Reopening the Concept of Jinn in the Qur'an and Matching it with “Rumi and Water God” Illustration in Sawaqub al-Manaqib Copy in the Context of Myth Criticism of Northrop Frye

According to Northrop Frye’s “The Great Code” theory, Qur’an is also the great code for Muslims. Rumi is considered a myth in the mystical world of Islam; therefore, one must use the stories of the Qur’an in order to reopen the meanings of his virtues in the miniatures. The subject of this study is Sawaqub al-Manaqib, which illustrates Rumi's miracles. It was written by Abdulvehhab İbn-i Celaleddin Muhammed Hemedâni in 1541. This copy of the book has two illustrated versions, one of which was illustrated in 1590 with 29 illustrations and is now kept in the Morgan Museum of New York under number M.466 and the latter illustrated copy, which was made in 1599 with 22 illustrations, and is now kept in the Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum under number TSMK REVAN 1479. For this study, miniatures related to Rumi and the water demon have been selected. The hypothesis of the study is that the creature mentioned in Rumi's story in the miniatures is neither the “water demon” nor the “water god”, but the jinn. For this purpose, this article has examined the characteristics of jinn in Qur’an and has analyzed its pictorial examples in two miniatures. The main questions of this research are as follows: 1. To what extent are the features of a mythical story from the point of view of Frye's critique of myths applicable to the anecdotes of Rumi and Water God in the version of Sawaqub al-Manaqib? 2. To what extent the features mentioned in the Great Code of Qur'an about the jinn have found visual representation in the paintings of Rumi and Water God? The method in the study is descriptive-analytical, and information was collected through the library method while the pictures of the illustrated copy of Topkapi Istanbul were bought by the author from the mentioned museum. Research results show that according to what is mentioned in the verses and interpretations of the Qur'an regarding the characteristics of the jinn and how they relate to the saints close to God, the image in the pictures depicts jinn rather than Water God. According to the Qur'an and commentaries, jinn are creatures created from fire and hidden from view. With regard to their creation, based on Qur'an, the jinn are made from a variety of different flames. When fire ignites the flames may sometimes appear red, yellow or even turn bluish. Thus, the selection of the latter color, blue, for depicting jinn in one illustration may refer to this interpretation, since Muslim painters would never have set aside their religious beliefs when illustrating religious manuscripts.
 The jinn are divided into two groups of the righteous and the infidel jinn. Unbelievers can be a source of torment for God's servants, but according to God's will and according to the philosophy of the creation of the jinn, based on the worship of God, they can communicate with the prophets and saints of God, and under their guidance convert to Islam and repent. Jinn behavioral and physical characteristics also confirm this matter.  In terms of physical characteristics, jinn can have half-human and half-animal faces or appear in the form of animals. Jinn can also appear in the form of snakes, dragons, dogs and other animals; all of which are depicted in the paintings in the lake where they live. This refers to the fact that the painter tried to depict a tribe of jinn with different abilities of their emergence. Just as the jinn were subjugated by Solomon and dived for him and brought him rolling pearls from the bottom of the sea, in these paintings the jinn have such abilities. In this painting, after repenting and expressing remorse, the jinn bring pearls from the bottom of the lake to Rumi's wife. Furthermore, verses of Qur'an and their valid interpretations are used in this regard. According to the Qur’an, the saints close to God and the prophets can subdue the jinn, talk to them and make jinn believe in Islam. Indicated concepts can be seen in Sawaqub al-Manaqib miniatures. Thus, both research questions have been answered in accordance to the results of the research.