Matching the Structure of Yusuf and Zulaikha Paintings with Qur’anic Concepts (Case Study: Paintings of 15th -16th Centuries AD/ 9th-10th Centuries AH)

Surah Yusuf is the only Surah in the Qur’an that specifically discusses a narrative from the very beginning to the end and is called in the Qur’an as the Ahsan Al-Ghesas (the best of the narratives). Like many arts, painters also used this narrative in their paintings to create works of art. By Iranian painting (also called Negareh), it is meant illustrations created from the 13^th to the 17^th centuries AD (700-1100 centuries AH). This study also examined the paintings of the 15^th to the 16^th centuries AD (900-1000 centuries AH).

Goal: This study aimed to compare the very environment of Yusuf and Zulaikha paintings with Qur’anic concepts and to investigate architectural physical elements and narrative characters in verses 23-25 and 30-32 of Surah Yusuf. It also deals with the similarities and differences between the paintings. This subject is important because of the significance of Surah Yusuf in the holy book, and the extent to which it has affected the artists in the domain of painting; meanwhile, the components that painters have addressed outside Qur’anic debates were also examined.

Questions of this study are 1) How are architectural physical characteristics and narrative characters of Yusuf and Zulaikha represented in the 15^th to the 16^th centuries AD (9^th-10^th centuries AH)?  2) To what extent do these paintings match with Qur’anic concepts as regards this narrative?

Method: This study was descriptive-analytical and gathered data via documentary and library methods. The statistical population of the study consisted of six paintings of the Seven-Door Room Narrative and seven paintings of Egypt’s women cutting off their hands.

After analyzing the Qur’an, some verses were extracted from the book, and to which relevant interpretations of six credible interpretation books were compared. The analyzed verses include the story of Prophet Yusuf (Peace Be Upon Him) when he was at the Prince of Egypt’s house. Verses 23-25 recount the story of the Seven-Door Room and verses 30-32 tell the ceremony held by Zulaikha and the women’s cutting off their hands. Meanwhile, the components obtained were divided into two groups: 1) Components of architectural physical structure that investigate architectural elements, architectural decorations, and objects in the Seven-Door Room story including the Zulaikha’s palace with various courtyards and numerous rooms, Seven-Door locks, and all the walls, ceilings, and floor of the palace, depicted with the pictures of Yusuf and Zulaikha. In the story of Egypt’s assembly of women, the verses refer to the invitation of the women to a festivity in the palace saloon, the enclosed space, the internal room where food was cooked, and the arrival of prophet Yusuf into this room; 2) Narrative character components refer to humans, characters, and characteristics raised in the Qur’an. In the Seven-Door Room, with the presence of Gabriel and the escape of Yusuf, Zulaikha tears apart Yusuf’s dress from the back, and the story of Egypt’s women’s assembly refers to the presence of forty guests and the lecture of Zulaikha, also referred to in the Qur’an and interpretations.

Results: Concerning the Seven-Door Room paintings, this study indicated that out of all the examined paintings, the painting by Kamal Al-Din Behzad of Sa’di’s Boustan (15^th century AD- 9^th century AH) was found to comply more with Qur’anic concepts from architectural physical characteristics, while from the narrative character perspective, no painting other than the one available in Jami’s Masnavi of Yusuf and Zulaikha (16^th century AD-10^th century AH) matched with Qur’anic concepts. These concepts are also represented in other paintings. Concerning the painting of Zulaikha’s assembly and women’s cutting off their hands, the painting of Jami’s Panj Ganj (16^th century AD-10^th century AH), the painting of Zulaikha’s Assembly (16^th century AD-10^th century AH), Jami’s painting (second half of the 16^th century AD-10^th century AH), and Safavid Jami’s painting (16^th century AD-10^th century AH) were found to be more compliant with Qur’anic concepts in terms of paintings’ architectural physical environment. In the narrative character section, most components are depicted in the paintings; however, some components have not delved into all Qur’anic details, thus representing little match with the verses. In sum, both categories of the paintings saw their architectural physical elements richer than narrative characters in terms of focus on Qur’anic concepts. It is also concluded that artists had not depicted the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha only based on Qur’anic concepts, since their impressions and artistic tastes had greatly contributed to their works of art. Here, the painters added some elements like using a yellow-colored halo over the head of prophet Yusuf and dress colors to convey the stories and their concepts.