Characterization in the Story of Yusuf in the Quran and the Old Testament: A Comparative Study

The creation of fictional characters and their development in the form of stories is called characterization. One of the stories that both the Holy Quran and the Old Testament have paid special attention to is the story of Yusuf (UHBP). The Holy Quran and the Old Testament each have characterized Yusuf in their own ways and in pursuit of their goals. The Holy Quran uses characters for the presentation of events and, consequently, for the realization of the story's religious goal, i.e., the guidance of humans. In contrast, the Old Testament uses stories and events for the presentation of its intended characters, which is why it has turned into a completely historical book for the identification of the Jews. The Holy Quran uses historical events as a means to achieve a particular purpose, whereas in the Old Testament historiography was considered as a goal in and of itself. The Quranic story of Yusuf has a main character who at the end surpasses being merely the main character and becomes an idealistic character, whereas the Old Testament has several main characters. The present study used a variety of data collection methods, including library research, database citation, and document analysis. Data analysis used a descriptive-analytical procedure.