How does this encounter make you feel?
A White Cockerel, embodying the Angel of Prayer, encounters Muhammad
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Bright emotions
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Quiet emotions
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Heavy emotions
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Not at all Extremely
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Sombre emotions
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Not at all Extremely
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A White Cockerel, embodying the Angel of Prayer, encounters Muhammad
Date
c. 1465
Description
Creator of the image: al-Sarai
Date of the image creation: c. 1465
Medium: painting
Encounter depicted: ‘The Prophet Muhammad Encounters the Angel of Prayer as a White Cockerel’
This Islamic miniature, called 'The Prophet Muhammad Encounters the Angel of Prayer as a White Cockerel’, is taken from a copy of al-Sarai’s Nahj al-Faradis (The Paths of Paradise). The Timurid ruler, Abu Said who lived in Herat in present day Afghanistan, commissioned the manuscript. The text describes the Prophet Muhammad’s mystical ascension to Paradise, a trip which took him to both Heaven and Hell. Muhammad rides atop of Buraq, a horse-like creature with a woman’s head and wings, and is accompanied by the archangel Gabriel.
In the part of his journey depicted here, the Prophet encounters a titanic white cock, a bird so large that its feet stand on the earth and its head can reach God's throne. The artist had the bird extend beyond the frame in an effort to convey its mind-boggling size. With an inquisitive gesture, Muhammad turns towards Gabriel for expiation, to which the Archangel replies this is Angel of Prayers, the being in charge of time, calling the faithful to prayer.
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