may have his repentance accepted and be pardoned by Allah, and that one who has been wronged should pardon his oppressor when he has power over him.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew upon this lesson on the day of the conquest of Mecca. Standing at the door of the Kaaba, after Allah had humbled before him those who had opposed and fought him—the men he set free—he asked, “What do you have to say?”

They replied, “We say: you are a noble brother and a noble cousin.”

He said, “I say to you what Joseph said to his brothers: ‘No blame will there be upon you today. May Allah forgive you, for He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.’”

Likewise, when ʿĀʾishah was wronged and falsely accused, and was told, “If you have committed a sin, seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him,” she said in her response, “I say as Joseph’s father said: ‘So patience is most fitting, and Allah is the One whose help is sought against what you describe.’”

Thus, Joseph’s story contains many kinds of lessons for those who are wronged, those who are envied, those tested by temptations to immorality and sin, and others. But how does it compare with the accounts of Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Messiah, and others like them, whose stories tell how they called people to worship Allah alone, without any partner, only for their people to reject them, harm them, and harm those who believed in them?

These men suffered harm because they chose to worship Allah. They faced hostility and harm for freely choosing to love and worship Him. Had they not believed and called people to worship Allah, they would not have been harmed. This is unlike someone who suffers harm without having chosen it, as Joseph was taken from his father against his will. This is why Joseph’s trial involving the women and the chief minister’s wife, and his choosing prison over disobedience to Allah, were