A Comparative Study of the Paintings of Ibrahim in the Fire with Verses, Narratives and Interpretations of the Qur'an from the Ilkhanid to the Safavid Era

Miracle as a divine sign and proof is a clear and rightful indication to show the prophecy and its connection with God. The miracles of the prophets are among the religious topics and part of Qur'anic topics that have been discussed in several chapters. In the meantime, the miracle of coldness and healing of fire for prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is one of the cases that has been repeatedly mentioned in religious and historical texts and has been considered by painters and kings and rulers of their time in different periods of Iranian art throughout the Islamic period. The present study aims to determine the degree of conformity of the theme and content of the narrative of the miracle of coldness and healing of fire for prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) with images of his miracles. These images are studied in terms of visual elements with Qur'anic narratives. In addition, identifying images that are more consistent with the narratives of the Holy Qur'an is another goal of this study. In fact, this article, while introducing various left images that depict the miracle of cooling and healing of fire for prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), based on the examples of Iranian painting, and matching the drawings with the Qur'anic narrative and analyzing their visual elements, examines the degree of correspondence of the drawings with the theme of the miracle of coldness and healing of the fire for prophet Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) with the narratives of the Holy Qur'an and interpretive texts to determine to what extent these painters had remained faithful to its main narrative, the Holy Qur'an, in expressing the image of the miracle. This research also seeks to determine what the cultural and artistic discourse of that period had to do with the images of the miracle of coldness and healing of fire for Ibrahim. To achieve this, first the definition of a miracle is presented with reference to the Holy Qur'an and hadiths and commentaries. This is done because the word “miracle” has several instances and is used by its users, which in this article is based on the Holy Qur'an and interpretive texts, and then it is followed by the introduction of drawings. The miracle of coldness and healing of fire for Ibrahim, the visual narrative and their content study are discussed subsequently. This research has been done by descriptive, comparative and analytical methods and information and study samples have been collected using library and internet resources. By studying and analyzing the content of these drawings, it can be seen that the miracle by prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) has been depicted according to the pictorial elements used in the drawings, the narrative and content of the studied drawings, sometimes as per Qur'an and interpretive texts, while sometimes they have occasional differences with interpretive texts. In general, the place of the meanings of the miracle of coldness and healing of fire for prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in Iranian painting based on Qur'anic verses and interpretive texts can be divided into two groups: drawings that are completely consistent with the text of the Qur'an and interpretive texts, and illustrations and drawings that are somewhat consistent with Qur'anic verses and interpretive texts. By comparing the narratives and interpretations of the Qur'an with the drawings of Ibrahim's miracle, it was determined that the drawings of the version of the stories of the prophets in the Safavid period are more compatible with the Qur'anic narratives than other drawings. In other words, the images of the stories of the prophets are depicted closer to the text of the Qur'an and interpretive texts. In addition, painters have created visual elements in their paintings according to their insights and perceptions, and the rulers have used them to legitimize their rule. In other words, the interest and tendency of the rulers of the time led to the creation of works with a religious theme. By showing their connection with the prophets of God, they took steps to legitimize the claim of monarchy and the promotion of the proclamation of religion, and thus to increase their political power by gaining cultural prestige. They used art in the direction of their desires, and in this way, by doing so and paying attention to religious issues, they introduced themselves as the continuation of the path of God's messengers and gave legitimacy to their rule. They used religious imagery to reflect their ideas and thoughts, and since these images were influenced by the tastes of kings and the prevailing moral and religious principles, increased their prestige and power among the people. Thus, the prevailing cultural and artistic insight in each period has influenced the images of the miracle of coldness and healing of fire for prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him).