better than the accounts not related in the Quran. People may wrong others, envy them, invite them to immorality, and be tested with sovereignty. Yet none of those not mentioned in the Quran equalled Joseph in fearing Allah and remaining patient, nor did any of them attain, like Joseph, the finest outcome in this world and the Hereafter. Likewise, the accounts of the People of the Cave and of Dhū al-Qarnayn are each superior to others of their kind. The account of Dhū al-Qarnayn is the finest account of kings, and that of the People of the Cave is the finest account of Allah’s close servants who lived during the interval between messengers.

Thus, the words of Allah Most High:

“We relate to you the best of narratives”

embrace everything He has related in His Book: it is better than what He has not related. They do not mean that the story of Joseph is the best account related in the Quran. How can what happened to Joseph compare with what happened to Moses, Noah, Abraham, and the other messengers? How can the hostility Joseph faced compare with the hostility they faced? How can Joseph’s standing before Allah compare with their distinction and lofty ranks—may Allah’s blessings be upon them all? And how can the victory granted to Joseph compare with that granted to them?

For Joseph’s case was as Allah Most High says:

“Thus We established Joseph in the land, to settle wherever he wished. We bestow Our mercy upon whom We will, and We do not let the reward of those who do good go to waste.”

Allah humbled those who had wronged him, and they then repented. Thus, among the lessons of this story is that when someone who is wronged and envied remains patient and fears Allah, the final outcome will be in his favour, and that the envious wrongdoer