Yaqub Yasna

Mohammad Yaqub Yasna () is an Afghan writer, poet and scholar of Persian literature. His publications include studies of the Shahnameh, literary criticism, poetry and fiction.

Education and academic work

Yasna received a master's degree in Persian literature from Kabul University. A 2012 interview described him as teaching Persian language and literature at Al-Beroni University in Kapisa Province. An author profile in Magiran lists a doctorate in Persian literature from Yazd University, completed in 2023.

Writing

A 2012 profile listed two of Yasna's research books, Arabic Words in the Shahnameh and Ahriman: A Study of Avestan Myths in the Shahnameh, as well as the poetry collection Me, the Beloved, and Prehistory.

In 2015, Etilaatroz reported the publication of his sixth book, Introduction to Ferdowsi Studies and Shahnameh Research. The report said the book surveyed earlier work about Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh and discussed the place of the Shahnameh in Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan.

Other publications listed by Radio Zamaneh include Possible Knowledges of the Text, the poetry collection In Absence, and the fiction works Returning to Death and What Happened in a Meeting with Space Creatures. His article “The Place of the Persian Language in Afghanistan” appeared in the journal Kavoshnameh in 2019.

Resignation from Al-Beroni University

On 2 February 2022, Yasna announced that he had resigned from Al-Beroni University. He said other professors had accused him of atheism and blasphemy after some of his writings were shared in a university WhatsApp group. According to Scholars at Risk, Yasna said he resigned because he feared for his safety. University officials disputed his account, telling 8am that his resignation concerned personal problems with colleagues and that the university had not pressured him.