A Comparative Study of the Illustration of Moses Confronting Pharaoh's Magicians in the Falnama of Tahmasbi and Quranic Verses

In terms of problem statement, the study focuses on the story of Prophet Moses (PBUH), Pharaoh, and the fate of the Children of Israel which have a long history as a narrative, serving as one of the most enduring forms of communication for human concepts. In this regard, storytelling has a broader audience and a greater influential power due to its ancient roots. Although the original language of the Quran is a language of religion and spiritual guidance, it utilizes storytelling to convey its message, presenting the life stories of prophets in the form of narratives. The story of the confrontation between Prophet Moses and Pharaoh, as well as the fate of the Children of Israel, is one of the Quranic stories that is repeated in many verses of the Quran and is mentioned in more than thirty chapters of the Quran.
Iranian artists, who have consistently drawn inspiration from sublime themes, have not overlooked illustrating Quranic narratives. Quranic stories, encompassing religious, mystical, wisdom-oriented, and literary aspects, have captivated Muslim artists in various eras. One prominent example is the illustrated manuscript of the Falnama of Tahmasbi, incorporating various Islamic themes. Given the unparalleled status of the Quran in Islamic thought, Quranic themes and stories are considered the most significant component of the Falnama.
In the Falnama of Tahmasbi, the scene of the encounter between Prophet Moses and the sorcerers of Pharaoh, along with his two main miracles (the luminous hand and the transformation of the staff into a serpent), is depicted. The objective of this research is to assess the alignment of the illustration "Confrontation of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and the Sorcerers of Pharaoh" with the Quranic verses to understand the relationship between the two visual and written texts. The addressed questions include: To what extent does the illustration "Confrontation of Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and the Sorcerers of Pharaoh" in the Falnama of Tahmasbi align with Quranic verses? What sources, other than the Quran, did the illustrator utilize in visualizing this scene?
Analyzing this illustration in the Falnama reveals that Quranic verses served as a significant source of inspiration for the artist during this period influenced by religious fervor. However, the illustrator did not solely rely on Quranic verses, but incorporated other pretexts based on the content of the Falnama, such as Qisas al-Anbiya and Ajayeb al-Makhluqat.
The descriptive-analytical method had been opted for; with an intertextual approach. Data was collected using library sources and manuscripts. To answer questions, the image was divided into one hundred rectangles, and the areas corresponding to specific Quranic verses were identified. By calculating the shaded areas in the image, it can be concluded that the alignment between the image and Quranic verses exceeds 65%. Therefore, the illustrator used Quranic verses extensively to illustrate this scene. Consequently, the discernible congruity between the image and Quranic verses is evident. The illustration aligns in various aspects, such as the presence of Prophet Moses, the miracle of his staff transforming into a serpent, the miracle of his luminous hand, the presence of Pharaoh, the proximity of Pharaoh's close associates in the court, the presence of sorcerers, the transformation of the sorcerers' staffs into snakes due to magic, and the defeat of the sorcerers by Prophet Moses.
Additional sources used in visualizing the illustration "Confrontation of Moses (PBUH) and the Sorcerers of Pharaoh" in the Falnama of Tahmasbi include Qisas al-Anbiya by Nishaburi, Falnama of Tahmasbi itself, Khamsa Nizami, and sources related to magic and exotic sciences produced either simultaneously or before the creation of the Falnama. Justifications for certain aspects, such as depicting the simultaneous occurrence of two events—the transformation of Prophet Moses' staff into a serpent and the luminosity of his hand—in an image from a version of Qisas al-Anbiya are evident. The swallowing of one of the sorcerers, referred to in a text on a neighboring page of the Falnama, can be linked to a prophecy attributed to Prophet Moses, indicating that his staff would transform into a serpent, and he would defeat one of the sorcerers. The riding of Prophet Moses on a serpent, associated with the radiant right hand, which has a visual pretext in a version of Qisas al-Anbiya, is also depicted. Additionally, the riding of sorcerers on serpents and their clothing, as seen in pretexts like Ajayeb al-Makhluqat, Asrar Qasimi, and the book on the properties and benefits of gemstones, can be observed in the Falnama of Tahmasbi.
In conclusion, considering the period when the work was created, marked by the intense involvement of Shah Tahmasb in religion and superstitions, the Quran and books on exotic sciences were influential sources for the illustrator in visualizing this scene. The illustration implicitly and explicitly drew from existing pretexts during its creation.