The most common illustration of the Buraq shows it carrying Muhammad on His night journey (mi'raj), often surrounded by angels while traveling from Mecca to al-Aqsa. Many of these views are very similar, some obvious copies of earlier works. Here are some of my favorites...
The oldest depiction we have in our collection is in a
Jami' al-tawarikh (Edinburgh Univ. Lib. Or.Ms 20, f. 55r) from 714 AH/1314-1315 AD. Taking up half the bottom of the page (so actually quite small!), I love how fine the expressions are on all the figures
Jami' al-tawarikh (Edinburgh Univ. Lib. Or.Ms 20, f. 55r) from 714 AH/1314-1315 AD. Taking up half the bottom of the page (so actually quite small!), I love how fine the expressions are on all the figures
Next, we have a beautiful example from one of my favorite mss., a 1436 Mi'rajname written in Chagatai Turkish using Uyghur script (BnF Supp. Turc. 190, f. 5a). I've heard the gold shines bright when you see it in person!
This page from a 1494-1495 / 900 AH Khamsa of Nizami (British Library Or. 6810, f. 56b) shows the Prophet taking off from the Kaaba on his way to Jerusalem
This drawing is a bit more simple, and our image of it isn't great, but I still think it's beautiful-- look at that hat! Got to stay warm when you're flying through the heavens.. From the 1544-45 Bahram Mirza Album (TSK H. 2154), this f. 40b was taken from a Mi'rajnama
This image from a 17th c. Falnama (Khalili Collection MSS 979, f. 12b) shows what becomes a very common collection of angels in a wheel-like configuration around the Prophet and Buraq as they hover above the city
Finally, perhaps my favorite: this 19th c. portrait, held by Art Gallery of South Australia (20093P21), which shows not only angels, but a male figure extremely reminiscent of Christian portrayals of God looking down on our intrepid pair. I love the gold-accented clouds!
I hope you enjoyed these threads today, and I'd like to link back to my former tweet at the end, here-- please, if you use these image elsewhere, cite them as I have! Help us clean up the internet's images!
