The story of Joseph is one that is told in multiple spiritual works. It is present in both the Bible and the Qur’an, and they serve similar purposes. In the Bible, the story of Joseph is told not only as a tale of the power of God, but also as a story of the importance of filial loyalty. In the Qur’an, much more emphasis is placed on the role of God and his great power over his followers. Throughout the story of Joseph, the characters are constantly harkening back to the teachings of God, especially Joseph and Jacob, who are descended from the great prophets Isaac and Abraham. Joseph demonstrates that unwavering belief in God and avoidance of sin will lead to a good life, even if some hardships are thrown in along the way. According to the Qur’an, if you are a good person who follows God’s teachings, you will have a fortunate life.
5 thoughts on “The Story of Joseph”
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I agree with you. The story of Joseph share common characteristics in many cases. As you mentioned, it indicated the importance of filial loyalty and the power of God. And good person who always follow God will be blessed. I would say Qur’an use Joseph’s story to make it more convincible.
The Qur’an depicts Joseph as the ideal Muslim who is loyal to his family and God and in the end Joseph is rewarded with power over those who wanted to enslave his brother. Joseph stays loyal despite the hardships and the caravan later asks for his forgiveness for being wrong. The Qur’an uses Joseph’s story to attempt to make the family the fundamental unit in its society, setting a moral standard for others following the Qur’an, and to convince people to follow Joseph’s example regardless of circumstance.
I agree with your view on the story of Joseph. The Quran shows God’s awesome power through Joseph’s story. God had a plan for Joseph and God achieved his end not just in spite of interference by Joseph’s brothers, but by using Joseph’s brothers’ evil acts as an instrument. Also, it is quite ironic that, at the end of the story, Joseph ends up saving the brothers who tried to kill him.
I admire how you pointed out that, when compared to the story in the bible, the Qu’an had more emphasis on God’s role in the story of Joseph . I think this a common theme throughout the Qu’an, which really differentiates it from precious holy scriptures. This makes sense when you think about the religion itself, which preaches completed trust and devotion in god.
I’m glad you all picked up on the important thread that Joseph is rewarded for his total devotion to God, which eventually manifests in his rewards of a peaceful and prosperous life in Egypt for him and his descendants, but I’d also like to bring up some complications that I think are important to understanding his story more fully, namely: Joseph arguably tortures his brothers a little bit by not immediately revealing his identity and placing the cup in their belongings (seemingly framing them for stealing for a little while); he does eventually forgive them, but not without having some fun first; he’s also granted the gift of prophetic dreams and what might now be called good business acumen (storing grain and selling it to others during a famine or draught, which eventually leads to something like a tax system in Egypt). He has, to use the term Daisy used in another thread, a “personality” and is arguably one of the great early personalities in western literature. Just some things to consider.