Farid al-Din Attar Neyshaburi is one of the most prolific poets in the Persian language. His works, especially Mantiq al-Tayr, translated into various languages, have many admirers from all over the world. Attar himself acknowledged the sweetness of his words and pen, and he admitted this about Mantiq al-Tayr in specific. On the other hand, Mantiq al-Tayr is one of the most cited texts in literary research, and illustrated manuscripts inspired by it are also among the most cited research works in the field of artistic research. In this research, the Mantiq al-Tayr preserved in the Metropolitan Museum, which is significant due to Kamal al-Din Behzad’s participation and supervision over some of its illustrations, has been studied because of its high-quality artistry and the skillful incorporation of profound mystical points within the realities of everyday life.
On the other hand, Khwaja Abdullah Ansari is one of the great mystics and ascetics of the Khorasan region who, with his monumental work Manazil al-Sa’airin, has provided valuable services in the path of practical spirituality for the seekers of the right way. In this book, he has explained all the stages of the spiritual journey step by step and has scrutinized its dos and don’ts. Using his experiences and beliefs, Abdullah Ansari has presented a specific interpretation of how to achieve Yaqzah (Awakening). Regarding the problem solving, which is a characteristic of the cognitive approach, and also using reasoning, analysis, and division; he has examined the issues and solved the problem of reaching the Yaqzah (Awakening). His goal is to adapt to internal actions such as gratitude for blessings, recognition of shortcomings or, in other words, reviewing one’s own performance and fearing the deceit of others. For this purpose, Abdullah Ansari takes his disciple forward step by step. Therefore, the gradual nature of Islamic mysticism is very important; that is, until a disciple passes through one stage, no other stage will be presented to them.
Yaqzah in its literal sense means “awakening” and stands in contrast to sleep. In Islamic mysticism, it refers to the state of awakening from the slumber of heedlessness, leading to awareness and attention toward the path of divine proximity and spiritual journey toward God. Yaqzah is considered the first light that illuminates the heart of a seeker, marking the beginning of true spiritual life with the radiance of awakening and mindfulness. The spiritual guides regard Yaqzah as the initial condition for entering the realm of spiritual wayfaring, or, in essence, the first station on the path toward God. At the moment of death, all individuals witness the realities of existence and the insignificance of worldly matters, as well as the grandeur of the realms beyond death. They also realize the immense right that the God has over them, a truth that often remains neglected during their lifetime. For a seeker, this awakening occurs at the very first step of their spiritual journey. They become conscious of truths that are typically unveiled for others only at the time of death. This newfound awareness prompts them to value the remaining time in their life and strive earnestly toward attaining closer proximity to God.
Regarding humans as well, if their inner eye opens while they are still in this world, meaning before their departure, the same meaning applies. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) emphasizes this concept, stating that one who possesses an inner moral guide is granted divine protection. He further explains that when God seeks goodness for a servant, He places such an admonisher within his heart. Hence, the catalyst for awakening is this very inner guide, an intrinsic force that calls individuals to move and journey toward God. According to a prominent mystic, Abdullah Ansari, Yaqzah consists of three components: directing the heart’s attention to divine blessings, reflecting on one’s sins, and recognizing the immense value of one’s lifespan.
Applying a descriptive-analytical approach and using library resources (real and virtual), this study has analyzed the subject in a qualitative manner. On this basis, by selecting a painting from the Herat School of Mantiq al-Tayr, “Drowning of the Bearded Man”, it has analyzed and interpreted all the visual and written elements of the painting and examined the relationship between Yaqzah, or awakening, as the first stage in practical mysticism, with the overall story of the painting and the way the characters in the story have operated, which may have been intended by the artist. It should be added that this study aims to address issues that have so far been neglected or that have not been adequately addressed by the researchers.
According to the conducted studies, it was determined that many of the concepts intended by Khwaja Abdullah Ansari are evident among the positive characters in the painting: paying attention to the countless blessings of God, looking forward to God’s blessings, taking a lesson from the people of affliction, recognizing the greatness of God as the most important way to avoid sin, realizing the soul as the root of contamination with major and minor sins, acknowledging God’s punishment in the hereafter as a way to reduce sins, understanding the profit and loss of the days of life, avoiding idleness, and taking advantage of the remaining life and the company of the righteous.
On the other hand, the things that the negative characters in the picture have been drawn to and have suffered loss from are as follows: not paying attention to the inner preacher (reason), not noticing to divine mercy and the unseen, not valuing the truth, not recognizing the self and not acknowledging the promise of the truth, not listening to knowledge, not responding to the calls for respect and not associating with the righteous, not studying sins and not honoring the truth, not realizing the value of the precious life, not making up for what has been lost, not taking a lesson from the plight of those in calamity, and leaving the company of the righteous.
In summary, the study of the painting demonstrates that Behzad and Sultan Ali were highly successful in conveying the message in the depiction of the drowning bearded man. The themes in Attar’s poetry emphasize self-awareness, renouncing worldly attachments, and learning from the plight of those who suffer. Behzad skillfully captures these concepts by portraying a bearded man in the act of drowning, symbolizing neglect of mindfulness and awakening at the beginning of spiritual practice. Sultan Ali further reinforces these ideas by inscribing Attar’s poetry, highlighting the profound meanings embedded within from the perspective of the Elder of Herat. Ultimately, the painting provides an allegorical representation of Attar, brought to life through Behzad’s depiction of the bearded man effectively illustrating a lack of awakening from heedlessness and inattentiveness to the path toward God.