Journal of Researches in Islamic Architecture

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If one looks with the eye of discernment upon the extremely varied manifestations of Islamic art over vast expanses of space and time, the question arises as to the source of the unifying principles of this art. What is the origin of this art and the nature of this unifying principle whose dazzling effect can hardly be denied? The question of the origin of Islamic art and the nature of the forces and principles which brought this art into being must therefore be related to the world view of Islam itself, to the Islamic revelation, one of whose radiations is directly the sacred art of Islam and indirectly the whole of Islamic art.
there is an inner nexus between Islamic architecture and Islamic cosmology and angelology. The Islamic cosmos is based on the emphasis upon God as the Unique Origin of all beings, on the hierarchy of existence which relies upon the One and is ordered by His Command, on the levels of existence which relate matter to the subtle world, the subtle world to the angelic, the angelic to the archangelic, the archangelic to the Spirit or al-ruh and the Spirit to God's primordial creative act. This cosmos is based on order and harmony which is more than the result of the direct manifestation of the One in the many.
By examining the past works of architecture and urbanization, we can see the traces of the manifestation of the imaginary universe in the artwork. One of the examples for these works are Safavid dynasty monuments, such as Imam's mosque in Isfahan, which is an example of the application and expression of the other world in architecture.
Iranian-Islamic culture and knowledge are a rich treasure of the principles and Criterions in all social, economic, cultural and other fields of life. By Looking at Islamic history and civilization, we can always find the reflection of religious and cultural ideas in all aspects of life, including architecture and urbanization. However, one of the issues that is less contemplated in contemporary urbanism, which has led to an identity crisis in the present era, is to provide an opportunity to combine the art of designing urban spaces with Islamic spirituality and art. this kind of art can illustrate the example of the other world by revealing the signs of world of imagination on earth and always point out the beliefs of the people. Hence, the present study aims to derive the applied principles from among these theories. at first we have discussed and categorized theories related to the subject of perception, the imaginary world and the imagination. these theories have been brought up from the point of view of the Islamic Philosophers and Theorists. then it has been examined how these principles are applied in the Iranian-Islamic urban design. The present paper has a qualitative approach and the research is based on "interpretiveism" paradigm. The research method is "analytical-comparative" and it tries to transform fundamental ideas into applied theories. In this regard, in order to clarify the subject, the Qibla Square of Mashhad has also been selected as a case study and finally, a design framework has been developed. The research results show that the universe of imagination and its manifestations have always been considered in the views of great Philosophers; and its appearance in urban spaces can be expressed as different kind of elements, which most notably are light and geometry. For this purpose, one of the most important principles in the world of imagination is "duality", which is based on the four principles of "light and darkness", "inside and outside", "motion and motionless" and "symmetry and asymmetry". These principles are presented in a comparative manner with urban qualities in the form of "hierarchy, unity while plurality, emphasis, contrast, parity, balance, proportions, integrity, and inclusiveness, etc", as well as the solutions below each.

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In Islamic thought, imagination has a special importance and place in artistic creation. The nature of imagination has created such opportunity to realize this fact the each spiritual affair to be imagined should occur partially and tangibly in imagination. In fact, the imagination is the interface between meaning and material and its images, on one hand, are similar to the matter and on the other hand, are separated from the body and spirit. With regards to such nature and capability of this power, using the imagination in the creation of valuable art and architecture is highly effective. The artist, like all other human beings, enjoys all aspects of perception, but uses his imaginative perception in artistic creation more than others. The artist expresses his mental concept, within the words or images or changes them into the sound, or makes it with brick and stone. In all of these creations, what the sacred artist creates in his mind is free of sense and the physical world. Even, when he recreates the nature in his works, it is not the same as nature, but his imagination and creativity power are reflected in his work. What is formed in the artist’s mind is partial with an image and hence is in the imaginative perception area. For this reason, what is created by artist is fully dependent on his imaginative power.   
Like other arts, meaning in Islamic architecture is a fundamental and necessary concept which visualizes an imagination of the meaning world in a matter world by physical and non-physical factors. But, despite the critical role of meaning, current studies have not discussed such issue. In fact, the architect perceives the real world, but in his creation, he does not only imitate, but tries to manifest that fact. Hence, he starts recognition from the matter, but the more he progress, he makes his recognition deeper, separates from the mater and achieves the concepts and rationales. This process occurs in imagination world which is separated from the real world and the wisdom world perception is attained.
The present study aims at explaining the imagination position as the interface for manifestation of meanings in architecture design and its role in architecture design process. In this research, the background related to the imagination in Islamic thought in areas of imagination world and its steps, imaginative perception and sacred art and creation are investigated. By descriptive – analytic method focusing on the rational inference and reasoning, this study deals with the data and collected materials.
To start the design from meaning area, it is necessary to take areas of meaning into account. Meaning area in architecture is the same as the mental concepts of designers which is related to the culture, innate feelings and values of designer. Therefore, starting the design from the architectural qualities like life and presence in space paves the way to achieve the ideas with meaning substance. Trend of meaning manifestation in architectural works (architectural space and form) is made with the help of imagination. Accordingly, each concept or meaning should initially takes and imaginative aspect to become evident in the real and tangible world. Meaning comes from the designer’s entity and the imaginative images of meaning are manifested in architectural space and form. Enjoying the meaning movement is design process is: paying attention and achieving the concepts and meanings (meaning), transforming these meanings into the intellectual images and ideas creation (imagination), recreation of these images in tan bilge world while conforming with both the imagination world and limitations of tangible world (architecture work). Movement of the meaning of the tangible is understood by artist and movement of the tangible to meaning by the audience. For this reason, artist and audience, communicate through affecting each other.
 

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