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.