The Analysis of Angel Motif in the Paintings of Prophet Muhammad’s Ascension During Timurid and Safavid Periods

Angel as a single creature, heavenly and invisible from the sight of humankind has always occupied the minds of humans throughout history to attain its semantic dimensions and nature. This element has been most frequently cited and introduced in the Abrahamic religions and its teachings so that it can clearly be traced in almost all stories of prophets and relatives of God. In the teachings of Islam, angels are divided into two types such as Archangels and Malik (groups of angels) who have certain tasks specific duties under the command of God. In the meantime, the proximity of the four angels Gabriel, Israfil, Michael and Azrael has given them a special place to seek the help of Malik. Their role in the events that took place for their divine prophets is an interesting subject while referring to the scriptures such as the Torah, the Bible and the Holy Quran, has attracted the attention of the general and specific audiences so that each one can be narrated in different time frames. One of these events is the ascension of a prophet to the classes of heaven and drawing closer to God and being mediated by him to obtain further knowledge about the existence and secrets of the time compared to his contemporaries and to transmit his messages. Meanwhile, the ascension of the last prophet, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), according to reliable sources and transmitters of news, was the most complete journey among all of ascension journeys to the point where he spoke directly with God. This great and memorable journey, throughout the history of Islamic Art, has always been the subject of illustrations by artists, supported by the supporters of Islamic Culture, including the two periods of artistic and brilliant Timurid and Safavid Iran. In these two periods, the ascension illustration has been presented in various books and epistles consisting the motif of an archangel to character of Prophet (PBUH) in the frescoes and so far, case studies or comparative longitudinal studies been always examined  over a period for example the Safavids. But the role and position of these celestial beings in the paintings in cross-sectional comparisons - such as the matching of the two selected periods, namely the Timurid and the Safavid - have been no found to record, so far this would be the place of questioning and  a new exploration. So the main question that arises is by studying and evaluation of premium examples or image sources of the two Timurid and Safavid periods is that what are the similarities and differentiations of the angelic form and in paintings content and how does it make sense? This question will be answered during the research, such as what are the most important aspects of asceticism in both Timurid and Safavid Eras? The methodology used in this study is descriptive and comparative with the selection of the Mirheidar, Khavarannameh and Nezami Khamseh for the Timurid period as well as Khamseh Tahmasebi, Haft Orang from Jami and Habib al-Sayr for the Safavid period with emphasis on the angelic image element. Analysis of the angel element in each of these characters with variables such as number, size, gender similarity, overlay, color, shapes, faces, etc., was performed in comparative tables for each period the and two comparative tables  has been set and  will be provided at the end. The results of the study on the subject of research can be followed in three dimensions: order, appearance and quality of appearance. In the first dimension, it can be said that by dividing angels into Archangels or other angels, the studied paintings have demonstrated the character of Gabriel as a guide and Israfil as a flagman. However, the rest of the angels are more or less present with them, with more Timurid paintings than the Safavid ones and they are mainly saying welcome while they have Incense burner and thurible in their hands. In the second dimension, we have a varied appearance of shape, color, iconography and portraiture, which in the Timurid Era tends to be simpler and in the Safavid Era more precise in volumes and shadows; in such a way that this reason should be considered due proximity to Realistic Patterns of the Safavid Era followed by “ Behzad” School. In the third dimension, the quality of the presence of angels in the composition is presented. Looking or facing by angels in the Safavid Era is considered a point of difference with earlier times. As usually this case is routed from right to left in the Timurid Era.