Introduction: The Holy Qur’an employs parables and prophetic narratives as primary instruments of human guidance. These stories transcend mere historical reporting; rather, they function as discourses shaped by the interaction of characters, events, and dialogues to convey warning (inzār) and glad tidings (tabsheer). Within illustrated Persian manuscripts, an inseparable relationship exists between text and image, with Persian painting (negârgari) serving as a vital medium for interpreting religious texts. Although extensive research has addressed the historical and formal aspects of Persian painting, studies that explore meaning-making through interdisciplinary approaches-particularly in relation to Qur’anic discourse-remain limited. This study addresses this gap by examining how the discursive dimensions of the Qur’anic narrative of Prophet Abraham (AS) are manifested in a significant Safavid painting. The primary research question investigates how the discursive dimensions-action-oriented prescriptive, tension-oriented, and counter-discourse-are reflected in the painting “The Sacrifice of Abraham” from a Persian Falnama of the Safavid period.
Method: This research adopts a descriptive-analytical method grounded in discursive semio-semantics. This theoretical framework was selected for its capacity to analyze the dynamic process of meaning generation in both written and visual texts, emphasizing the interaction between external layers (actions and visual elements) and internal layers (feelings and emotions). Data were collected through library-based and documentary research. The analyzed image derives from documented materials in the illustrated catalogue of the National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian), compiled by Massumeh Farhad.
Findings and Discussion: The findings indicate that the Qur’anic discursive context in “The Sacrifice of Abraham” operates across multiple visual layers. These include figure placement, compositional structure, viewpoint, directional movement, meaningful use of color, and “somatics”-mediating elements between form and meaning, such as the dagger, the ram, and bodily postures-that construct relationships and generate meaning among the pictorial agents.
Within the deep structure of the artwork, the “trial” pattern, central to the Qur’anic narrative, generates three primary discourses:
Action-Oriented Prescriptive Discourse: This discourse materializes through the luminous flames surrounding Abraham and Ishmael (AS), signifying prophethood and divine election, as well as through the dagger in Abraham’s hand and his son seated with bound hands. These elements visually articulate obedience to divine command and the Prophet’s acceptance of responsibility as the principal actor before God as the ultimate Actant.
Tension-Oriented Discourse: This discourse constitutes the innermost narrative layer, situating Abraham within a tensional space in which emotional intensity (affective pressure) arising from attachment to his son (the object of value) intersects with the cognitive necessity of submission to divine will. The painting represents this tension through a triangular composition uniting Abraham, Ishmael, and Satan as the obstructive force. Satan’s distant and elevated position, Ishmael’s bound and blindfolded state, and, crucially, the chromatic correspondence between the garments of Satan and Ishmael all signify the severity of the trial and the proximity of temptation to the object of value. This visual strategy transforms Abraham from a mere actor into a subject who experiences the trial emotionally, enabling viewer empathy through his foreground placement.
Counter-Discourse: The discourse of divine support, emerging upon the successful completion of the trial, appears in a second triangular composition featuring the angel, Abraham, and Ishmael. An angel descends bearing a white ram, the dagger lies on the ground, and Satan is omitted from the scene. The chromatic correspondence between Abraham’s garment and that of the angel, together with the visual pairing of the dagger and the ram (black and white), represents the concept of the “Great Sacrifice” and its substitution for Ishmael. The fallen dagger signifies the transition from tension to counter-discourse, while the angel’s directional movement toward Abraham with the ram embodies divine protection following successful submission.
Conclusion: The discursive semio-semantic analysis demonstrates that “The Sacrifice of Abraham” transcends mere religious illustration, functioning instead as a complex and multi-layered reflection of Qur’anic discourse. Moving beyond formal analysis makes it possible to apprehend the artwork’s deep semantic structures. The painter skillfully employed visual devices-composition, color, and somatics-to articulate three discourses simultaneously within a single frame. This simultaneity, characteristic of Persian painting, creates a suspension of temporal sequence, inviting viewers to contemplate latent layers of meaning. The analysis further reveals that somatic elements such as the dagger function beyond their material presence, operating as vehicles of meaning in which emotion and perception converge. The triangular compositional system, combined with strategic chromatic correspondences, visually articulates both the intensity of the trial and the subsequent divine support. Ultimately, these three discourses converge within a macro-discourse: the discourse of submission in trial for truth-seeking. Within this framework, humanity-by transcending material attachments with which Satan deceptively associates and by submitting to divine truth-attains salvation and spiritual security. This study confirms that religious Persian painting, particularly in prophetic narratives, constitutes a visual source capable of revealing and analyzing the Qur’an’s fundamental patterns of guidance through semio-semantic analysis.