy, the less complex of the two, appears to be a trait that defines God, and that God’s true colors are that He is merciful and forgiving. In the story of Joseph, Joseph says, “May God forgive you. Of all those who show mercy, He is the most merciful. (1451)” Notice how Joseph does not say that he forgive the brothers, but God does. This idea of God being the most merciful and forgiving carries on through the rest of the stories of the Koran; it is repeatedly mentioned that God knows all, hears all and sees all – every wrongdoing can only be judged by God. I found justice to be more complex, as it seems to only govern human relationships amongst each other. In particular, the story titled “Woman” offers powerful insight into what the Koran views as justice. For example, it states that if a woman was caught cheating, she should be judged by four witnesses – if guilty, she should be locked inside a house until death or until God decides otherwise. It also says if you cannot treat orphans with fairness, then marry 2, 3 or 4 good women and treat them all equally; if not, then marry only one or any slave girls you own so that you may treat them right. Justice seems to be based on a sense of equality and fairness rather than a moral sense of what is good or bad. It seems that morality is not justice but mercy, and only God is allowed to show mercy or leniency. In other words, justice is the human, objective way of looking at things, while mercy is God’s subjective way of dealing with things.

Compare the Ramayana with The Odyssey in terms of the portrayal of evildoers and their treatment at the story’s conclusion.

When comparing how the evildoers in The Odyssey and the Ramayana are depicted and treated, differences start to become apparent. In The Odyssey, the suitors, who are trying to take everything that Odysseus has, including his wife and country, are considered evildoers. In this case the evildoers are not necessarily “evil” because they aren’t trying to cause harm to others, they are only trying to fulfill their own greedy agendas of becoming kings. They are portrayed more as leechers and moochers, than evil minded individuals. When Odysseus finally has the opportunity to purge his house of these evildoers he does so in a merciless fashion where no one is spared, including anyone who corroborated with the suitors. There is no pity shown and everyone dies a dishonorable death and no honor was given to their dead bodies. It was as though Odysseus came home to clean out the garbage. When comparing this treatment of the evildoers to the Ramayana, we see how Rama shows compassion and honor to his enemy, Ravana. Ravana is actually considered “evil” and does cause harm to others, unlike the suitors from The Odyssey. Also unlike the suitors, Ravana, had a fair one on one battle with Rama, showing honor and courtesy. After Rama’s victory over Ravana, we can see just how much respect he gives to his fallen enemy when he says, “It is not right that you should grieve, for a mighty warrior fallen on the battlefield. Victory is a monopoly for none: a hero is either slain in battle or he kills his opponent…. the warrior who is killed in combat should not be mourned.” (Valmiki Yuddha 112, 113). Rama then goes on to grant a proper burial for Ravana, stating that “Hostility ends at death…. He is your brother as he is mine, too.” (Valmiki Yuddha 112, 113). Just like Rama, Sita also shows mercy and forgiveness when she spares the lives of the demonesses that tormented her.

Question: How to similar events in the Ramayana and the Odyssey compare with each other?

It is very easy to compare these two epics given how both were literary texts that represented incredibly important cultures and civilizations. As a result, there are several events that are available for comparison in the two epics. For one, the actions of women in both epics are very important. In both the Ramayana and the Odyssey, the wives of the main male characters, Sita and Penelope, are tormented by individuals that want to take them for their own, even though both women are married. Despite their circumstances, both women choose to stay loyal to their husbands. This is not to say that both epics treat other events in similar fashion. For example, the Odyssey, the suitors that chase after Penelope are brutally murdered and not given burial after Odysseus comes home. However, in the Ramayana, while Sita’s kidnapper, Ravana, is eventually killed by Rama, Ravana is given a proper burial. Even during the story, Ravana is shown to be respected by Rama, despite his actions, contrasting heavily with the opinions of the public of the suitors. In general, key events like this show the key contrasts in the two epics and more so, the civilizations they were a part of.

Question: What purpose does the retelling of the Joseph story serve in the sections of the Qur’an you’ve read?

There are potentially several purposes to retelling the story of Joseph in the Quran. One important reason might been to directly connect the Quran to other holy books such as the Bible. This would allowed Muslims to show the religious transition from previous holy books that were corrupted through the passage of time and their new holy book. Another reason might have been to simply retell a story to an audience and given them a better understanding of God’s intentions. In the beginning of the tale, Joseph is blessed with the ability of prophecy by God and though he suffers for it, getting thrown down a well and spending a significant period of time in jail, by the end of the story, Joseph is essentially the king’s adviser as a result of his God-given abilities.

There is a stark contrast between the way that evildoers are portrayed in the Odyssey and the Ramayana. In the Odyssey, the suitors, who are the evildoers, are portrayed to be cowardly scoundrels who should not be respected. At the end of the Odyssey, Odysseus slays the suitors and their bodies were simply thrown outside without a proper burial. In the Ramayana, the reader is led to dislike Ravana, the main evildoer, but is also led to respect Ravana in some sense. Ravana is described as a great warrior with massive strength and we are told he has received a boon from Indra, the god of gods. At one point in the story, Hanuman thinks to himself, “Ravana would indeed have been a good man if he had thus got Sita too, to be his wife.” When Rama defeats Ravana, Rama has great respect for the dead body and allows Ravana’s brother, Vibhisana, to give Ravana proper funeral rites and take the throne of Lanka.

There is a nearly paradoxical relationship between affectionate mercy and swift justice in the Qur’an, a parallel view of God as both a nurturing creator and a powerful deliverer of retribution. In the Feast, it is written, “Be mindful of God: He is swift to take account,” a phrase that is echoed multiple times throughout the selection, conjuring an image of an omnipresent deity watching his creations with constant vigilance, a keen eye aware of any possible moral transgressions. However, in lines following, God is said to “wipe out” the sins of anyone who keeps up with prayer and almsgiving. The text points out that God forgives those who are “mindful of him,” an interesting concept that all shall be forgiven, at least on the level of the soul, if an individual attempts to ask for forgiveness and acknowledge that he stands in shame before his creator. Yet the concept of mercy only seems to apply to the soul and mind; corporally, sinners still face grave punishments at the hands of other men who act in keeping with the laws God has set forth. (“Cut off the hands of thieves…as a punishment for what they have done,” is a directive set forth in the Qur’an, though it is quickly followed by, “God is most forgiving, most merciful.” Sinners must pay a price, it seems, though ultimately, they will be forgiven on a level higher than that of bodily mutilation.) The text specifies that God has “no intention to cleanse” those who are entirely misguided with no real belief in their heart; faith is twofold in the Qur’an, an internal passion, trust, and devotion coupled with an external display of certain rites and rituals.

There is an intriguing distinction in the Ramayana between death of merit and honor and death of a convenient release from suffering. In Book Five, the Sundara, a captive Sītā reflects on her time away from her husband and finds herself miserable, pining for an escape from the misery she has endured. She considers taking her own life, debating with herself whether or not death at that present moment would be morally acceptable. She rationalizes that “untimely death is not attained here either by man or a woman,” coming to the conclusion that her suicide would be impure, as it was motivated by her missing her spouse. Still, she finds herself tying a noose and weighing her options and though her human heart screams for release, her knowledge of honor and expectations coupled with many “auspicious omens” dissuaded her from ending her life and her “despair abated.” This death would have been dishonorable and thus impure; Sītā resultantly refrains from suicide. This is in sharp contrast to her death (and subsequent rebirth) at the end of the tale. At the conclusion of the Ramayana, upon Rāma denouncing Sītā for her time with Rāvana (despite Rāvana having kidnapped her, making any form of relationship between them entirely non-consensual), Sītā walks into the fire, hoping that the flames that engulf her will “protect” her, self-immolation proving her purity to her husband. Yet soon after, Sītā is returned to Rāma by the gods, who claim there is “no fault” in her; though her time spent with Rāvana may have had corporeal transgressions, her thoughts were pure as her “heart was set on” her husband. This depiction again emphasizes the taking of one’s own life as a precautionary measure, an act done to safeguard one’s soul, love, honor, or purity. There seems to be a conscious distinction between suicide with purpose and suicide as selfishness. Sītā’s contemplated case presented in the epic was dishonorable and thus unfulfilled while her consummated act of self-destruction was a sacrifice of selflessness and liberation.

The retelling of the story of Joseph displays God’s great power. God has a plan for Joseph to become great and blesses him with the gift of interpreting dreams. Joseph’s brother’s know that Joseph is special and become jealous of him. The brother’s try to spoil God’s plan by throwing Joseph down a well. But, Egyptians rescue him from the well and bring him to Egypt as a servant. When Joseph reaches maturity, he interprets a dream of the pharaoh. Because of this dream interpretation, Joseph becomes an advisor to the pharaoh and saves all of Egypt from a famine. This shows that, “God always prevails in His purpose, though most people do not realize it.”