The Link between Talismans and Figural Images in Islam

Aniconism in Islam is an incontrovertible presumption for the researchers of Islamic arts. The main question of this study is that what the imagination and interpretation of Muslims, in the early centuries, was about figural images which caused aniconism in Islam. The present paper shows that the permanence of the verdict seems to be associated with the cultural conception of magic and talismans which was rooted in the old civilizations such as Iran, Egypt and ancient Palestine. The main hypothesis is that the relation between image-making and the magic and talismans was one of the most important social factors that caused the reaction of Muslim jurists and scholars to the issue and subsequently led to the persistence of aniconism in the middle centuries. Therefore, it can be stated that Islam’s opposition to figural images was not from an aesthetic standpoint but along with the Quran’s stand against polytheists and idolaters, was because of that cultural conception of magic and talisman.