No blame on you today
Joseph (peace be upon him) had every reason to want revenge. His brothers had thrown him into a well out of jealousy and sold him into slavery. He had been falsely accused and imprisoned. Years later, as a powerful minister in Egypt, he saw them standing in front of him, starving, asking for grain. They did not recognise him. He had all the power, and they had none.
The Qur'an tells how, when at last he made himself known, his brothers were terrified. They said: by God, God has preferred you above us, and we were truly in the wrong.
Joseph (peace be upon him) answered: “No blame on you today. May God forgive you; He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.” (Qur'an 12:92)
The Torah tells the same moment in Genesis 45. Joseph (peace be upon him) weeps so loudly the Egyptians hear him, and says: “Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life.” Later he says: “Ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
Muslims remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), on entering Mecca as victor, quoted Joseph (peace be upon him)'s words to the people who had driven him out.
What each faith says
Judaism
“Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”
Leviticus 19:18 · JPS 1917
The Torah forbids personal revenge in the same verse that commands love: “Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The Psalms call God “God to whom vengeance belongeth” (Psalm 94:1): justice is His, not ours to seize.
Jewish law built courts, witnesses and limits precisely so that justice would not be left to personal anger.
Christianity
“Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19-21 · WEB
Paul tells Christians not to take revenge but to leave room for God, quoting the Torah: “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” Then he goes further: feed your enemy if he is hungry, and overcome evil with good.
Christians remember Jesus (peace be upon him) praying for those who were harming him: “Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Islam
“God is Almighty, Lord of Retribution.”
Qur'an 3:4 · our rendering
The Qur'an calls God dhū ntiqām, “Lord of Retribution” (3:4), and uses the participle of His dealing with persistent wrongdoers (32:22). It is never the first word about Him. Every chapter but one begins “In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Kind”, and a hadith qudsi says: “My mercy outweighs My anger” (Bukhari 3194).
Scholars teach that this Name protects the wronged: no tyranny goes unanswered. It is paired with al-ʿAfuww and never used to frighten.
Same and different
Leviticus, Romans and the Qur'an all tell people to leave vengeance to God and to prefer forgiveness, and all three tell Joseph (peace be upon him)'s story of mercy. All three teach that God's justice is real and His mercy greater. They differ on how mercy reaches the wrongdoer: Christians speak of forgiveness through Christ; Jews and Muslims of repentance and God's forgiveness directly.
A moment to reflect
- Have you ever wanted to pay someone back? What did you do?
- Why might it be a relief that justice belongs to God?
- What do you think gave Joseph (peace be upon him) the strength to say 'no blame on you today'?
Watch
A 60 Minutes archive report on Desmond Tutu and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
CBC News on the Newfoundland cod collapse and the lessons that followed.
Do it together
Go deeper
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Department of Justice, South Africa) · article
- Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery (Wikipedia) · article
- Joseph in the Torah, the Gospels and the Qur'an (this site) · article
- Qur'an 42:40 · scripture
Sources (4)
- 1992 cod moratorium; 35,000+ jobs from 400+ communities: Wikipedia, Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery
- TRC chaired by Desmond Tutu; amnesty for disclosure: Department of Justice, South Africa; Wikipedia
- Ultimatum game: people reject unfair offers at a cost: Wikipedia, Ultimatum game (Güth et al. 1982)
- 'My mercy outweighs My anger': Sahih al-Bukhari 3194