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.

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.

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.