The mystical notion of "Imam Zaman" as a "perfect human being" and the reflection of its characteristics in contemporary Iranian painting; Emphasizing the element of light

The concept of the perfect man or ideal man, as the ultimate stage of self-construction or spiritual conduct, has been considered in most religions and schools of thought and in many cases, is intertwined with the concept of the promised savior. In these concepts, characteristics for the physical crystallization of the concept in question are stated. In the art of Iranian religious painting, the subject of Imam Zaman has been very important and prominent artists have dealt with this subject. In the present study, twelve paintings by five famous contemporary painters on the subject of Imam Zaman (as) have been selected and studied in a descriptive-analytical manner.The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between Imam Zaman's paintings and related beliefs in religion with the "focus of the perfect enlightened man in Islam." The question of this research is to what extent do the paintings with the subject of Imam Zaman in the contemporary era depend on religious literature and sacred texts in religious sources? The results of library studies show that all the cases studied correspond to the main characteristics of this concept (in the two case options of "being light" and "the appearance of the promised savior in the dark"). From this point of view, the studied paintings, apart from certain religious features and symbols, can be considered as works of extra-religious art and in line with man's attempt to imagine his ideal form at the end of history.