The Basmala Series

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. Midwifes in bringing a baby to the world, recite the Basmala. A mother, starts suckling her baby with a Basmala. In short, it is an inseparable companion of a Muslim from the cradle to the grave. In order to highlight its spiritual, historical and aesthetic value, I gilded several versions of Basmala 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 paintings were 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 used mainly Improved Gold Body size and transfer gold leaf on handmade black Ahar paper to attain the desired effect.