A Brief Reflection on the Relation Between Sin, Ignorance, Despair, and Mercy in the Surah Joseph in the Quran

“Say, ‘[God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy.  God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” (39:53)

“Later, when they presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his parents to him– he said, ‘Welcome to Egypt: you will all be safe here, God willing’– and took them up to [his] throne. They all bowed down before him and he said, ‘Father, this is the fulfilment of that dream I had long ago. My Lord has made it come true and has been gracious to me– He released me from prison and He brought you here from the desert– after Satan sowed discord between me and my brothers. My Lord is most subtle in achieving what He will; He is the All Knowing, the Truly Wise.  My Lord! You have given me authority; You have taught me something about the interpretation of dreams; Creator of the heavens and the earth, You are my protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Let me die in true devotion to You. Join me with the righteous.’” (12:99-101)

In the following verses from the surah Joseph (12), there are five lessons that have occupied my mind:

1)     The first verses of the surah Joseph emphasize “understanding”:

“In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy

Alif Lam Ra

These are the verses of the Scripture that makes things clear––We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran so that you [people] may understand.”

Now consider the fact that so many of Muslims read the Quran in Arabic and don’t try to understand its meaning and ponder it, even if they don’t know Arabic, because we think the language of scripture is miraculous.  Was this really God’s intention in revealing the Quran or God wanted us to understand the content?

2)    Joseph is considered the model of innocence and decency.  I envy his purity of heart and untainted soul.  However, he says: “I do not pretend to be blameless, for man’s very soul incites him to evil unless my Lord shows mercy: He is most forgiving, most merciful.’” (12:53):

“When he reached maturity, We gave him judgement and knowledge: this is how We reward those who do good. The woman in whose house he was living tried to seduce him: she bolted the doors and said, ‘Come to me,’ and he replied, ‘God forbid! My master has been good to me; wrongdoers never prosper.’ She made for him, and he would have succumbed to her if he had not seen evidence of his Lord– We did this in order to keep evil and indecency away from him, for he was truly one of Our chosen servants.” (12:22-24)

“The king said, ‘Bring him to me,’ but when the messenger came to fetch Joseph, he said, ‘Go back to your master and ask him about what happened to those women who cut their hands– my Lord knows all about their treachery.’ The king asked the women, ‘What happened when you tried to seduce Joseph?’ They said, ‘God forbid! We know nothing bad of him!’ and the governor’s wife said, ‘Now the truth is out: it was I who tried to seduce him– he is an honest man.’ [Joseph said, ‘This was] for my master to know that I did not betray him behind his back: God does not guide the mischief of the treacherous. I do not pretend to be blameless, for man’s very soul incites him to evil unless my Lord shows mercy: He is most forgiving, most merciful.’” (12:50-53)

3)    Joseph let his half-brother Benjamin know that he is Benjamin’s brother and does something strange: he places the drinking-cup in his brother’s pack.  He obviously did something wrong but for some good reason.  But first he secured the brother so that his mischief doesn’t harm his soul.  The Quran concludes: “In this way, We devised a plan for Joseph– if God had not willed it so, he could not have detained his brother as a penalty under the king’s law– We raise the rank of whoever We will. Above everyone who has knowledge there is the One who is all knowing.”

“Then, when they presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his brother apart and said, ‘I am your brother, so do not be saddened by their past actions,’ and, once he had given them their provisions, he placed the drinking-cup in his brother’s pack. A man called out, ‘People of the caravan! You are thieves!’ and they turned and said, ‘What have you lost?’ They replied, ‘The king’s drinking-cup is missing,’ and, ‘Whoever returns it will get a camel-load [of grain],’ and, ‘I give you my word.’ They said, ‘By God! You must know that we did not come to make mischief in your land: we are no thieves.’ They asked them, ‘And if we find that you are lying, what penalty shall we apply to you?’ and they answered, ‘The penalty will be [the enslavement of] the person in whose bag the cup is found: this is how we punish wrongdoers.’ [Joseph] began by searching their bags, then his brother’s, and he pulled it out from his brother’s bag. In this way, We devised a plan for Joseph– if God had not willed it so, he could not have detained his brother as a penalty under the king’s law– We raise the rank of whoever We will. Above everyone who has knowledge there is the One who is all knowing.” (12:69-76)

I thought about it for a while.  I have a theory or hypothesis: whatever we do affects us deeply in soul and body.  The goal and purpose of life is arriving at oneness of thoughts, words, deeds, heart, body and soul through faith in God.  However, this story says this is not a linear line.  Joseph had to violate a simple ethical practice, to frame his brother whom he loves up stealing the cup, in order to keep him with himself and this way bring the whole family back to Egypt.  First, he secures the brother and let him know so that he doesn’t feel shame.  But then he lies.  God says “above everyone who has knowledge there is One who is all knowing.”  Basically, God says the story of ethics is not linear and what you think you know about ethics is not comparable with what God knows.  This story is no legitimization for mischief and lying.  But it surely justifies some circumstantial white lies or mischief.  It is though difficult to keep the boundary; one might easily find it convenient to go about doing it every day, and this is not what God wants. 

4)    Joseph’s brothers had done the worst thing that one can imagine, short of killing.  However, their father says: “My sons, go and seek news of Joseph and his brother and do not despair of God’s mercy– only disbelievers despair of God’s mercy.’” (12:87) Despair of God’s mercy is a sign of disbelief and a seduction of Satan.  In a sense, the ultimate evil is despair of God. 

“Their father said, ‘No! Your souls have prompted you to do wrong! But it is best to be patient: may God bring all of them  back to me– He alone is the All Knowing, the All Wise,’ and he turned away from them, saying, ‘Alas for Joseph!’ His eyes went white with grief and he was filled with sorrow.  They said, ‘By God! You will ruin your health if you do not stop thinking of Joseph, or even die.’  He said, ‘I plead my grief and sorrow before God. I have knowledge from God that you do not have.  My sons, go and seek news of Joseph and his brother and do not despair of God’s mercy– only disbelievers despair of God’s mercy.’” (12:83-87)

5)    There are two general lessons in these verses:

5-1)          It seems to me, the Quran’s realism dismantles thinking in terms of totality.  For example, God’s commandment about not lying, cheating, killing, not committing adultery, etc. now is clear to us that rationally and with good justification are inviolable.  If it is the case that the way we conduct our thought-words-deeds affects the state of our body and soul in minute detail, and ethics and spirituality have intimate relationship, then all ethical commandment of God are inviolable, due to the effect of fragmentation of our conscience upon our body-soul.  However, the surah Joseph asks us to think differently: it is almost impossible for us not to make any mistake.  As Joseph says: I do not pretend to be blameless, for man’s very soul incites him to evil unless my Lord shows mercy: He is most forgiving, most merciful.’” (12:53) Of course this is not a license to go for mistakes, but to show that toxic guilt and despair are a work of Satan.  Proper guilt awakens us to our mistakes and God seeks to teach us a spiritual-rational-conceptual grasp of good and evil.  For example, I had this absolute principle that “ends don’t justify means”.  While there are so many good reasons for this principle, in terms of the effects of “means” that we use to achieve our goals on our body and soul and consequently on the goal itself, the Quran as always gives us a realistic sense about this principle.  We should not violate God’s boundaries and ethics.  We can’t kill people indiscriminately for the cause of God; this is oxymoron.  However, some small deviation, depending on its spiritual weight and contextual reasons are justified and God will forgive us for those mistakes.  For example, Joseph’s mischief to keep his brother is a minor misdeed for a good reason.  

“Then, when they presented themselves before Joseph, they said, ‘Mighty governor, misfortune has afflicted us and our family. We have brought only a little merchandise, but give us full measure. Be charitable to us: God rewards the charitable.’ He said, ‘Do you now realize what you did to Joseph and his brother when you were ignorant (jaheloon)?’  and they cried, ‘Could it be that you are Joseph?’ He said, ‘I am Joseph. This is my brother. God has been gracious to us: God does not deny anyone who is mindful of God and steadfast in adversity the rewards of those who do good.’  They said, ‘By God! God really did favor you over all of us and we were in the wrong!’  but he said, ‘You will hear no reproaches today. May God forgive you: He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.  Take my shirt and lay it over my father’s face: he will recover his sight. Then bring your whole family back to me.’” (12:88-92)

5-2)        Joseph’s brothers commit a horrendous sin and Joseph calls them “ignorant” and forgives them.  Surah Joseph (12) has so many elements that I didn’t discuss, such as the points about dreams, dreaming the future, interpretation of dreams, and God’s wisdom and foreknowledge.  In this short note, I just wish to highlight God’s great mercifulness and forgiveness, if we bring faith in God.  What is strange in the story of Joseph is that all wrong doers after admitting they have done wrong and learned their lessons were forgiven: the governor’s wife who wanted to seduce Joseph and framed him up to stay in prison for years said, ‘Now the truth is out: it was I who tried to seduce him– he is an honest man’ and was forgiven.  The brothers who throw their little brother in the well and lied to their fathers, when realized they did wrong and were ignorant, were forgiven.  The Joseph also admits that he was not blameless and even lied and deceptively put the cup in his brother’s bag to keep him by himself was forgiven.  It seems that in the surah Joseph, God wants to remind us that the story of good and evil, the story of ethics is not a linear one.  And God is the most forgiving if we realize our mistakes and make amends, and in this way God will restore the oneness of our thoughts, words, deeds, heart, body, and soul, if we learn our lessons and change our ways, in a word, if we genuinely repent.

The surah ends with these touching words of wisdom:

“Later, when the caravan departed, their father said, ‘You may think I am senile but I can smell Joseph,’ 95but [people] said, ‘By God! You are still lost in that old illusion of yours!’  Then, when the bearer of good news came and placed the shirt on to Jacob’s face, his eyesight returned and he said, ‘Did I not tell you that I have knowledge from God that you do not have?’  The [brothers] said, ‘Father, ask God to forgive our sins– we were truly in the wrong.’  He replied, ‘I shall ask my Lord to forgive you: He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’”  (12:94-97)

“Later, when they presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his parents to him– he said, ‘Welcome to Egypt: you will all be safe here, God willing’– and took them up to [his] throne. They all bowed down before him and he said, ‘Father, this is the fulfilment of that dream I had long ago. My Lord has made it come true and has been gracious to me– He released me from prison and He brought you here from the desert– after Satan sowed discord between me and my brothers. My Lord is most subtle in achieving what He will; He is the All Knowing, the Truly Wise.  My Lord! You have given me authority; You have taught me something about the interpretation of dreams; Creator of the heavens and the earth, You are my protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Let me die in true devotion to You. Join me with the righteous.’” (12:99-101)

“This account is part of what was beyond your knowledge [Muhammad]. We revealed it to you: you were not present with Joseph’s brothers when they made their treacherous plans.  However eagerly you may want them to, most men will not believe.  You ask no reward from them for this: it is a reminder for all people 105 and there are many signs in the heavens and the earth that they pass by and give no heed to– most of them will only believe in God while also joining others with Him.  Are they so sure that an overwhelming punishment from God will not fall on them, or that the Last Hour will not come upon them suddenly when they least expect it?  Say, ‘This is my way: based on clear evidence, I, and all who follow me, call [people] to God– glory be to God!– I do not join others with Him.’” (12:102-108)

“All the messengers We sent before you [Muhammad] were men to whom We made revelations, men chosen from the people of their towns. Have the [disbelievers] not travelled through the land and seen the end of those who went before them? For those who are mindful of God, the Home in the Hereafter is better. Do you [people] not use your reason?  When the messengers lost all hope and realized that they had been dismissed as liars, Our help came to them: We saved whoever We pleased, but Our punishment will not be turned away from guilty people.  There is a lesson in the stories of such people for those who understand. This revelation is no fabrication: it is a confirmation of the truth of what was sent before it; an explanation of everything; a guide and a blessing for those who believe.” (12:109-111)