Yusuf and Zulaykha: The Trembling Melancholy on the Heart (Book)

Yusuf and Züleyha is a work by writer and academic Nazan Bekiroğlu that reconstructs the historical and allegorical narrative rooted in sacred texts and classical literary tradition through the modern novel form. The book adheres to the plot of the story known as "ahsenü’l-kasas" (the most beautiful of stories), Yusuf and Züleyha, and centers on a journey from human love to divine love, accompanied by profound psychological analyses of its characters.

The novel traces the existential journey of Prophet Yusuf, beginning with his being thrown into a well by his jealous brothers, followed by his discovery by a caravan, his sale at a slave market, his entry into the Egyptian palace, his imprisonment due to false accusations, and his eventual rise to a position of administrative authority and power. The narrative is shaped around the axis of "the trembling sorrow of the heart." At its core, the story explores how Prophet Yusuf’s unmatched beauty, his steadfastness through trials, and Züleyha’s passionate love for him gradually transform into a process of discerning the true source of all existence.

The work addresses themes such as the nature of love, sorrow, fidelity, patience, self-discipline, and existential quest. Bekiroğlu argues the thesis that love emanates from a single source and that all things derive their essence from that source. Within this framework, the idea that loving created beings—a flower, a bird, the sea, or a person—is in fact an act of turning directly toward that original source is presented through a Sufi and lyrical dramatic structure.

• Prophet Yusuf: A prophet thrown into a well by his brothers out of envy, renowned for his beauty and wisdom. He embodies the subject who endures various human and worldly trials and attains both administrative and spiritual maturity.
• Züleyha: The central female figure, known for her passionate love for Yusuf. She symbolizes the process of self-discipline, maturation through sorrow, and the transformation of human love into divine love, as she moves from palace life to imprisonment and solitude.
• The Brothers: Figures who represent envy, whose act of throwing Yusuf into the well initiates his journey to Egypt and thus sets in motion the fabric of his destiny.
• Potifar (Aziz) and Pharaoh: Figures within the Egyptian administrative hierarchy who determine Yusuf’s social and official status and pave the way for his emergence from prison to a position of authority and power.