An Eschatological Reading of the Soul&#039;s Journey in the &quot;Day of Judgment&quot; Illustrations of Shah Tahmasp&#039;s Falnama and Nava&#039;i&#039;s Khamsa: A Sadrian Perspective

Yusuf Elahie, Fateme; Yazdanpanah, Mojtaba

year 16, Issue 32 (3-2027) PH 2027, 16(32): 0-0 | Back to browse issues page

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Yusuf Elahie F, Yazdanpanah M. (2027). An Eschatological Reading of the Soul's Journey in the "Day of Judgment" Illustrations of Shah Tahmasp's Falnama and Nava'i's Khamsa: A Sadrian Perspective. PH. 16(32), : 4
URL: http://ph.aui.ac.ir/article-1-1558-en.html

An Eschatological Reading of the Soul's Journey in the "Day of Judgment" Illustrations of Shah Tahmasp's Falnama and Nava'i's Khamsa: A Sadrian Perspective

Fateme Yusuf Elahie ^*¹

, Mojtaba Yazdanpanah²

1- Master student of research art, University of Shahid Bahonar, Kerman , Elahie@art.uk.ac.ir
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Shahid Bahonar, Kerman

Abstract: (33 Views)

The issue of death and the events that follow it has always been one of humanity’s fundamental concerns and has occupied a central position in religious, philosophical, and artistic traditions. In Islamic philosophy, death is not understood as annihilation, but rather as a stage in the existential transformation of the soul, which is interpreted through the principles of the primacy of existence and the theory of bodily-spiritual resurrection. Within this framework, the identity of the soul remains preserved despite its transition through different ontological realms, and human actions, corresponding to their existential intensity, become embodied as objective realities in the afterlife. In this context, two paintings from the Shah Ṭahmasp’s Falnama and the Indian Khamsa of Nava’i have been selected due to their thematic affinity with the Day of Judgment and the role of the soul in the afterlife. These paintings were chosen because they share a visual representation of concepts such as resurrection, judgment, and the embodiment of deeds, while simultaneously emerging from distinct religious and cultural contexts. This allows for a comparative examination of how the existential levels of the soul and the human being’s eschatological destiny are manifested within different visual traditions. The research question is: How can the eschatological levels of the soul in Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy be interpreted through the visual elements of the Day of Judgment in these two paintings? The aim of this study is to explain the capacity of these two artworks to represent the soul’s eschatological journey and the embodiment of actions based on ontological principles, particularly the principle of the primacy of existence in Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy. The research employs an analytical-comparative method, focusing on the relationship between the ontological levels of the soul, the eschatological body, and the embodiment of deeds in relation to the visual signs present in the two artworks.The findings demonstrate that, despite their contextual differences, the paintings are grounded in a shared logic in which human destiny in the afterlife is determined not by accidental or essential characteristics, but by the existential intensity of the soul. In the Shah Ṭahmasp’s Falnama, this idea is articulated through the transformation of figures, the objectification of deeds, and the contrast between light and darkness. In contrast, in the Khamsa of Nava’i, differences in existential levels are conveyed through the orientation of figures, the opposition between light and darkness, and the elimination of worldly markers of identity.

Article number: 4

Keywords: Eschatological Journey of the Soul, Day of Judgment painting, Primacy of Existence (Aṣālat al-Wujūd), Shah Ṭahmasp’s Falnama, Khamsa of Nava’i, Transcendent Philosophy

Type of Study: Research | Subject: هنرهاي تجسمي