In the history of Iranian painting, the ascension of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has always been one of the most common religions in the field of Sunni and Shia, and it has created a suitable platform for poets and painters to create artworks. After that, Iranian painters added mysticism and Sufism to their subjects because Iranian painting has deep roots in religion and religious beliefs. For this purpose, it has been drawn and illustrated in different historical periods in Iran. The influence of mysticism in Iran reached its peak during the Timurid period, and in addition to painting, it also entered the visualization of manuscripts, and many artists who had a mystical mentality or were mystics began to create artworks based on mysticism that also, it continued in the Safavid period. So that there was always a lively and productive connection between mystics and artists. At this time, the works drawn from the narrative of the Ascension were not identical based on the influence of religious mysticism and governmental conditions, and each had differences and similarities. It was according to the tact of supporters and orders in comic books of different ages, and details have been changed in the behavior of the organs, such as the movements and size of the head, hands, the number of figures, the shape of the aura and head covering in different sizes and others. However, artists in both the Timurid and Safavid periods also illustrated the Ascension of the Prophet (PBUH), so in the Timurid period they illustrated the version (Mirhaydar, Khavarannameh and Khamseh Nizami) and in the Safavid period they illustrated the version (Heft Aurang Jami, Khamseh Tahmasabi and Tahmasbi’s divination letter).
Because the Ascension of the Prophet (PBUH) was depicted in Khamsa Nizami at the end of the Timurid period and in Haft Aurang Jami at the beginning of the Safavid period. A leaf from Khamsa Nizami with the title of its inscription “In ascension of Hazrat Resalat (PBUH)” is related to the Prophet’s ascension. Above the painting, poems from Hakim Nizami’s ascension letter are inscribed, which he composed at the beginning of Makhzanul-Asrar. This version has 22 illustrations, some of which were painted by Behzad, and 7 of its illustrations have the figure of Ghasem Ali (Chehregosha), Behzad’s student, which was dated 899AH. Several paintings by Behzad were also recorded in 898AH. The illustrated leaf of the version (leaf 5b) which was illustrated in the year 900 A.H. in the school of Herat, measuring 14 x 21 cm, was illustrated by a prominent artist contemporary of Behzad named Abdol Razzagh on which are poems from the ascension letter written by Hakim Nizami at the start of Makhzanul-Asrar, and is now kept in the British Library in London. Also, Haft Aurang is one of the poems of Abdul Rahman Jami, who is a famous poet, researcher, and mystic. This valuable work has seven verses in Masnavi style and romantic, epic, and instructive stories. Around the years 964-973 A.H., the version of Haft Aurang Jami or Haft Aurang of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza (nephew of Shah Tahmasab) was prepared in Mashhad. Different parts of the book were rewritten separately in Mashhad, Qazvin, and Herat. Mahmoud Neishabouri and four other calligraphers inscribed the book. Jami begins his narrative of the Ascension by describing the night as miraculous and full of light with shining, and then it continues in a short section with the flight of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) riding by Boragh over Makkah and Baytol Moghadas). In this painting, Jami has described the Ascension of the Prophet in two dimensions, spiritual and physical.
Therefore, this historical closeness in these two versions of ascension in Khamsa Nizami and Haft Aurang Jami has caused similarities and differences in the visual structure and pictorial components. Thus, the main goal of this research is the comparative study of the pictorial components of the Ascension of the Prophet (pbuh) in Khamsa Nizami and Haft Aurang Jami, and the main question raised is: What are the differences and commonalities of visualization and iconography in the pictorial narration of the Ascension of the Prophet (PBUH) in Khamsa Nizami and Haft Orang Jami? The research method is descriptive-analytical in terms of its execution method and fundamental in terms of its goal. The information collection method is documentary and library. The research approach is based on the discovery of differences and commonalities of visualization and iconography in the painting of the Ascension of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
For this purpose, first, both images of Khamsa Nizami’s ascension and Haft Aurang Jami are studied and analyzed, and then they are compared with each other, and the differences and commonalities of visualization and iconography are discovered in them. The obtained information was placed in charts. The study items in each of the two images related to a part of the ascension journey of the Prophet (PBUH) have been selected (when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was on the way to Jerusalem and angels gathered around him on this way). After studying each of the images and examining their image components and visual characteristics, the conclusion reached was that; Paying attention and respect to the Muhammadan religion in the Timurid period and depicting scenes of religious in the middle period of the history of Iranian painting are among the evident manifestations of depicting the face of the Prophet (PBUH). The face of the Prophet (PBUH) is visible and no veil has covered his face. The condition of his eyes, nose, and features can be seen. In this period, facial expressions are still influenced by the previous period; i.e. the Ilkhanis and Mongolian influences, such as almond-shaped eyes, can be seen in these pictures. Also, the apparent details in the face painting with beard and mustache influenced by Middle Asian paintings are depicted realistically with a detailed treatment in showing the inner states of his spirit, which is apparent in the image of Khamsa Nizami’s ascension. However, during the Safavid period and the uprising of Shah Ismail, religious tendencies and strict prejudices in the course of sectarianism created new visual factors in the scenes of the Ascension of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), especially in the new era of Iranian painting history. Special effects of depicting the ascension of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with visual elements such as the way of drawing the shape and size of his turban, the arrangement of a veiling or a white veil on his face, or an image of golden light instead is principal, because the followers of Sheikh Safi in the Safavid era were very much influenced by the sectarianism and strict prejudices of the Shiites, for this reason the face of the Prophet (S) is covered with a white veil (burqa), which can be seen in Haft Aurang Jami paintings.