Intertextuality of Persian and Albanian Literature (Study Sample: Quran Narrative of Jusuf and Zulejha)

Abstract

After accepting Islam, the Persians began receiving strong influences from Arabs, in all fields of knowledge, including the religious one. One of the indicators of this particular influence is, their early interest for the contribution to the story of Yusuf, originally told in a dedicated chapter in the Qur’an (surah 12). Persians have given numerous literary works on the subject. In Persian, this story is narrated in three forms: in verse (in mathnawi rhymed couplets), in prose, and in prose and verse combined. I think it would be sufficient in this paper, just to give a clearer idea about, when the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha started to be elaborated in the Persian literature and about the most prominent authors, who have undertaken such a task. I will compare those Persian literary works – up to 30, authored by writers such as Ferdowsi, Jami, Khawari Shirazi, Balkhi, Umku Bukhari, al-Kharvi etc. – with literary works on the same theme, by Albanian authors such as Hafiz Ali Korca and Muhamed Kycyku. I will argue that, the interest and contribution of Persians to the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha has been great. One thing that deserves attention is the fact that, in relating the story of Yusuf, Persians have paid attention to the artistic and literary aspect of it, in contrast to the Arabic works, which mainly focus on the religious and moral aspect of the story.