Fatima Azzahrae Chaabani

My Second year artworks are inspired by the magnificent book of Martin Lings “Splendours of Qur’anCalligraphy and Illumination” (2005). Through my project, I express my love for the Divine revelation, through exploring a variety of calligraphic scripts and illumination traditions. These are as powerful an experience for the eye as the chanted words of the Qur’an are for the ear.

My intention is to show the striking beauty of Qur’an calligraphy and illumination as vehicles of the Divine Presence. In fact, “To compensate for an Absence, is to be a prolongation of a presence; and this function is at once apparent in Christian sacred arts, of which the icon is as it were the cornerstone. It becomes also apparent as regards Qur’an calligraphy and illumination when we remember that the vehicle of the Revelation was the primary function of the prophet of Islam.” Lings (2005). Hence, Islamic artistry throughout history and in all parts of the Islamic lands, was inspired by the divine substance of the Qur’anic text itself to reflect its light, infinitude and transcendence.

In order to study the rules and styles of Qur’an Illumination during my second year, I spent nine weeks in Istanbul learning from Master Ayten Tiryaki, a prominent Turkish traditional master of both Illumination and Calligraphy. My learning experience in Istanbul was invaluable, as I got the chance to experience traditional apprenticeship. It enabled me to shift from drawing simple motifs to comprehending the underlying rules and main forms in Qur’an illumination, and henceforth, to analyse sophisticated patterns and design my own compositions. This learning experience resulted in two projects: Al Fatiha, and the Basmala.

1.  Al Fatiha Project:

“The Qur’an itself may be said to hold out certain opportunities, as it were, an invitation to the illuminator. The most obvious of these are the surah headings, and the divisions between the verses… It is moreover, in the nature of things that if the opening of the surah admits of illumination, the opening of the first Surah and therefore the whole book should be treated with a particularly striking display of art.” Martin Lings (2005)

My first project consists of illuminating Surat Al Fatiha(The Opening) in various styles. The choice of Surat Al Fatiha is dictated by its substantial significance within the Qur’an. It is also known as Ummul Qur’an and Ummul Kitab meaning the Mother of Qur’an and Mother of the Book respectively. It is believed to be the first completed chapter of the Qur’an revealed to the prophet Mohamed (PBUH), and is the most often repeated Surah in the Quran. Prayer is said to be invalid or not acceptable without reciting it. Also, the chapter, apart from referring to the Resurrection, presents facts concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence, Unity of Attributes, Unity of Divine Acts, and Unity of Worship. Therefore, the chapter is indeed the essence of the whole meaning of the Qur’an.

I have illuminated five versions of Surat Al Fatiha from various traditions, namely: the Kufic, the Moorish, the Ottoman, the Persian and the Chinese. The first stage was commissioning calligraphers from different parts of the world to write Surat Al Fatiha in the required scripts, I commissioned Ayten Tiryaki from Turkey for the ottoman Script, Belaid Hamidi from Morocco for the Maghribi script, Hajji Noureddine from China for the Chinese script, calligrapher Hani from Iran for the Persian Script, and I asked the authorisation of calligrapher Vahid Jazayeri to reproduce his early Kufic script calligraphy of Surat Al Fatiha in shell gold. The second stage was creating the design of each illuminated piece. The design of the Ottoman piece was inspired by a Quran Manuscript written by Zayn Al Abidine Ibn Muhammad Al-katibAsh-Shirazi in the 15th century. The Moroccan piece was inspired by a Moroccan Qur’an manuscript from the 12th century that I found in the Royal Library in Rabat, and the Chinese piece is inspired by a 19th Century Chinese Qur’an manuscript provided by the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur. The design of the illumination of the Persian piece is my own. The Kufic piece refers to the early use of gold in Qur’an calligraphy in the 9th century before the evolution of the art of Qur’an illumination. The third stage was painting my designs in shell gold as the initial element, and in handmade natural pigments especially lapis on Ahar handmade paper. In Qur’an Illumination, blue is a symbol of the Infinite, and was raised to the level of co-equality with gold in the East, whereas in the West gold maintained its original supremacy with blue as second, which explains the dominance of blue in my Ottoman and Persian pieces, and a more significant presence of red in my Moroccan one.

2. Basmalah Project:

The Basmala refers to the words: “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate”.Every chapter of the Holy Qur’an starts with the Basmala which plays an important role in the daily lives of Muslims. In fact, the prophet Mohamed (PHUH) recommended: “Start every good act with the Basmala so that the blessing of God be with you in that act”. Therefore, every act such as reading the Qur’an, sitting down to one’s dinner, or having a drink of water starts with the Basmala. It is an inseparable companion of a Muslim from the cradle to the grave.

In order to highlight its spiritual, historical and aesthetic value, my second project consists of gilding a multitude of Basmala versions in various calligraphic scripts, from different parts of the world, ranging from an early Kufic Basmala to contemporary interpretations.

In terms of form, my Basmala project was inspired by the Kiswah (The cloth that covers of the Kaaba in Makkah), which is a black cloth with raised gold embroidery. To make my Basmala as visually identical as possible as the raised gold embroidery of the Kiswah, I explored different gold raised mediums and techniques from the medieval manuscript illumination tradition. I used mainly “improved gold body” size on handmade black Ahar paper to attain the desired effect.