by
Mohammed Sharif**
Introduction
Islamic art, as is the case with most other aspects of Islamic culture and civilization, is widely misunderstood in the western world. A visit to a museum in the USA that exhibits Muslim artifacts and a cursory glance into the pages of rare and expensive books of arts painstakingly collected and compiled from the Muslim world by museum curators and art scholars would provide a clear testimony to this contention. Characterizing as Islamic the wine cup of Mugal Emperor Jahangir and the paintings of pompous and luxurious courtly lives of Muslim kings and emperors exemplifies this misconception. The objective of this essay is to correct this misconception by delineating the true nature of Islamic art and distinguishing it from arts created by some artists from Muslim societies.
Correcting this misconception, however, requires explaining the concept of art in general, the true nature of Islam and Islamic art, and the nature of the works created by artists from Muslim societies in general.
What is Art?
Art is sensory rendering of the artists' perception of life and death and everything around in physical and mental environment. This might relate to the concept of Allah (God), the nature, the earth, the universe, and everything in between. The sensory rendering may be expressions in audio, such as poetry and music; visual, such as architecture, photography, and painting; olfactory, such as incense and perfumes; or taste sensing, such as foods and drinks. A piece of art is an object of beauty-It evokes passion and tenderness in human hearts, arouses love and affection for the surroundings, induces appreciation for life, stimulates human mind against injustice and oppression, and generates craving for peace and tranquility.
What is Islam?
To understand the nature of Islamic art, one needs to understand the fundamental nature of Islam first. The word 'Islam' is derived from the word 'salaam' that means Peace. Another meaning of Islam is 'willing submission to the commandments of Allah.' These two meanings are consistent-if one submits to the Will of Allah doing everything Allah enjoins us to do and refraining from everything Allah forbids, s/he is at peace with Allah, with her/himself, with other human beings, and with the rest of the creation of Allah.
Since submission to the Will of Allah is basic to the Islamic faith, the Islamic concept of Allah is essential to understanding the concept of Islam and Islamic art. In Islam, Allah is the One and Only Who does not have any shape or gender identity, but is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient, Creator and Sustainer of the universe and everybody and everything in it, and the Owner of life and death. Thus, the concept of Allah in Islam is Abstract (no shape), depicting Vastness (Limitlessness) in order and tranquility. The purpose of life for a human being is to acknowledge the Supreme Authority of Allah, to worship Allah, not to ascribe any partner to Allah, and to live her/his life according to the code of conduct revealed by Allah through Allah's Messengers.
The Unity of Allah leads to the unity of the human race, of all creations of Allah, of earth, of the solar system, of the galaxy, and of the universe; this unity means no chaos, but peace and tranquility. In essence, it leads to the concept of oneness of human race, born of one pair of a man and a woman, establishes the fundamental equality of all humans irrespective of their race, ethnicity, gender, creed, and social, political, or economic power. This, further, implies that the basic requirement of Islamic faith is being subservient to Allah's Will, not to any other authority or power, and therefore, the only superiority of one above another is in one's unconditional and unfaltering acceptance of Allah's authority and translating it into one's deeds.
One more aspect of Islamic life needs mentioning here; it has important implications for Islamic art. This is the concept of decency (Hayah)-decency in talking, decency in dressing, decency in acting, and overall decency in living one's life. Anything indecent and vulgar is not acceptable in Islam; therefore, expression of indecent perception in any form cannot be called an Islamic art.
What is Islamic Art?
Islamic art is the sensory rendering of an artist's perception within the bounds of this fundamental faith system of Islam. This can take any form of artistic expression-audio, visual, olfactory, or taste sensing. Poetry of Rumi. Jaami, and Saadi, songs praising Allah and supplicating for (not to) the messengers of Allah, are examples of audio rendering of artists' perception that are Islamic. Calligraphy, architecture, and textile, wood, ceramic, glass, and metal works are examples of visual Islamic art. Olfactory Islamic arts are expressed in elaborate development and use of frankincense (perfume from natural sources), rose water, and incense. Extensive use of herbs and spices to enrich food flavors, development and application of various colors to food, and the varieties of non-alcoholic beverages developed and used by the Muslims provide examples of taste sensing Islamic art.
Islamic arts have four basic features: They are generally abstract, give the impression of limitlessness or at least, vastness, represent unity in diversity, and depict the soul rather than the body. The Islamic faith in Allah as an Abstract Being finds its expression in the development of the exquisite art of calligraphy, in leading to the finest form of rug-making, in extracting the essence of Boswellia tree and processing it into the delicate frankincense, squeezing the essence of roses and turning it into rose water, and the most sophisticated poetry of Rumi and others. The concept of Allah as an Infinite Being gets depicted in Islamic architecture-the construction of domes and the interior designs of mosques give one the exceptional feeling of vastness. Islamic artists' obsession with geometric shapes provides the unique perception of unity in miniscule multitudes of diversity, portraying the Unity of Allah, the unity of the universe, and the unity of diverse communities of humankind. Depiction of the soul rather than the body, emphasizing the inner feeling rather than the outer look, gets expressions in the development and elaborate use of frankincense, rose water, and food flavors, again a reflection of the concept of bodiless, shapeless, but Almighty, Allah. This also explains the absence of statues, idols, and pictures of humans and other animals from Islamic art.
Art from the Muslim World
In Islamic perspective, there is no distinction between Islamic and Muslim art. A Muslim is the one who, on his/her own will, without being compelled by anybody or any authority, submits to the Will of Allah. The Muslim artist who has already surrendered to the Will of Allah is expected to create pieces of art conforming to the fundamental tenets of Islam. Thus, his/her art works can interchangeably be called Islamic or Muslim art.
Unfortunately, some of the artists from Muslim societies are influenced by other cultures and do not abide by the basic principles of Islam in their art works. Moreover, some of the Muslim rulers who are not truly Islamic employ artists to create art-works with the objective of immortalizing their mortal lives. Non-Muslim westerners who do not know the distinction characterize these works as Islamic. Although these works are from the Muslim societies, they are in no way Islamic. They may be appropriately called by the tradition they follow, such as western art, oriental art, etc. from the Muslim world.
A little illustration might help to clear up the understanding: A Christian artist painting a piece with people praying in a synagogue cannot be called a Christian art. Similarly, a Jewish artist painting a piece with crucifix cannot be called Jewish art. Both of these, however, may be called Western art. By the same token, an artist from a Muslim society producing a piece of art depicting gross violation of the fundamental tenets of Islam can be called anything but Islamic.
This hopefully distinguishes Islamic art from art from the Muslim world, especially to the western artists, museum curators, and administrators, and will save giving wrong message about Islam to the non-Muslim museum visitors. That works of art produced by someone from the Muslim world are not necessarily Islamic-they might even deviate from the basic tenets of Islam-is an important message the Muslims must strive to deliver. Most of the courtly arts of the Muslim kings and emperors are arts from the Muslim world, but not Islamic. Many reasons can be listed to support this contention. These kings and emperors ruled mostly violating the Islamic law of ruling-authority to rule determined by heredity, not chosen by the people based on quality. The pomp and luxury they lived in, like some non-Islamic rulers, were nothing but indecent and vulgar display of wealth and power. It is well known that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) lived a very simple life and enjoined the same for his followers. These rulers used art to immortalize their mortal existence-painting their pictures and their courts to show their authority and power, diverting the resources from being used for the welfare of the people. Moreover, this attempt at achieving immortality is a violation of the divine authority, as immortality applies to Allah only. Some of their practices and behaviors were very clearly in violation of basic injunctions of Islam-drinking alcohol by Emperor Jahangir is an example of such behaviors.
How to Correct the Incorrect Perceptions?
Museums in western countries exhibit art objects collected from Muslim countries and call them Islamic arts. Most of these art works are depictions of pompous and luxurious courtly lives of kings and emperors, and celebrations of their power and authority. While these works may at best be called art from the Muslim world, they are in no way Islamic. Judged against the life and practices of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and those of the Khulafa-e-Raashedeen �, the lives and practices depicted in these art pieces are gross violations of the basic Islamic tenets of living and ruling. It is the responsibility of the Muslims living in the western world to correct this misrepresentation. One, however, must be very modest and courteous, in essence, Islamic, while approaching the museum authorities. 'Courtesy costs nothing; courtesy with tact and patience wins most everything' must be the chosen strategy of correcting the incorrect perceptions.
*Lecture delivered on October 17, 1999
at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum
in Providence, Rhode Island.
**The author is Professor of Economics at the University of Rhode Island,
chief organizer of the annual University of Rhode Island Muslim Cultural
Heritage Program and frequently displayed "Discover Islam and Muslim
Culture" exhibit, founding President of the Southern Rhode Island
Islamic Society and Muslim Heritage Council.
Published in Minaret, 2001