The Development of the Supernatural Image

 

The image of al-Burāq that is familiar today did not appear overnight. The winged, horse-like creature seen in paintings, children's books, and popular illustrations is the result of a long process of artistic and devotional development rather than a description found in the Qur'an or even in the earliest hadith.

 

Art historian Christiane Gruber (2008), one of the leading scholars on the subject, has shown that depictions of al-Burāq changed considerably over time and from one region to another. She notes that the earliest known illustrations of al-Burāq date from the early fourteenth century, including those found in Rashīd al-Dīn's Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh (1306–1307 CE). By that stage, more than seven centuries had passed since the Qur'an was revealed and several centuries since the major hadith collections had been compiled.

 

Even then, there was no single or universally accepted image of al-Burāq. Early manuscript illustrations differ noticeably from one another. Some portray the creature with a human head or face, while others depict it as a more conventional animal. As Islamic art developed, particularly under the Persian, Timurid, Ottoman, and Safavid dynasties, artists increasingly portrayed al-Burāq with wings, a peacock-like tail, elaborate harnesses, crowns, and other decorative features. These details became part of the visual tradition, even though they are absent from the earliest textual sources.

 

Gruber's research also shows that the appearance of al-Burāq remained fluid rather than fixed. Some manuscripts include wings, while others do not. In certain paintings the creature appears almost entirely horse-like, whereas in others it takes on distinctly human features. This variety suggests that artists were not attempting to reproduce a single authoritative description. Instead, they were expressing the story through the artistic styles and religious imagination of their own time.

 

A similar observation is made by the historian of Islamic art Oleg Grabar (1987), who argues that Islamic art often expanded religious narratives through symbolism, creativity, and local artistic traditions. Seen in this light, the familiar image of al-Burāq should be understood primarily as a product of medieval Islamic art and devotion. It reflects how later generations imagined the Night Journey rather than how the Qur'an itself describes it.