A Historical-Contextualist Approach to the Joseph Chapter of the Qur’an

Abstract

This article applies a historical-contextualist approach to analyzing the Joseph sūra of the Qur’an. It first explores the theoretical framework of this study and introduces the historical-contextualist methodology employed and then provides a brief explanation of the Qur’anic account of the story of Joseph. The Joseph sūra is analyzed in light of the context of its revelation and the use it makes of fundamental Qur’anic teachings. This article demonstrates that the revelation of the sūra of Joseph was closely related to the sociopolitical context in which Muhammad and the Muslims lived, and that the sūra highlights several fundamental theological teachings of the Qur’an, including God’s unity and omnipotence, revelation and prophethood, and the afterlife, all themes emphasized in earliest sūras of the Qur’an including those revealed before the Joseph sūra.