The Internalization of Moral Values in the Story of Prophet Joseph for Fatherless Children: A Study of the Al-Misbah Tafsir

Abstract

Fatherless children are vulnerable to difficulties in emotional regulation, self-concept, and moral development, whereas the Qur'an narrates Prophet Joseph (Yusuf) growing into a morally mature figure despite a long physical separation from his father, Jacob (Ya'qub). Earlier studies have examined the educational values of Surah Yusuf and fatherlessness separately, but rarely together through a contemporary exegetical lens and a staged model of value internalization. This study aims to describe the story of Prophet Yusuf in the Qur'an and in Tafsir Al-Misbah, to identify the moral values that can be internalized from it, and to examine their relevance for fatherless children. It is a qualitative library research using thematic (maudhu'i) exegesis of a single surah, in which Tafsir Al-Misbah by M. Quraish Shihab is the material object and the interpretation of the Yusuf story is the formal object. Data were analyzed through content analysis and interpreted with a three-stage model of value internalization. The findings show four interrelated moral values, namely patience, iffah (self-restraint), forgiveness, and steadfastness, which Quraish Shihab reads as stages of Yusuf's divine education. The story of Prophet Joseph is relevant to children without fathers not because of similarities in family circumstances, but because of the moral values it contains, which can be adapted as material for character education according to the children's needs and circumstances. The process of internalizing these values occurs through value transformation, value exchange, and value transinternalization.