Analytical Study of Sources Adapted from the Story of Water of Life by Sadegh Hedayat

The story of "Water of Life" is one of the stories of Sadegh Hedayat's in the collection of "Alive to the Grave". This story has been written in the genre of allegorical stories and there are references to ancient and classical Persian literature and the text of the Holy Quran. In this article, while stating the sources of the author's adaptation and inspiration from previous texts, an attempt has been made to answer the question of whether the author has included the previous texts in his text with intrusion, appropriation, and creativity, or whether with the least intrusion and appropriation, they have entered the text and remained a mere imitator? The research method in this paper is descriptive-analytical and library; relying on research in this area. Examining the sources adapted by the author, it was concluded that the sources quoted by the author are the story of Prophet Yusuf (AS) in the Holy Quran, Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, in the stories of Shah Fereydoun, and the story of Rostam and Esfandiar and also one of the anecdotes of Golestan Saadi. In general, the author has mostly taken a creative and intrusive approach to how to use these resources. As a result, his work can be a model for writers on how to use ancient literary texts and holy texts.