Mar
22
Week 3: Joseph and Prophethood
March 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Week 3: Joseph and Prophethood
In this week’s readings, I was particularly struck by the story of the prophet Joseph within the Qur’an and its relation to other religious scriptures. Joseph’s story is also present in Jewish and Christian traditions, although it is particularly emphasized within the Qur’an and in Muslim culture. This provides insight into the close relation of the three religions, and the ways in which they interact with each other. The Qur’anic version of the story is closely related to the Biblical one, although there are some key differences. In Muslim tradition, Joseph’s immense physical beauty is emphasized to a greater extent, and is one of his most prominent and familiar characteristics. Additionally, while in the Bible his coat–given to him by his father–is a source of jealousy for his brothers, it is not one in the Qur’an.
I chose to represent my perception of the story as one portion of the many ways in which Judaism, Christianity, and Islam interact. In the picture I drew, I used familiar symbols to portray the story of Joseph. There are the sun, moon, and eleven stars, which Joseph sees bowing down to him in a dream before his brothers sell him into slavery. There is also the bloodstained shirt which the brothers take back to their father as proof of Joseph’s death, as well as eyes, representing Joseph’s outward beauty. These figures are surrounded by representations of books, acting as religious scriptures–perhaps the Qur’an, Bible, and Torah, or perhaps generic representations of religious traditions. These books are connected by multicolored lines to show the intricate and close-knit relationship of the different traditions and the multitude of ways in which they all interact with the same story.