yusuf al-siddiq

Not having a television or internet at home (by choice), what I watch depends on whatever DVDs or downloads my friends choose to give me. I like it as a system because I am introduced to films or series I wouldn't normally consider watching. However, when an Iranian historical serial was handed to me a while back, I doubted I would be watching much of it – especially when I was told, "It gets really good after episode 25." But that serial was Yusuf Al-Siddiq, and I've been pleasantly surprised.

There seems to be little in English about it online, so here's my translation of the Arabic Wikipedia entry (and any Wikipedians reading this, feel free to use it to build up the English entry):

Yusuf Al-Siddiq is an Iranian historical serial which tells the story of the Prophet Yusuf (A.S.), son of Yacoub the son of Ishaq the son of Ibrahim Al-Khalil (A.S.), from the time of his birth until meeting his father Yacoub, the Prophet of God, after a long absence. The serial comprises 45 episodes which took four years to film, from 2004 until 2008. Twenty writers worked on the screenplay, and they referred to the Holy Qur'an, books of commentary, history books, hadith, and also some books from the Sunni school. The work they produced reached approximately 8000 pages. It was broadcast exclusively on Al-Kawthar TV after being dubbed into Arabic, and was also broadcast in its original Farsi in the same way on Iran TV. This dubbed serial was acclaimed by many viewers and was the talk of the moment. A large number of criticisms circulated as well. The serial was broadcast in Ramadan 1430 (2009) on Al-Manar channel.

I suppose I should clarify, for those who might not make the connection, that the Prophet Yusuf is of course Joseph, son of Jacob, grandson of Isaac, great-grandson of Abraham – Joseph of the "Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (though the "coat of many colours" in the Biblical account may be a mistranslation).

While I don't catch everything in Yusuf Al-Siddiq, I can certainly follow what's going on (knowing the basic plot helps, I suppose), and I am actually quite engaged by the story. The acting is good; in fact, the whole production is very well done. I've just finished episode eight, when Joseph is about to be taken to Egypt, so there's a long way to go. But I am confident I will actually get through all 45 episodes.

The entire serial can be found online; just search for “Yusuf Al-Siddiq” on YouTube.