The Causal Cycle of Defense Mechanisms in Quranic Personalities of Joseph’s Brothers

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Ali Akbar Noresideh ¹

Madihe Karimi ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Human Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

² Ph.D. Student, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Human Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

10.22067/jquran.2026.96017.1899

Abstract

The Quranic narratives are more than mere historical accounts and provide a rich ground for psychological analysis. Although the story of the Prophet Joseph (AS) has a high position in religious texts, it has rarely been examined from a psychological perspective within a systematic framework. Based on Sigmund Freud's theory of “defense mechanisms”-according to which the “ego” resorts to unconscious methods when it encounters anxiety- this paper aims to examine the formation of the causal cycle of defense mechanisms in the Prophet’s brothers and the role of “ego maturation” and “reality invalidation” in their psychological transformation. Using a qualitative content analysis method, the findings indicate that the brothers’ defense mechanisms functioned within a four-stage cycle and led to their destructive behaviors. This cycle begins with “rationalization” to justify the sinful behavior, is reinforced with displacing anger from the father to the Prophet Joseph (AS) and projecting the deviation onto the father, and ultimately peaks in acting out (throwing the Prophet into the well). The encounter with the Prophet Joseph (AS) and invalidation of reality are the factors that break this cycle, whereby, through recourse to the mechanism of “undoing,” “the mature ego” achieves integration and balance.

Keywords

Holy Quran

Joseph’s brothers

Freud

Defense mechanisms

Subjects

• Quran and Hadith Studies

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