Mawlānā's Ontological Encounter with Painting in Selected Verses from the Dīwān-e Kabīr

Pre-Islamic traditions of representation in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India fostered the belief that painting was a great sin, as the painter was seen as challenging God. Consequently, the words of Mawlana Jalal al-Din Muhammad, the 13th-century Persian poet and mystic, in works such as the Maṯnawi and the Ghazaliat-e-Shams, reflect an alternative perspective on iconoclasm, the Byzantine Christian painting tradition, and the role of painting in Islamic civilization. This study poses the following questions: What are the primary themes in Mawlana’s perspective on painting? How does he reconcile the iconoclastic movement, Byzantine Christianity portraiture, and the continuity of painting in Islamic civilization based on religious teachings? The study seeks to conceptualize Mawlana’s mystical approach to painting. The primary objective is to examine the historical challenges in perspectives on painting from a theological standpoint. Additionally, the study aims to employ a visual approach in reinterpreting Mawlana’s ghazal and to reassess his hermeneutical view of painting.

Methodologically, this study is grounded in historical analysis. It progresses through the pragmatic examination of lexicon and concepts within the context of Mawlana’s discourse and that of his contemporaries. Furthermore, it necessarily compares these notions with surviving examples of paintings from the traditions of Egypt, Mesopotamia, ancient Byzantine, and Islamic civilization. The foundational premises of the study include an exploration of Mawlana’s statements and concepts regarding painting, the derivation of his beliefs from Islamic teachings, and the influence of Sufism and mysticism on his thought. The structuring of concepts and fragments of his ghazals reveals that Mawlana, by distinguishing between corporeal painting and spiritual painting, seeks to resolve the dilemmas associated with painting and demonstrate that the mere act of painting is not inherently sinful.

Mawlana’s ghazal constitute a multilayered dialogue. Internally, this dialogue unfolds between the self and the soul, while externally, it occurs between the painter and the subject, advancing within the framework of iconoclasm on one hand and the potentials of representation on the other. From an iconoclastic perspective, engaging in the act of painting brings immense torment to the painter. Moving from the experience of tangible representation to mystical experience, Mawlana invites painting to transition from similitude (resemblance) to transcendence (purification/mirroring). In this perspective, mystical experience grounded in revelatory theology does not abolish painting but rather transforms its perception and interpretation into a liberating act within a hermeneutical framework. The painter, by gazing at the subject, cannot truly animate the image unless he transcends the superficial layer and perceives the unseen soul in stillness. Nevertheless, the painter remains the representative of the soul’s infinitude in a fleeting moment and cannot fully grasp and depict the entirety of the soul’s grandeur. This viewpoint is articulated in one of Mawlana’s ghazals at a time when painting in Islamic civilization was undergoing a crucial transformation, marking the emergence of major artistic schools in Iran. In Mawlana’s perspective, theoretical ideas concerning Egyptian, Byzantine Christianity, and Baghdad School painting traditions converge. From a historical standpoint, this perspective marks the beginning of painting’s journey in Islamic civilization toward rediscovering its theoretical foundations and new functions.