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Volume 9, Issue 1 (Semi-Annual 2025)                   JIC 2025, 9(1): 259-277 | Back to browse issues page

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Gholami Houjeghan F, Bolkhari Ghehi H, Sadri M. (2025). A Mystical Reading of Sheikh Mahna and the Old Village” Painting, based on Yaqzah from Abdullah Ansari's Point of View. JIC. 9(1), 259-277. doi:10.61882/jic.9.1.369
URL: http://jih-tabriziau.ir/article-1-369-en.html
A Mystical Reading of Sheikh Mahna and the Old Village” Painting, based on Yaqzah from Abdullah Ansari's Point of View
Fatemeh Gholami Houjeghan *1 , Hassan Bolkhari Ghehi2 , Mina Sadri3
1- Department of Advance Art Studies, Faculty of Visual Art, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran , fat.gho.houjeghan@ut.ac.ir
2- Department of Advance Art Studies, Faculty of Visual Art, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
3- Department of Painting and Sculpture, Faculty of Visual Art, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract:   (1417 Views)
Mantiq-ul-Tayr, preserved in the Metropolitan Museum, is one of the finest manuscripts of the Timurid period, and is important due to the participation and supervision of Kamal al-Din Behzad over some of its illustrations. The art of illustration in this version is of the highest quality, and mystical nuances are skillfully incorporated into the realities of everyday life. The present study attempts to examine the relationship between the story of the illustration Sheikh Mahna and the old villager and the text of Manazil al-Sa'irin by Abdullah Ansari, and its aim is to discover the hidden relationships between the theme of "Yaqzah" (awakening) from Ansari's point of view with the totality of story of the illustration and the way its characters function. The central question of this study examines how Yaqzah, as the initial stage of spiritual wayfaring, is manifested from the perspective of Ansari in the chosen illustration. Overall, by studying the illustration, it was clear that Behzad has made a great effort in this painting to show the stage of the Yaqzah's behavior. In this story, Attar didn 't talk about 9 aspects of Yaqzah, and the poems written by SultanAli also mainly refer to patience. However, Behzad, by depicting the conversation between Abu said and the village elder, has pointed out some aspects of Yaqzah: The enlightened elder is busy and avoids idleness and boredom, and he makes Abu said aware of the infinite blessings of God and asks him for great patience that will open the way for his acceptance. The wise elder is giving advice to Abu said and reminds him of the solution to his problem. The present research is qualitative and has examined the subject of the painting with a descriptive-analytical approach and using documentary resources (physical: books, articles; digital: related websites). 
Keywords: Practical Mysticism, Yaqzah (Awakening), Kamaluddin Behzad, Persian Painting Of The Herat School
Full-Text [PDF 1234 kb]   (502 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Original Research | Subject: 2
Received: 2025/01/14 | Accepted: 2025/05/28 | Published: 2025/06/30
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