A Comparative Study on the Theories of Illuminationism Scholars Regarding the Visual Element of Color

Color is a visual element that has long been regarded in the two scopes of physics and metaphysics in scientific discussions. In the first scope, color is defined as the result of light decomposition which yields the primary colors and, from their combination, secondary colors. However, the second scope defines light as the agent of emergence and manifestation which is intuitively visible. Shahabuddin Suhrawardi, Najmuddin Kobra, Najmuddin Razi, and Alaeddin Semnani are among metaphysics scholars that consider light to be the condition for the manifestation of color rather than the nature of color itself and believe that one manages to see color intuitively only be findings themselves in a specific position. Thus, the present study seeks to review such scholars' opinions and rely on credible desk-electronic resources to answer the question of how the process of color comprehension has been explained by these scholars, and what the similarities and differences in their theories regarding the aforementioned are.
A qualitative-quantitative analysis of the results of the present study indicates that the studied scholars associate the color comprehension process with visual perception, indicating that visual perception is distinct from visual sensation. Sustentation refers to the transmission of a stimulus from the sensory receptor to the central nervous system with objective traceability, whereas perception is a mental and psychological process capable of organizing sensory information and assigning meaning to them, and can take place in the mind swiftly enough to seem simultaneous with sensation. However, illuminationism scholars considered the aforementioned a judgment on the integrity of human experience in spiritual journeys and believed that perception can grant symbolic concept and meaning to sensory experiences and encompass cognitive values beyond the mere physiological act. Hence, they proposed theories sharing the components mentioned in the following:

All the scholars considered the presence and human’s act and impact from it to be definite, so they gradually developed the types of color and their observations into comprehensive, systematic, and interconnected theories on light and expressed their intuitive cognitions in this regard symbolically.
Since color perception is considered to be intuitive, no scientific effort has been paid to confirm or deny its presence, and no indication on how different types of colored lights are visible to humans in a specific order is offered.
According to these scholars, color and light are not separate in nature, and the way light is influenced by color does not impact how various types of colored lights are discerned.
The combination of colors and how secondary colors are obtained from primary colors have not been discussed, since the scholars believe that no sensory organ is required to discern colors, and the colors appear to humans through meta-sensory vision.
Healthy eyes, enlightened objects, and the lack of visual obstacles between the object and the observer have been considered as the conditions for illuminationist vision.
Although all theories agree on the four colors of white, black, red, and yellow, they only agree on the symbolic manifestation of red and consider it a symbol of wisdom, rationality, courage, power, awareness, and the establishment of the peaceful soul –where the soul diminishes and the light brightens.

However, the scholars have proposed a specific color spectrum from the beginning of spirituality to the discovery of the existential light of the Lord Almighty but have not considered the same perception of light for humans and have rather presented different opinions and distinctions in this regard. It can be inferred that:

Although the color green has no place in Suhrawardi's theoretical spectrum, it has been considered a certain symbol of the integration of the light of the soul and the purity of heart that befalls in the middle of the spiritual journey according to Najm Razi. Au contraire, Najm Kobra and Semnani believe that this color symbolizes the final stage of freedom from the veils of darkness and ensures the greatest levels of institutive vision and comprehension of the divine essence.
According to Suhrawardi, Najm Kobra, and Semnani, the color black symbolizes the material world, and the farthest point from the great light is the color of darkness veils and borrowed existence and manifests the darkness opposed to light. However, Najm Razi considered black to be the color of the final stage of spirituality and an equivalent to the divine light. Notably, Semnani proposed another variation of this color called “transparent black” which manifests the inspiration and divine nature to keep up with Najm Razi and validate his master.
The color azure is among the colors not discussed by Suhrawardi, but other scholars have considered it a manifestation of human stepping outside the boundaries of neglect and nature through penance and spirituality on one hand, and not achieving purity of heart and peace of soul yet.
The color yellow has been considered to be the symbol of one stage before reaching spiritual excellence, the representative of God in Latifa Ruhiya, and a sign of purity of heart and dominance of light over it. Given its brightness and radiance, the color yellow has been considered as the symbol of brightness, radiance, purity, the sun, divine grace, royal glory, and perfection, and compared to a flame with transcendental nature and the light of victory manifested as a light halo.
The color white is the only place of a dispute between the scholars; however, they all consider it to contain the meaning of divine light manifestation stemming from prayers and pleas.
Suhrawardi’s predecessors added the two colors of green and azure to what he suggested regarding the colors white, black, red, and yellow, and considered one color in both forms of opaque and transparent to complete the seven stages of the spiritual journey.
Suhrawardi is the only scholar to point out color combinations while other scholars believed that colors turned from one into the other in a specific order.

Overall, the aforementioned indicate that given that the scholars have proposed their theories based on illuminationism comprehension and visual perception, firstly, excessive attention has been paid to the symbolic applications of colors for spiritual exploration. Secondly, the scholars have defined a range of pure colors between black and white and assigned various values to them, so that the emergence and manifestation of color are sometimes considered a symbol of the soul and its darkness and other times as a divine manifestation. Still, all scholars debated a limited group of primary colors corresponding to the existential levels, colors in the form of various types of light whether opaque or transparent that can carry specific meanings and contents for spirituality seekers and become the foundation for their spiritual interpretations. The final point is that deep contemplation of the color exchanges through the existential order reveals their correspondence to the color exchanges created in nature by God, which means that not only illuminationism school scholars presented their thoughts and opinions from an intuitive viewpoint; they also sought the divine signs and symbols in the material world.