Avicenna’s Perspective of Intelligible Imagination and Its Reflection in Drawing of the Compound Images of the Painting of “Zakarya Hiding inside the Tree”

In his exposition of the internal faculties, Ibn Sina considers the imagination to be indebted to association and describes imagination as the factor of creativity and actual perception; because it perceives and at the same time, undertakes an action through manipulation of the forms and meanings. Faculty of imagination can heed the particular or universal affairs in order to manipulate the forms and meanings. This faculty needs a spiritual ascension in the light of Active Intellect for perceiving the intelligible and if the perceiving soul becomes substantially connected with the Active Intellect; he would be able to see the intelligible forms present by himself. After seeing these immaterial images, the manipulation done by the imagination will be an intelligible and abstract quality. The significance of the subject becomes further clear when the soul and the faculty of imagination are for the Muslim miniaturist. Religious perspective and the social mission of the miniaturist restrict the circle of manipulations of the faculty of imagination and do not accept any extension of imagery for conveying the meanings. Among these cases, one can refer to the painting of “Zakarya Hiding inside the Tree”. Which sensory and intelligible qualities have inspired the imagination of the painter in drawing the compound images of the faces of the persuaded figures? This research uses a descriptive-analytic method to argue that the painter’s imagination is illuminated by the light of Active Intellect which gives it an intelligible quality. Under the guidance of intelligible imagination, the persuaded figures have been drawn with compound human-animal images so that they can not only sensibly reflect the non-sensory rather to serve as a reflection of the intelligible quality of the non-sensory. From this perspective, human form and animal nature have been reflected on a human body.