Yusuf and Zulaikha

A miniature Mughal painting depicting the tale of Yusuf and Zulaikha

Yusuf and Zulaikha is the Quranic verse of Yusuf (Joseph) and Zulaikha (the person known in the Bible as Potiphar's wife and whose name is not given there). It has been told and retold countless times in many languages spoken by Muslims, especially Persian. Its most famous version was written in Persian by Jami (1414-1492), in his Haft Awrang ("Seven Thrones"). The story has by then many elaborations, and is capable of a Sufi interpretation, where Zulaikha's lust for Yusuf represents the soul's longing for God.

Other writers to have retold the story include: Mahmud Gami (Kashmiri). It is a standard tale used in Punjabi Qisse.

Also there exists a long poem on the subject, titled as Yusuf and Zalikha, which used to be attributed to Ferdowsi, the great Persian poet of the tenth and eleventh century, however, the scholars have rejected this book based on its low quality and the time line of Ferdowsi's life.

'Yusuf and Zalikha: The Biblical Legend of Joseph and Potiphar's Wife in the Persian Version Ascribed to Abul-Mansur Qasim, Called Firdausi, ca. 932-1021 A.D.,' Edited by Hermann Ethé, Philo Press, Amsterdam, 1970


Tags: Heer Ranjha, ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ, ہیر رانجھا, Layla and Majnun, مجنون و ليلى ,Khosrow and Shirin,خسرو و شیرین ,Romeo and Juliet

(source:wikipedia)