Analysis of “The Evening of Ashura” Painting

A Work by Master Iranian Artist Mahmoud Farshchian (1976)

Shahram Za’feranlou
Expert on Cultural Issues

The following article is an effort to provide all mourners and lovers of Imam Hossein (AS) [the third Infallible Imam of Shia Muslims] with an analysis, even a minor one, of a truly laudable artwork which has been created by an Iranian artist; a work of art which makes it easier for us to look at everything from an artistic viewpoint and live an artistic life in the school of Imam Hossein (AS).

The painting known as “The Evening of Ashura,” has been created by the world-famous Iranian painter, Mahmoud Farshchian, in 1976. The name of the artwork gives good indication of the time period that it covers: the evening of the day of Ashura (the day Imam Hossein (AS) and his disciples were martyred in Karbala by their enemies). The audience is not supposed to experience something new in this work because while being aware of the incident that it depicts and what happened around it, they are waiting to see how the artist is going to relate to the feeling of pain that has already afflicted the audience as a result of what happened in Karbala. Revisiting part of that incident in this work, while being a tribute to and emphasis on the wrongs done to the women and daughters of Imam Hossein (AS), represents an expression of deep sorrow which will assuage the suffering of the audience.

This painting is, in fact, a narration, which without any direct reference to past events, reflects their aftermath and enlightens us about the incident, which has led to this general picture. Therefore, the painting is about the present tense and we are waiting for what is going to happen now.

We see women and young girls who, out of the battlefield and unseen by those who are not their next of kin, are crying their hearts out at the feet of the war horse which is back from the battle without bringing its rider back. The saddle is disheveled while the reins are set loose with pigeons hit by arrows falling on the saddle. A woman is standing by and is leaning against the body of the horse, which is similar to a strong wall. While putting her head on the horse’s body, she has snatched the upper part of the harness and is crying. The woman is, in fact, located at the center of the circle.

Another woman is sitting on the ground, embracing the face of the horse with a child leaning her head against the woman’s shoulder. Two more children are in the picture one of whom is clinging to the leg of the horse with the other one clinging to its neck. Two women have their heads on each other’s laps, lying on the ground and crying out their sorrow.

Although the painter has pulled the drapes aside and has taken us into the tent, he does not allow himself and us to clearly see the sad and tear-covered faces of those who are in there.

This is why a set distance has been observed between the viewer and personalities in the painting. However, the main result of covering this sacred act [that is, crying over the wrongs done to Imam Hossein (AS)] is reminding the viewer of the sanctity of that moment and total absence of pretence in a mourning, which is actually an act of worship.

The interesting point, however, is that the painter has used such an eloquent combination in drawing the bodies of women and girl as well as their unseen faces that their silent wailing can be even heard with a little amount of attention.

It is only the small and delicate hands of children and women, which are visible on the side of their bodies that are draped in purple-colored chadors, and this is also an innuendo to the profoundness of their oppression.

The bodies of women are bent under the heavy burden of the sufferings of the past as well as due to the pain they are under as a result of having lost Imam Hossein (AS) and his disciples. The same depression and bent posture can be seen in the body and the eyes of the horse. Everybody is crying on this calamity. It is a form of crying which has been handed down to all the followers of Imam Hossein (AS) as a lasting legacy.

Another element, which is present in this incident, is the earth and what grows in it. The fact that they are dry and worn-out has not barred them from accompanying Ahl-ul-Beit (the progeny of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)) in their sorrow. The dominant lines are like an arch all over the work; the arches can be seen in the bodies of women and girls, in the body of Imam Hossein's (AS) horse, as well as in the land and the grass and the date palms. All of them are bent around the pivot of the incident which is Imam Hossein (AS) who is absent from the picture. In his place, his sister Zeinab (AS) is seen at the center of the circle.

The disturbed lines among the horse’s mane as well as its half-closed eyes with blood-covered injuries caused by the enemies’ arrows, are telltale signs of tremendous fatigue and the extreme pain which it is suffering from, as if, it is only meant to be there for women and girls to lean upon its body: it is destined to dies standing.

The lines present in the work, which start on the ground and climb up to the upper end of the palm trees within the frame of the picture, all form a semicircle the other half of which is situated outside the frame, as if, in an unseen and heavenly world. The curtain hung at the entrance of the tent, part of which is vague and another part has been drawn with soft and fading lines, puts more emphasis on this half-material and half-spiritual sense of the environment.

The knots on the tent ropes over prominent and strong nails, which have been driven deep into the ground, as well as the ascending form of the tent lines toward the upper edge of the frame and its hidden parts, are all harbingers of a heavenly journey, which is endeavoring to take everything that we see on the ground aloft. Therefore, movement is indispensable part of the work.

The composition of colors in “The Evening of Ashura” painting follows suit with the style of using colors in traditional Iranian painting by using soft colors, which do not create any inappropriate combination. Even when the color of the women’s and the girl’s chadors are considered with more care, unlike what is usual, they are seen in such colors as purple (which has a more spiritual hue) and grey instead of black. The only places where a tinge of black is visible are in the folds of the women’s chadors and some shady parts of the painting.

The colors are limitless, which means that every color has been employed with all its hues in the same work of painting. This has been among consistent features of most paintings done by Master Farshchian, which has also received due artistic attention from him in this work.

The color of the bodies of humans present in the framework are in conflict with and different from other components of the painting. However, the lines and postures of their bodies create great coordination and conformity with other elements.

The color of gold on the sheath of Imam Hossein's (AS) sword and those surfaces where objects and bodies contact the earth, have imparted artistic beauty to the whole painting because such points have turned into origins of light and illumination and attract the viewers’ attention. The combination of white and yellow on the body of the horse and innocent-looking pigeons differentiates them from other objects. At the same time, the bloody sores on their bodies induce the viewer with a sense of sympathy due to the violence they have gone through and serve as an omen for the absence of the rider and owner of the horse as a result of a bloody and unequal war.

The light seen in the painting, once more, follows suit with traditional style of Iranian painting, and is present and pervasive in all the aspects of the work. Light is an indispensable part of this spiritual atmosphere the final result of which is martyrdom and steadfastness against difficulties. The “light” is both present and looking on. It exposes unseen aspects of the scene because the brush of the painter in its movements has made it a pervasive presence throughout the painting in order to allow us stand in front of it and watch the beauties of martyrdom and resistance.

The painting, “The Evening of Ashura,” depicts the change of reality at the hands of truth. In view of the details of this calamity, the artistic way of expression employed by Farshchian is similar to a poetical requiem, which makes standing and musing both easy and impossible. You can neither stay there and watch, nor are able to pass over and ignore it. The shame that the viewer feels is no less than the shame of the horse that has returned from the battlefield without its rider.

Master of Persian Miniature

Compiled By: Firouzeh Mirrazavi
Deputy Editor of Iran Review

While Iran has produced a number of eminent miniature painters, none has been so prolific in producing such consistently excellent work as Mahmoud Farshchian. Born in Isfahan on January 24, 1930, Farshchian grew up surrounded by architectural masterpieces that subliminally sharpened his awareness of proportion, color and form.

His masterpieces have been hosted by several museums and exhibitions worldwide.

 He's the most modernizer of the field of miniatures, an art form which was first established in Ancient Persia and later spread to China and Turkey and other Middle eastern countries.

At the age of five, it became evident that his life would be devoted to art and painting. His father, the owner of a leading carpet business, encouraged his interest in design.

While still in school, Farshchian was invited to learn painting from the famous masters of the time. After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Isfahan, he traveled to Europe to study the works of western artists.

Upon his return to Isfahan, Farshchian began working in the Directorate of Fine Arts (affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Art). He was later appointed to serve as administrator of National Arts. He joined the Faculty of Fine Arts of Tehran University as an art professor. It was there that he created many of his unique masterpieces.

Farshchian later moved to the United States and currently resides in New York. He took with him many of his works that were welcomed by Bibliotheque National, the British Library, Freer Gallery of Art, Metropolitan Museum and Harvard University.

His works continue to be exhibited in galleries and museums throughout Asia, Europe and the United States, as well as in private collections.

Receiving many awards throughout his life, including a doctorate in fine arts, Farshchian has won much praise from European academies and museums.

Farshchian’s distinctive style has given rise to a school of his own in painting. This school is marked by his wonderful creativity, his inspiring designs and his powerful lines and undulating colors.

His works are a pleasing combination of both nobility and innovation. His themes are rooted in classical poetry, literature, Qur’an, other divine books and his own deep imagination.

Some of his most outstanding works overflow with human affections and embodied in graceful figures.

While painting, Farshchian often listens to music and these beautiful rhythms set the mood for his bounding, splashing, sometimes wire-thin brush. His pictures urge us to listen with inner ears to the ‘sound’ of his lines and forms.

There is a rich interplay of birdcalls, trickles, cascades, gurgles, swoops and swooshes. His tempests, chilling blasts, raging fires and blood-curdling cries are expressed so artfully that they never cross the threshold of horror. So graceful is the whiplash that it cannot sting.

Farshchian has told many tales on canvas in his unique expression of what he calls ‘sur-naturalism’.

Farshchian is the founder of his own school in Iranian Painting, which adheres to classical form while making use of new techniques to broaden the scope of Iranian painting. He has brought new life to this art form and has freed it from the symbiotic relationship it has historically had with poetry and literature, to give it an independence it had not previously enjoyed.

His powerful and innovative paintings are dynamic, expansive and vibrant canvases with an appealing fusion of the traditional and the modern, which are constituents of his unique style of painting.

Farshchian’s work “Shams and Rumi,” has been inspired by one of Rumi’s poems. Special colors have been used in the painting to feature the mystical and spiritual relationship that existed between Shams and Rumi. The painting took two months to complete in the U.S. and was unveiled at the Farshchian Art and Cultural Complex in Isfahan on August 2, 2007.

The design of the Zarih (the box-like latticed enclosure which is placed on top of the tomb), roof, door and cellar in the shrine of the 8th shiite Imam, Ali ibn Mus'ar-Reza in Mashhad and his membership in the committee supervising the construction of the glorious shrine, is another artistic work of the master.

Unveiled in 2001, the Farshchian Museum is nestled in the central gardens of Sa’dabad Palace located in Tehran. It is surrounded by various other museums exhibiting historical Persian artifacts and modern artworks.

These museums are housed in monuments located in a lush landscape dating back to late Qajarid and the first Pahlavid rule. All have been restored and transformed into modern museums.

Farshchian was allocated this museum due to his tremendous contributions to the world of art. Open six days a week to the public, it contains several galleries, which exclusively exhibit early and contemporary original works by Farshchian.

Art students visit the museum daily to study his paintings that have also been reproduced in art textbooks, while tourists from all over the world arrive for a firsthand viewing of these stunning works of fine art.

Origin of Persian Miniatures




















Persian miniature is a richly detailed miniature painting which depicts religious or mythological themes from the region of the Middle East now known as Iran. The art of miniature painting in Persia flourished from the 13th through the 16th centuries, and continues to this day, with several contemporary artists producing notable Persian miniatures. These delicate, lush paintings are typically visually stunning, with a level of detail which can only be achieved with a very fine hand and an extremely small brush.

Persian miniature is a small painting, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, which probably had an influence on the origins of the Persian tradition.

Several features about Persian miniatures stand out. The first is the size and level of detail; many of these paintings are quite small, but they feature rich, complex scenes which can occupy a viewer for hours. Classically, a Persian miniature also features accents in gold and silver leaf, along with a very vivid array of colors. The perspective in a Persian miniature also tends to be very intriguing, with elements overlaid on each other in ways which sometimes feel awkward to people who are accustomed to the look and feel of Western art.

Originally, Persian miniatures were commissioned as book illustrations for Persian illuminated manuscripts. Only the wealthiest of patrons could afford these illustrations, with some Persian miniatures taking up to a year to complete. Eventually, people also began collecting these works of art on their own, binding them into separate books. Many of these collections fortunately survive to this day, along with other examples of Persian art such as Iran's famous pile carpets.

The Persian miniature was probably inspired by Chinese art, given the very Chinese themes which appear in some early examples of Persian miniatures. Many of the mythological creatures depicted in early Persian art, for example, bear a striking resemblance to animals in Chinese myth. Over time, however, Persian artists developed their own style and themes, and the concept of the Persian miniature was picked up by neighboring regions.

Many museums of Asian art have Persian miniatures in their collections, and it is well worth visiting to see examples of this distinctive art form in person. Persian miniatures also merit undivided attention; the longer one looks at a Persian miniature, the more details and themes emerge. The study of a single miniature can take up an entire day, as more and more details unfold, and many museums conveniently have detailed guides to the figures and themes in their Persian miniatures so that visitors can learn more about what they are seeing.

Miniature painting became a significant Persian form in the 13th century, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mogul miniature in the Indian sub-continent.

Though at various stages it has been affected by Chinese and Eastern influences, Persian miniature art has developed its own distinctive features. Iran’s miniature artists are recognizable for their emphasis on natural and realist motifs. Also worth noting is the Persian technique of “layering” perspectives to create a sense of space. For example, in the miniature piece at right, the variety of views is noticeable in the arrangement of objects: birds inhabit both the foreground and background of the piece, with the floral objects positioned in between. This gives the viewer a sense of three-dimensional space and the ability to focus on certain aspects of the piece to the exclusion of others.

Content and form are fundamental elements of Persian miniature painting, and miniature artists are renowned for their modest, subtle use of color. The themes of Persian miniature are mostly related to Persian mythology and poetry. Western artists discovered the Persian miniature around the beginning of the 20th century. Persian miniature uses pure geometry and a vivid palette. The allure of Persian miniature painting lies in its absorbing complexities and in the surprising way it speaks to large questions about the nature of art and the perception of its masterpieces.

The history of the art of painting in Iran, goes back to the cave age. In the caves of Lorestan province, painted images of animals and hunting scenes have been discovered.

In the paintings of Achaemenid era, profile work was preferred by the artists. The proportion and beauty of colors of this era are remarkable. The colors are shadeless, and have the same tune. In some cases, black stripes limited the colorful surfaces.

The paintings of “Torfan”, discovered in the desert of “Gall”, a region situated in the Turkistan province in China, belong to 840 to 860 AD.

These mural paintings exhibit Iranian scenes and portraits. Images of tree branches also exist in these paintings. The most ancient paintings of the Islamic period, are quite scarce, and were created in the first half of the 13th century.

China, perhaps since the 7th century, as an artistic center, has been the most important incentive for the art of painting in Iran. Ever since, a relation has been established between Buddhist Chinese painters and, Iranian artists. From the historic viewpoint, the most important evolution in Iranian art has been the adoption of Chinese designs and coloring that were mixed with the specific conception of Iranian artists. In the first centuries, after the emergence of Islam, Iranian artists began adorning books.

The preface and the margins of books were adorned. These designs were passed on to the next centuries, together with precise principles and rules, which is known as the “Art of Illumination.”

Paintings from the beginning of the Islamic period had the reputation of belonging to Baghdad school.

Miniatures of Baghdad school have totally lost the style and methods of the usual paintings of the pre-Islamic period.

These primitive and innovative paintings do not possess the necessary artistic stress. The miniatures of Baghdad school are not proportional. Portraits show the “Sami” race and light colors are used. Artists of the Baghdad school, after years of stagnancy, were eager to create and innovate. The particular views of this school, is in drawing animals and illustrating stories.

Although the Baghdad school, considering the pre-Islamic art, is to some extent, superficial and primitive, but the art of Iranian miniature, in the same period, was widespread in every region in which, Islam was propagated: Far East, Africa and Europe.

Among illustrated books in the Baghdad style, “Kelileh and Demneh” can be named. Images are painted larger than normal and are not proportional. Only few colors are used in these paintings.

Most of the handwritten books of the 13th century are enriched with images of animals, vegetables, and illustrations from fables and stories.

An example of the most ancient Iranian miniature is the drawings of a book called “Manafe-alHayvan” (1299 AD). This book describes the characteristics of animals. The natural history is mixed and narrated through the ancient fables in this book.

Diverse subjects of this book, require numerous images that are so important in familiarizing the reader with the Iranian art of painting. Colors are bright and laying step after the old style of the Baghdad school.

After the invasion of Moguls, a new school appeared in Iran. This school was totally under the influence of the Chinese and Mogul style. These paintings are all minute, dry, motionless, and pure, in the Chinese style.

Mogul emperors, after the invasion of Iran, were impressed by the Iranian art and encouraged the painters, initiating the former kings of Iran. Among the characteristics of the Iranian art which can also be observed in the paintings of Mogul style, we can enumerate, subtleties, decorative compositions, and fine short lines. The style of the Iranian paintings is linear and not dimensional. Artists in this field have demonstrated a particular creativity and genuineness.

Artists of the Mogul royal court honored not only the techniques but also Iranian themes. A part of their work consisted of illustrating Iranian literary masterpieces such as “The Shahnameh” of Ferdowsi.

Contrary to Baghdad and Mogul schools, more works remain from Harat school. The founders of the style of painting called the Harat school, were Teimoor’s ancestors, and the school was named after the place in which it was founded.

Art experts believe that during Teimoor’s era, the art of painting in Iran, had reached a climax. During this period, outstanding masters, such as Kamal-ul-Din Behzad, contributed a new touch to the Iranian painting.

During the Safavid era, the artistic center was moved to Tabriz. A few artists also settled in Qazvin. However, the Safavid School of painting was established in Isfahan.

The miniature of Iran, in the Isfahan of Safavid era, was detached from the influence of the Chinese out and stepped on a new road. The painters were then more inclined towards naturalism.

Agha Reza Reza-e Abbasi (also Reza Abbasi) (1565 - 1635) was the most renowned Persian miniaturist, painter and calligrapher of the Isfahan School, which flourished during the Safavid period under the patronage of Shah Abbas I.

Miniatures created under the Safavid School, were not exclusively aimed for adorning and illustrating books. The Safavid style is softer in form than those of the Teimoorian School, specially the Mongolian. Human images and their behavior are not vain and artificial, in the contrary quiet natural, and close to reality.

In Safavid paintings, the splendor and the grandeur of this period is the main attraction. The themes of the paintings are about the life in the royal court, the nobles, beautiful palaces, pleasant goodness, scenes of battles and banquets.

Humans are drawn in sumptuous garments, handsome faces and elegant statues colors are glowingly bright.

Artists paid more attention to generalities and, avoided unnecessary details, as used in Harat and Tabriz styles. The smoothness of lines, the quick expression of feelings, and condensing the subjects are the characteristics of the Safavid style of painting. Since the end of the Safavid era, perspective and shading, a result of the European style, appeared in the Iranian paintings.

Paintings of the Qajar era, are a combination of the classic European arts and Safavid miniature techniques. In this period, Mohammad Gaffari Kamal-ul-Molk, pushed forward the European classical style of painting in Iran. Under the qajars, a kind of painting known as the “Teahouse” painting found its place. This kind of painting is a new phenomenon in the history of the Iranian art.

Mahmoud Farshchian and the name of his works

Mahmoud Farshchian (1930) is a master of Persian painting 

and miniatures. 

He was born in the city of Isfahan (the city of arts & artists). 

His paintings have 

been hosted by several museums and exhibitions worldwide. 

He is the most prominent modernizer of the field of 

miniatures.

What is miniature?

Miniatures that called “NegarGari” In Iran is an art form which was first established in Ancient Persia and later spread to China and Turkey and other Middle eastern countries.

The Name of Mahmoud Farshchian’s Painting

Here is the name of most famous Farshchian’s works. The important thing about Mahmoud Farshchian’s works is that the most of them are religious. He is inspired by historical religious events and painted them.

• The fifth day of the universe creation
•  The love of Imam Ali to orphans
•  Deer Protector
•  Ashura at noon
• Shams & Molana

The fifth day of the universe creation

This painting shows the universe creation and all the creatures of heaven and earth praise God in this Work. Mr Farshchian was inspired by Quran to paint this painting.

The fifth day of the universe creation

The love of Imam Ali to orphans

Imam Ali is one of the holy man in Islam. He is popular for good behavior and his love to people specially orphans and poor people. This Painting shows this love.

The love of Imam Ali to orphans

Deer Protector

Deer Protector (Zamene Ahoo in Persian) is a story about another holy man in Islam, Imam Reza. According to this story, Imam Reza protected a deer who was captured by a hunter and let him go, milk his fawn and return again.

Deer protector (zamene Ahoo)

Ashura at noon

“Zohre Ashoora is the most famous Mahmoud Farshchian’s works. Click here to know about Ashura. Its about the most important event in Islam that happened for Imam Hosein and his family.

Ashura at noon

Shams & Mewlana

Shams-i Tabrīzī was a Persian Muslim who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn and is referenced with great reverence in Rumi’s poetic collection, in particular Diwan-i Shams-i Tabrīzī (The Works of Shams of Tabriz).

Shams & Mewlana

Bahar Safaeian

Farshchian creator of ethereal hues and colors in Persian miniature

"The fifth day of creation," a miniature painting
by Mahmoud Farshchian

By Arghavan Shamsara

Over the past five decades, the globally renowned master of Persian painting and miniature, Mahmoud Farshchian, has transcended the traditional concepts of the art form and portrayed an ethereal interpretation of human existence through his unique style of dynamic hues and colors.   

Farshchian was born on January 24, 1930 in the Iranian central city of Esfahan, the capital of Persian art. Growing up in the hub of Iran’s artistic masterpieces enabled the prodigy to discovered his creative talent in painting at an early age.

His father, who was a prominent Persian carpet merchant and an art aficionado, instilled the passion into his son and signed him up at the workshops of prominent painting maestros Haji Mirza-Agha Emami and Isa Bahadori at the age of seven, where he learned painting techniques of Timurid (1370–1507) and Safavid (1501–1736) eras.

In 1945, he continued studying miniature and designing tileworks at Esfahan high school for the fine arts. Farschian then travelled to Europe to study the works of Western painters at European museums for several years, where he developed an innovative artistic style with universal appeal.

After returning to Iran, the maestro started working at the National Institute of Fine Arts and was appointed director of the Department of National Arts and professor at the University of Tehran's School of Fine Arts.

The painting master has displayed his works in nearly 150 individual and group exhibitions and many of his works are at display in several museums and major collections worldwide, including the British Library, Freer Gallery of Art, Bibliotheque Nationale, Metropolitan Museum and Harvard University.

“The Museum of Master Mahmoud Farshchian" in Tehran’s Sa’ad Abad Palace, has been devoted to the works of the master since 2001.

The evening of Ashura, by Mahmoud Farshchian

Farshchian was chosen as an outstanding 21st century intellectual by Cambridge in 2000 and he has received several prestigious international awards, including DeviantART (2009 & 2010), Golden Palm of Europe (1987), Oscar D'Italia (1985), Vessillo Europa Delle Arte (1984) and International Art Festival (1958).

Combining the classic Persian miniature with modern painting techniques, the maestro founded a new school in Iranian Painting, which makes the art form independent from the symbiotic relationship it has traditionally had with poetry and literature.

At the same time, the imaginative works are still deeply inspired with Persian literature, mysticism, myths and religious stories. Farshchian’s works communicate with modern viewers from a timeless world, touching upon fundamental life questions, paradoxical elements of existence, spirituality, peace, love, sorrow and death.

“Whenever I decide to start a new work, I try to fully expose myself to the mood, the excitement and the state of the idea itself. This creates a deeper connection and intimacy between myself, the art work and the viewer,” Farshchian says in a 2012 interview. The infinite curves depicted all over the paintings create a vibrant dynamism which is reminiscent of a world in which every particle is dancing.

The maestro is well-known for his boldness in using enormous variety of colors and creating mesmerizing hues which captivate the viewers.

“An artist, with the blessing of his art, can be in a state of constant love and connection with the One. The internal transformation that follows this experience, can take the artist into a much wider realm, where the exterior qualities of the physical beloved lose color and meaning for the artist. That is how the artist finds the essence of the Creator, for whom s/he has created this physical object of love,” he said in a 2012 interview with Russian news agency Sputnik.

“Praising the physical qualities of an earthly love which will certainly age and decay can only go so far. All expressions of earthly love are in fact praising the One,” he added.

Rumi and Shams, by Mahmoud Farshchian

“Molana (Rumi) and Shams” is among Farshchian’s most famous works unveiled in the summer of 2007. The painting depicts Shams in the midst of countless curved images resembling the sun with Molana (Rumi) in the center.

“Here both Shams and Rumi are creating each other. The beloved becomes so significant for the lover that the lover becomes the beloved and vice versa; the guiding light and the emancipating presence of Shams and the hands that he has extended towards Molana. Was Shams God’s light or was he an ordinary human being?”