The Audience's Understanding of the Meaning of Islamic Art Based on Philosophical and Mystical Tradition and Explaining Its Requirements by Referring to Mersad al-Ebad

The present study aims to answer how the audience's understanding of Islamic art is realized. This question has been raised due to the adoption of a philosophical-mystical approach to studying art. We know that studying art from various perspectives can lead to different results. The first result of adopting a philosophical-mystical approach is to accept "form" and "meaning" in art content. Moreover, understanding the hidden content behind the form of artwork is not as simple as perceiving the tangible form, the most important prerequisite of which is the health of the audience's senses. The purpose of this research is to explain how the audience can reach the knowledge and understanding of the hidden meaning behind the form of artwork. We know that not all audiences of meaningful Islamic artwork can go beyond the form and realize the content. However, certain conditions must be fulfilled so that the audience can understand Islamic art and know the truth manifested in its beauty. These conditions are clarified through analysis and citing library data. In the first step, the current research explains "what is art" and in the second step, "how to understand it". Then, the conditions of the audience's understanding are stated by referring to Mersad al-Ebad, one of the most well-known religious and mystical sources, a chapter of which is about artisans and professionals