Introduction, criticism and analysis of Nazem Heravi’s Yousof-o-Zoleikha

Lyric poetry, which expresses human sentiments through a sensational dialect, manifests in Persian literature in a variety of forms and instances and embraces many subjects and themes as love, praise, description, lamentation, complain, etc. Numerous lyrical stories have occurred in the history of Persian literature, some with Iranian origins and some stemmed from Semitic or Islamic culture. The poems of Bijan-o-Manijeh and Weys-o-Ramin are examples of the first group that are rooted in Parthian era (Khaleghi Motlagh, 1980, p. 284-289), while Wargha-o-Golshah, Leily-o-Majnoon and Yusuf-o-Zuleikha represent the second group. The last example, Yusuf-o-Zuleikha, is a well-known lyrical story that comes from the Book of Genesis in The Bible. It is also narrated in the Yusuf Surah in the Holly Quran and has often been poeticized in Persian literature. Nazem Heravi is an 11th century (AH) poet whose Yusuf-o-Zuleikha, with more than five thousand couplets, is one of the best instances of the poetic story in the Persian literature. This study aims at introduction, criticism and analysis of Heravi’s Yusuf-o-Zuleikha. To this end, first Nazem Heravi and his works are discussed according to ancient references. Then his narration and the references of its components are reported and finally elements of his poem and his poetic art are discussed. The main study questions include: Who is Nazem Heravi and how important is his Yusuf o Zuleikha?
What are the origins and history of the sources of his narrative components?
How important are his elements of poetry and poetic art in Yusuf-o-Zuleikha?  
This study will be conducted via descriptive and analytic method on the basis of library resources. In every section attempts will be made that the study be on the basis of ancient and first hand sources and references and the findings will be presented as clearly as possible.
Molla Farokh Hosain Heravi, wrote under pseudonym of Nazem. His father, Shah Reza Sabzvari, was also a famous Indian style poet in 11th century (AH). Apparently Nazem was born in 1016 (AH) (Safa, 2007, p: 1267). Since his father was from Sabzavar, he is said to be born in this city too (Bahari Sistani, (n. d.), p: 398). Nazem Heravi’s teacher was Fasihi Heravi (Saba, 1964, p: 797). After learning common sciences of his time, Nazem joined Hasan Khan Shamlou,s members of court. Shamlou was designated, after his father, as commander in chief of Khorasan (see Eskandar beig Torkaman, 2003, p: 942, 1084). Nazem served him and his son who was also appointed as his father’s successor by Shah Safi in 1959 (AH) (Bigdeli, 1993, p. 1047). He eulogized his masters and was respected in life. Nazem was a Shiite poet and has often showed his devotion to the Prophet’s family (Nazem Heravi, 1995, p, 405, 415, 424; ibid, p, 14). In some references, some of his personality traits like kindness and good will has been praised (Nasrabadi, 1938, p, 330; also see Nazem Heravi, 1943, p, 190, 191). Although historians disagree on the year of his death, 1081 (AH) is most probable last year of his life (Khayampour, 1989, p, 916; Nazem Heravi, 1995, p 52). Some of his works include Poetical Works, Monshaat (collection of official correspondences), and Yusuf-o-Zuleikha among which the last one is the most famous. A detailed account of this story has been narrated in a historical style in Torat (Bible, 2004, Genesis: 51 – 102). Also we can find this story with a little of brevity in Holy Quran. This story has also been explained and interpreted with some details in the books of Qusas-Al-Anbia (The Story of Prophets) which sometimes refer to the Torat and its interpretations (Khayampour, 1958, p, 418, 421). However, there are some differences between the Quranic rendition of the story and its biblical version. Other than the afore mentioned references, there are some Persian interpretations and references from the category of Isra’iliyyat, that has influencedPersian renditions of the story including that of Nazem Heravi’s. In Nazem Heravi’s Yusuf-o-Zuleikhasome main parts of the story are omitted. In fact Nazem’s Yusuf-o-Zuleikha does not cover the incidence of famine; the departure of Jacob’s sons to Egypt and the adventures of this journey as Benjamin's stay with Joseph; the return of the brothers and the cure of Jacob's blind eyes at sniffing the shirt and forgiving the brothers for their sins, which are all the parts of the story in the Holy Qur'an and the Bible (see: Holy, 1383: 82 –94). Apart from his facinating narration which partly strengthens the content and affections of this text, other poetical elements are also specially prominent and contribute to the success of hisYusuf-o-Zuleikha. Another specific formal feature of this poet is the presence of Saki-Nameh in it.
The story of Joseph and Zuleikha is one of the most famous lyrical stories of Sami literature that has been narrated in the Book of Genesis of Bible and in one of the Surahs of Holy Qur'an, and has been entered to the Persian literature due to various fascinating elements from a long time ago. A number of Persian poets such as Shamsi, Khajeh Massoud Qomi and Jami have poetized it. One of the narrators of the story is Nazem Heravi, a prominent Indian style poet of 11th century (AH), whose work merits high values in terms of narrative, linguistic and rhetorical aspects. From the narrative point of view Nazem Heravi’s cast of Yusuf-o-Zuleikha, compared to Quranic or Biblical narration, has a number of additions and omissions which are due to the differences in references and sources before his time. Despite commonalities in many aspects, the narrations of this story in the Bible and Quran, are also different that has led to some of the discrepancies mentioned above. Another reason for the additions and omissions, is that the details of the story has been reported differently in different interpretations and books of Qusas-Al-Anbia which have been sources of dissimilarity in the various versions of this story including Nazem’s poet. In this study it was shown that many fascinating parts of the story were drown from sources like Tabari’s Interpretation, Surabadi’s Interpretation, Abu al-Fotuh Razi’s Interpretation, Farahi Heravi’s Hadaegh-ol-Haghaegh, Tabarsi’s Majma-ol-Bayan, Tusi’s Alastin Aljame-ol-Lataef Albasatin and the poetical versions of this story before Nazem Heravi. Linguistic and rhetorical dimensions of Nazem’s Yusuf-o-Zuleikha are also important. The most prominent linguistic feature is the poet’s special emphasis on composition of words. Proximity to colloquial language, the width of vocabulary and special attention to the proverbs and sayings are other features of this poem. From the imagination point of view, the abundance of images, the innovation in the images, the links between the images and verbs, the profusion of abstract elements, and the wealth of metaphors, similes and personifications are among special characteristics of this poem. Nazem Heravi’s Yusuf-o-Zuleikha is among the most successful and outstanding poetry of Joseph and Zuleikha in the history of Persian literature, both in terms of narrative element and its origins and in terms of poetry elements such as language, imagination and affection.
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