In the Name of Allah, The Merciful, The Beneficent
ISLAMIC
ART
Islamic
Art is the sacred, holistic and contained art
form that is reflective of submission to, and
acceptance of, the Will of our Creator Most High
– total submission and total acceptance,
as taught by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings
be upon him ).
Harmony,
order, balance, stability, and discipline are
all essential qualities in the grid used in Islamic
Art – representing thought before action.
An
up/down pattern along a border is symbolic
of a flowing movement forward signifying the seeking
of The Path to our Creator Most High.
A geometric corner design symbolizes a stage or
station, or realization along the way.
The
border indicates protective limits, within
which lies limitless freedom.
Irregular
designs may seem imbalanced, but they often are
essential for overall harmony.
An
intertwining design reflects awareness of our
Creator – that we are forever in His Presence.
He created us, and never leaves us.
The
repetition of patterns guides the enquiring mind
to a possible understanding of The Infinite in
finite forms.
A
dot, which is the start of any line, straight
or curved, is also the point that marks the centre
of any circle. When penetrated, it is found to
be the container for a new discovery, holding
a new world.
The dot itself becomes a circle, with its own
new centre, once again, holding the promise of
unfolding secrets. This again demonstrates The
Infinite in finite forms, as well as unity in
multiplicity.
Mahmudah
Begum Jaffer
*~*
In the Name of Allah, The Merciful, The Beneficent
INTERPRETATION
OF THE ARTWORK
One
interpretation of the five-pointed star is that
it symbolizes 5 levels
essential for human existence.
Sensorial
Living soul
Spiritual connection to our Creator Most High
Outward energies
Inward energies
The
eight-pointed star that recurs frequently
in the entire art piece is in Sufi terms reflective
of the expansion of The Breath of The Compassionate.
The
‘rungs’ of the ‘ladder’
(the base pairs), making up the DNA, telling the
‘story of life’, are held in fairly
even tension by the stylized, intertwining ‘helix’
pattern. Alternating with Attributes of Allah
Most High in Arabic, these are a direct reflection
of our interconnectedness
with Him, whether we are aware of Him or not.
The bold outline of the ‘helix’ design
is reflective of the discipline and balance found
in the geometric nature of the Ndebele Art of
South Africa.
The delicate tessellated star pattern filling
the inner space is reflective of the
discipline and harmony found in Islamic Art.
SOURCE MATERIAL
The
Noble Qur’an – translations by AYusuf
Ali and Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall
A young Muslim’s guide to the modern world
– Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Al-Ghazali on The Ninety-nine Beautiful Names
of God -
translated by David B Burrell and Nazih Daher
Darwinism on trial – K S Nadwi -(Islamic
Medical Ass of S A)
Doorways to Islamic Art – Mahmudah B Jaffer
Essential Science - The Human Genome – Jeremy
Cherfas
Eyewitness – Evolution- Linda Gamlin
Islamic Patterns – Keith Critchlow
Islamic Art Lecture notes – M Faadiel Arnold
Moral Healing through The Most Beautiful Names
– Laleh Bakhtiar
Sufi Expressions of the mystic quest - Laleh Bakhtiar
What is the origin of man? - Dr Maurice Bucaille
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Professor
Yusuf da Costa (Nakshbandi Sufi Order –
Cape Town)
Moulana Ahmed Mukaddam (Rector–Islamic College
of Southern Africa, Cape Town)
Dr Fazlur-Rahman Sayed (Bio-Chemistry - Cambridge
University London)
Wonderful support from family and friends
