Category Archive

by Amina Malik

Visual Dhikr highlights some of the artists that will be showing their work at Islam Expo 2008.  Go check it out and visit their websites.

The muslim art I have hanging on my walls is calligraphy, but I can definately see putting something like this up.  It’s a depiction of the haraam, the kaba in the middle, people doing tawaf around it and the outer rings making salat.  So simple, yet I’m deeply intrieged.

 Ya Waduud!  Oh Loving One!

The familiar calligraphy lines still draw the eye and lead one to contemplate the Divine.

‘The pursuit of knowledge is bitter at first but at the end it is sweeter than honey’

Again, different from what I’m used to, but so captivating.  Seriously, I’m in love.

http://www.funci.org/en/

Definately a worthy place to wile away the hours online.  Their online exhibition of Iraq is particularly awesome.

There are two gifts that I wished Allah (swt) had blessed me with – artistic ability and a beautiful voice with which to recite the Qur’an.   Since He did not, I am constantly on the lookout for beautiful Islamic Art and recitations of the Qur’an.  This weekend, I found another example of the former.  The sister behind Muhammadan Art has produced countless exquisite pieces that will please the eye and soothe the heart of any believer.  Do check them out.

Via Deenport

BBC Radio interview here, starts at 18:01, transcript here.  Check out his pictures here.

I have a huge stack of documents sitting on my living room floor that I brought home to do over the long weekend, so of course, I decided to go through the Shadhili wiki article and click on all the links instead.  Ah, procrastination at it’s finest.

 In the course of my clicking, I happened upon the article of one Ivan Aguéli, a swedish convert to Islam, sufi and impressionist/symbolist painter.  How cool is that?

Playing follow the links, I then stumbled upon an early 20th century french movement called Traditionalism.   

“The remembrance of God contains the whole Law and it is the reason for the existence of the whole Law”
Frithjof Schuon

Ah, time to start another one of my online Ramadan traditions – DeviantArt browsing.  Lots of talented muslim artists on the site, mashAllah, and lots beautiful potential wallpapers for my computer   There’s so much out there, I usually end up changing my background every few days during the month.

Some of the newer pieces this year:

by ~alinet, arizaboy, zoeksa, radhwan, ~snobs, rezki, ~azlah, jojeangel, arabdesign, and aminovish

 

Via Visual Dhikr:

The British Library’s online gallery of their sacred texts exhibit.

The Ma’il Qur’an is one of the very earliest Qur’ans in the world, dating back to the eighth century. Not only that, but it also probably hails from the Hijaz region of Arabia – a region which contains the holy places of Mecca and Medina, homes of the Prophet Muhammad.

Qur’an, Mecca or Medina, eighth century.

Chapter 26, al-Shu‘ara’ (The Poets), verse 183 to Chapter 27, al-Naml (The Ant), verse 3

BL Or. MS 2165, ff. 76v–77

Copyright © The British Library Board

This very rare early Hebrew Bible shows the influence of Islamic art in its decorative elements. It is named after a previous owner, Dr Moses Gaster (1856-1939), a scholar and spiritual leader of Sephardic Jews in London.

First Gaster Bible, perhaps Egypt, ninth or 10th century. Psalm 64
BL Or. MS 9879, f. 14v
Copyright © The British Library Board

Passed on to me by my friend Noura, take time to explore this beautiful look at Islamic History and the art it created.

Discovery Islamic Art Online

I had a hard time picking which pictures to include in this post, as each era produced such unique and fascinating art.

Ceramic tile with a picture of the Ka’baHegira last quarter of the 10th century / AD 16th century – Ottoman Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey

Tile showing the Ka’ba, which would be placed on the outside of a mosque showing the direction of and reminding the faithful about the holiest site of Islam.

Aghlabid ReservoirsHegira 248 / AD 862Abbasid Kairouan, Tunisia

This reservoir is composed of two pairs of circular basins. About 15 similar reservoirs originally surrounded the area outside Kairouan. In addition to rainwater, water from the tributaries of the Merguelil Valley was directed into them. > More information

Museum With No Frontiers (MWNF) is an organisation whose ground-breaking and visionary programme aims to establish a vast trans-national museum that presents works of art, architecture and archaeology in the context in which they were created. Inspired by the principle of organising exhibitions without moving the works of art, MWNF is creating through modern technology an exciting new dimension to museums. The visitor is invited to experience a museum not only as a place to admire artefacts on display but also as a gateway to related works of art in other museums, relevant archaeological sites and monuments as well as to thematic visits.

By raising awareness of artistic and cultural heritage and promoting investment in restoration and conservation projects, MWNF aims to promote cultural integration as a means of facilitating political cooperation between different countries and cultures. The MWNF programme provides an opportunity to learn about and enjoy the shared cultural heritage of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in a completely new way. Its masterly orchestration brings together a large number of academics, professionals, photographers, tourist managers, politicians and many other people and organisations participating in this innovative project.

The ever expanding MWNF network includes partners from 19 countries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. To date, public and private bodies from Algeria, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom have joined the MWNF programme.

Two videos to watch this weekend inshaAllah – A seminar with Tariq Ramadan in 2001 on his book “To be a European Muslim” and a short piece on calligrapher extrodinaire Haji Noor Deen.

Have I mentioned that I love Islamic art? Maybe once or twice, or a million times?

Penmanship is a spiritual geometry fashioned by a material
instrument

The art of Islamic penmanship is a bridge between the spiritual and material; the visual and the verbal. It is a living tradition that has the capacity for self-renewal enabling Soraya Syed to adopt a contemporary approach while remaining true to her artistic heritage and the many years of study linking her to the calligraphy masters of the past…

FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A CURE AND THE CURE OF (AILING) HEARTS LIES IN THE REMEMBRANCE OF GOD

I like Islamic Art. In particular, I love Islamic calligraphy. I have this little dream that when my husband and I get a house someday, inshaAllah, I’ll get a room that I can turn into my very own Islamic art gallery. I’ve already stocked it full in my mind’s eye. I’ve bookmarked more than a dozen artists that I absolutely must buy from when I have the space (and moola).

Now, I’m a big fan of the traditional stuff. Kufic, thuluth, riqa, it’s all good. But, there is some stuff out there online that just blows my mind. Check the Pen and the Inkpot. SubhanAllah!

Surah al Fatiha