Fatima Azzahrae Chaabani
Supervisor: Emma Clark
MA: VITA, (2016-1018)
Introduction
The choice of this topic is a fruit of an ample spiritual and aesthetical learning journey during my first year as a Master student in the Prince’s School of traditional Arts.
As we have scrutinized a variety of theories, techniques and traditions depicting and celebrating the splendour and authenticity of Sacred Arts, the arts related to Qur’an ornament have been particularly fascinating to me for manifold reasons. Firstly, they revolve around Quran ‘the word made book’, the great miracle that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of some twenty-two years for the guidance of the mankind. Secondly, I was always fascinated by the exquisitely beautiful colours and sophisticated patterns of Qur’an illumination, yet, I was not able to fathom the symbolism behind it and why it comes out the way it is. Thirdly, the mesmerizing opulence of illumination styles intrigued my curiosity to study the historical and regional differences reflected in the different Qur’an versions.
In this essay, I will focus on the symbolism of colors and patterns of Qur’an illumination, and will I scrutinize the origins of historical and regional differences. I will also explain my prospective second year degree show project that is inspired from Quran illumination and I will provide an overview of my main piece in second year.
It is worth mentioning that, despite reading few books on the evolution of Quran illumination, I chose to rely mostly on the work of Martin Lings in his masterpiece book “Splendours of Qur’an Calligraphy and Illumination”. Martin Lings is a leading authority in the field, and his theoretical framework on the symbolism of Quran illumination forms a sound analyses of the addressed topic.
- Origins
The prophet Muhammad, to whom Qur’an was revealed was ‘unlettered’, meaning that he haven’t learned neither to read nor to write; the quality which in this context can be considered equivalent to the virginity of Mary. Despite their disdain for writing and their mastery of oral poetry, Arabs proved a great openness to calligraphic inspiration, as much as to say, ‘since we have no choice but to write the Revelation, then let that written record be as powerful an experience for the eye as the memorized record is for the ear when the verses are spoken or chanted’. Lings (2005) (p.15).
The explanation of this phenomenal shift is that the “human genius have been curbed from the art of sculpture, and from that of painting in most of its aspects, and made to flow with all its force into a relatively narrow channel.”Lings 2005 (p.15). In the same vein, Schuon(1982)states that the non-figurative or abstract art of Islam is “akin to it by its exclusion of human and animal representations; as to its origin it issued from the sensory form of the revealed Book, that is from the interlaced letters of the verses of the Koran, and also paradoxical though this may seem – from the forbidding of images. This restriction in Islamic art, by eliminating certain creative possibilities intensified others, the more so since it was accompanied by express permission to represent plants; hence the capital importance of arabesques, of geometrical and decorative motifs”. (p.74)
Alternatively stated “To compensate for an Absence, is to be a prolongation of a presence; and this function is at one 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) (p.17).
In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the art of Qur’an illumination developed more slowly than of calligraphy because it was not directly called for by the text. Rather, it was held by the fear of allowing anything to intrude upon that sacred text. In Lings words, it is “this reverential awe, haybah, which guaranteed exactly the right channels for the flow of this development towards a result which is, by general agreement, marvelously right.” P (20).Hence, “it follows that the art of Qur’an Calligraphy itself, let alone illumination, was bound to start on the note of ‘reserve’, a pious courtesy related to awe and to artists’ consciousness of in the Divine Majesty.” P. (20).
The main features of Qur’an illumination pertain, beyond any doubt, to the source of inspiration, which gives us a profound insight into the outlook. As a matter of fact, many of the calligraphers and not a few of the illuminators would have known the Qur’an by heart from beginning to end. But even when they did not memorize it fully by heart, the verses of Qur’an would have been so familiar as to be almost an organic part of their nature. In other terms “The verses of the Qur’an are not only utterances which transmit thoughts, they are also, in a sense, beings, powers, talismans”. P (20)
Moreover, Lings (2005) states that 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. In addition, indications that five or ten versus have passed gave an opportunity for a regularly repeated ornament in the margin, besides it is helpful for the reader to know at what points in the text he is required to make a prostration, which is also can be indicated ornamentally. It is, moreover, in the nature of things that’s if the opening of Surah admits of illumination, the opening of the first Surah and therefore of the whole book should be treated with a particularly striking display of art.P. (21)
- Forms
Islam is particularly averse to any idea of circumscribing or localizing the Divine. And it is the function of Sacred arts in general to be vehicle for the Divine Presence notas capturing of the Presence but rather as a liberation of its mysterious totality from the deceptive presence of appearances. Nonetheless, Totality is a Wholeness, and Wholeness means Perfection, and in the visual plane, perfection cannot be reconciled with formlessness. The answer lies in the first earthly vehicle of the divine presence namely nature itself; and it is, moreover, the Qur’an which draws the artists attention to this primordial solution. In fact, “there are a few things that evoke more immediately and the idea of perfection then tree which has had time and space to achieve fullness of growth; and in virtue of the outward and upward pointing of its branches, it is not a close perfection but an open one.” Lings (2005), P.(23).
The Qur’an uses this very symbol of itself; that is the good word being in itself the best of the good words; Hast thou not seen how God coineth a similitude? Avoid word is as good tree, it’s root firm, its branches in heaven, giving its fruits at every due season by the leave of its Lord. And God coineth similitudes for men that they may remember (XIV, 24-25). (2005), P. (23).
Otherwise expressed, for the truth to be remembered, with the help of the tree as a reminder, is precisely the non-finite nature of the Qur’an. Therefore, a Qur’an recitation must not to be thought of as limited to this world for it has repercussions to the Heavens, where its ‘fruits’ await the believer. In other words, Lings (2005) affirms that ‘the Qur’an uses the symbol of the tree to that it may liberate itself from being subject, easy awareness of the self-consciousness of the believer to the illusion and that it is just one book among other books. It’s may thus be said to point a way for the illuminator, telling him how to set free from the finite its Infinite Presence.” P. (22)
Therefore, it is significant that the most fundamental ornaments of Qur’an illumination should be arboreal namely the palmette, shujayrah or little tree, standing for the good word. The surah heading consists of the title of the surah, the number of its verses, and the word makkiyyah or madaniyyah to show whether it was revealed in Mecca or Medina. Written deliberately in a script that is different from that of the Qur’an itself, and set in a wide rectangular panel, often richly framed with gold and other colours, and with an arabesque as background to the letters. The heading is prolonged into the outer margin by a palmette which points horizontally towards the paper’s edge, achieving for the eye the defect of the liberation of incalculable scope.
In a significant note, Lings (2005) clarifies that “there are three main aspects which the artists has an obligations to convey if his art is to be relevant: The Qur’an as a descending power of revelation; The Qur’an as a mysterious Presence of the Infinite in the Finite; and Qur’an as an ascending power of reintegration. The tree as we experience it on earth is a symbol of the last two of these aspects; but there is one verse in which the tree may be said to point in the direction of descent: if all the trees in the earth were pens, and if the sea eked out by seven seas more were ink, the Words of God could not be written out to the end (XXXI,27)” P. (24)
The below picture shows the Surah headings in Ornamental Eastern Kufic script and Palmettesstyles, found in a Mamluk Qur’an in the John Rylands Library in Manchester (Arabic M3 42). Lings (2005), P .(111)
Another symbol which also expresses both perfection and infinitude, and which is intimately, though not apparently, related to the tree, is the rayed sun. Repeatedly, the Qur’an refers to itself as light, or as being radiant with light; and many periods of Qur’an illumination give us examples of marginal verse counts inscribed in circles whose circumferences are rayed or scalloped. A roundel Shamsah is in the below picture of page of Qur’an written by Ibrahim Sultan Ibn Shah Rukh Ibn Timur, 827/1424, probably in Tabriz. The illumination was done under the supervision of the Royal Patron calligrapher who was a grandson of Tamurlane (Mashhad, Imam Riza Shrine Library, 414, ff.1v-2r). Lings (2005). P. (149)
The solar roundels, shamsah or little sun, is used also of stellar ornaments, replacing sometimes the rosettes which divide the verses, and the rosettes themselves are often made luminous with Gold. Sometimes the symbolism of light is directly combined with that of a tree, as when the solar roundel figures inside the surah palmette, or when the palmette itself is rounded and rayed, with its lobe replaced by an outward pointing finial. There are manifold variants of the same combination, and what has been said about the symbolism of directions applies equally here, as the revelation is the shining light from the next world, and it also throws its light towards the next world by way of guidance; and this reverse reintegrating light can not be separated from the soul’s spiritual aspiration, that is likewise figured by everything that points to the beyond. Lings (2005), P. (25)
In this regard, it is noteworthy that the arabesques are related in more ways than one to the tree are with which the palmette, the roundels and other marginal ornaments are filled, and which often serve as the surrounding frame for the main part of the page. Being vineal rather than arboreal, the arabesque does not by its nature point out a way, though it can give a clear indication of tendency, and that is certainly one of its main functions in Qur’an illumination. In the same time, in virtue of its elusiveness, the Shamsah constitutes in itself a mysterious and supraformal presence. It is also, like the tree, a vital presence and, where it is a background for the script, it serves to heighten the effect of the letters and vehicles of the Living Word. Moreover, as a portrayal of rhythm, by its constant repetition of the same motives, in particular the small palmette, at regular intervals, it suggests rhythmic Qur’an recitations, which take place, we believe, not only on earth but throughout all the degrees of the universe. Lings (2005), P. (26)
In this respect, one could ask, if the founders of the tradition desired certain effects, and they did not use more directly imperative means? Such as surrounding their ornaments and the text itself with broad golden rays to give the impression of light instead of the delicate antenna-like finials which, though occasionally red, are more often black or brown or blue? The answer is “not only the illuminator does not wish to raise his voice above that of the Qur’an but also that he particularly wishes to avoid any such obviousness as might cause premature crystallizing of the imagination and thus fatally arrest the soul from continuing to penetrate more deeply in the required direction”. Lings (2005), P. (26)
- Numbers
The symbolism of certain numbers is highly relevant in this context. Lings (2005) provides a thorough study of the significance of numbers and their geometrical equivalents in the context of Quran illumination. To start with, nine and three, like the circle and the triangle, are worldwide symbols of Heaven, number four and the square or the rectangle are their earthly complements. The rectangular setting of the Qur’anic text thus signifies the terrestrial state which has been penetrated by the Revelation. And in most periods, there are examples of a semicircular or triangular anse attached to the outer or ‘beyond’ side of the rectangle, or to its summit indicating the celestial dimension of the text. The two varieties of qubbah, which are the hemispherical dome of the Eastern mosque, and its pyramidal equivalent in the Maghrib are the exact architectural equivalents. Number Five may be said to confer a certain transitional significance as it symbolises man as a quintessence at the centre of the four directions of early space. Number six represents man in all his fullness. Moreover, this mediator between Heaven and earth was created on the sixth day. Accordingly, the hexagon and the six-pointed star in Qur’an Illumination must be considered as symbols of transition, in addition to what other meanings they may have. Along the same line of transitional numbers, one of the most direct earthly manifestations of the Spirit is the wind, that is most powerfully winged for return to its Archetype; and this readiness to escape from the here below. The wind is expressed numerically by the fact that the winds are eight in number, which brings them near to the celestial number nine. Analogously, the octagon brings the terrestrial square within reach of becoming the celestial circle, which is signified numerically by nine. In sacred architecture, the dome rests on an octagonal base which thus acts as a mediator between Heaven and earth. Correspondingly, at a much higher level, the Qur’an gives eight the number of angels who carry the Divine Throne. Ten, the celestial circle together with its center, may be said to represent our final ends or simply what is referred to as ‘the next word’ in a purely positive sense. As to twelve, in itself celestial in virtue of its zodiacal relevance, a twelve-pointed star placed in the center of the terrestrial rectangle which frames a frontispiece may be seen as a reminder of the transcendent source of the Revelation, whereas in the opposite direction, from the standpoint of the reciter, it may be seen as a transitional foretaste of Heaven. (p.41)
The exploitation of geometrical forms, which are like sections of the web, is particularly characteristic of both Mamluk and Mongol frontispieces, which I will explore in more details later in the essay.
- Colours
As far as colours of Qur’an illumination are concerned, Gold was the initial element; and after a short period of fluctuation, that is, by the middle of the fourth/tenth century, blue has been used earlier than green and red, and it was soon raised to the level of coequality with gold in the East, whereas in the West Gold maintained its original supremacy with blue as second.
Lings emphasizes that the importance of these two coloursrelies on the fact that whatever extra pigments might be added, it was nearly always in a subordinate scale. Moreover, in almost every style and age one is likely to find a Qur’an in which the illuminations consist solely of blue and gold, and this same exclusiveness is featuring certain pages in any Qur’an even where multicoloured illuminations are to characterizing other pages.
On the symbolism of colours, Lings (2005) clarifies that blue is the colour of the Infinite, which is identical to Mercy, for My Mercy embraceth all things (VII, 156).
Infinitude has two great symbols; the surrounding sky and the sea;
The divine name ar-Rahman, that is the first of the two names of mercy, has been well translated ‘the Infinitely good’, for it expresses the essential ‘roots’ of Mercy. “At this level, Mercy, Revelation and Religion are one”. (p: 27). This is what lings (2005) calls the ‘feminine’ aspect of providence or more precisely the maternal aspect. In fact, the author states that “one has the impression of an unwritten law that blue must have the last word; and enough has been said to make it clear why such a circumscription is no limitation.” (p.28).
Therefore, if blue liberates by infinitude, gold liberates because, like the sun, it is a symbol of the spirit and therefore virtually transcends the whole world of forms. In Lings words: “Gold, by its very nature, escapes for form to the point that a calligrapher writing in gold has to outline he’s letters with the black in order to make them formally effective. As the colour of light, gold is like yellow, intrinsically a symbol of knowledge. Extrinsically, it means teaching or manifestation. Blue in the presence of Gold is therefore Mercy inclined to reveal itself.” (p.28) The following image depicts the splendour of gold and blue, and how they enhance and balance each other greatly, resulting an overall coolness that contributes to the total effect of holiness.
Image from the last part of a Qur’an in 30 parts written by Yahya al-Jamali as-Sufi 745/1344, in the Royal City of Shiraz (Shiraz, Pars Museum, 456 MP, ff.2v-3r) Lings 2005, (P.103)
- Styles
In this section, I will scrutinize the symbolism and compare the styles of three paramount Qur’an illumination traditions, namely Il-Khanid, Mamluk, and the Maghribi.
The image below is a typical II-Khanidfrontispiecewith aradiant, central, twelve pointed star that is surrounded by twelve arabesque-filled ornaments, beyond which unfinished repetitions of all these elements imply that the whole constellation is “echoed” on every side, and that the echoes reverberate to infinity, without compromising the serenity of the painting’s static aspect. Hence, this serenity is guaranteed by the harmonious overall symmetry that actually meets the eye. Lings (2005).
Frontispiece to part 19 of a Qur’an in 30 volumes written and illuminated by Abdallah Ibn Muhammad al-Hamadani for the Sultan Ulljaytu, 717/1313, Hamadan, found in (Cairo, National Library of Egypt, 72.ff. 2v-3r) Lings (2005), P:84.
It appears that the Iraqi and Persian artists have generally preferred the subtle reverberation of the ‘echo’to the more direct means of producing the same effect, although the two methods are not reciprocally exclusive. In fact, the Egyptian artists also often used the ‘echo’ effect, but with them it tended to be no more than an auxiliary. In typically Mamluk frontispieces, a quarter of the central Shamsah, little sun, is likewise to be seen at each other of the four corners of the inner square. The echo is in harmony with the effect of the sun, which is, for the Egyptian artist, the chief means of overcoming the limitation of finite form, by its radiance in all directions from the centre of the page.
Another means of transcending formal barriers which is not unrelated to the echo effect, is to be achieved by the harmony and balance of the geometrical elements taken as a whole, while those of Infinitude are discreetly yet powerfully upheld by the incompleteness of the polygonal forms round the edge of this inward square, immediately inside the frame of peonies and lotuses which surrounds it.
It is when the II-Khanid dynasty had already fallen, The Mamluk art of the frontispiece reached its zenith in the last half of the eighth/fourteenth century. The Egyptian artist knew how to integrate into one whole the three main elements of Islamic ornamentation-calligraphy, arabesque and geometrical forms, a whole which marks a summit of Islamic illumination and thereby a world summit of abstract painting. In Lings’ (2005) words: “This art might be described as a simultaneous expression of profound repose and intense life, a static perfection of plenitude, and a dynamic radiance of Infinite vibrations.”
A typicalMamluk frontispiece, with a palmette (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, cod. Arab. 2676, ff. 1v-2r) Lings(2005), P. 124
Alike Egyptian artists, the best work of their IL-Khanid counterparts share the same category of superlative excellence. Il-Khanid frontispieces are adequately expressive of the descending mystery of revelation, of the ascending mystery of reintegration and of the motionless mystery of presence. For both the Iraqi and the Persian artists, as well as for the Egyptians, the frontispiece expresses the first of these mysteries by being what it is, the gateway to the revealed book. The same mystery is also often confirmed by the calligraphic element: the most frequently quoted Qur’anic verses in the frontispieces speak of the revealed book as being still attached to its heavenly archetype, of which pages are touched by none save the purified, whom most commentators identify with the angels. In some frontispieces, this same mystery of descendant is expressed by one of the many sayings of the prophet which confirm the revelation. Moreover, as regards the two symbols of the Qur’an illumination, the tree and the sun, both of which are likely to be present in a frontispiece, the palmette, in one of its significations, may be taken as a reminder of the Pen. Likewise, the sun may be taken as a light shining down from Heaven as well as light which the Qur’an makes present here below. Finally, as regards the dynamic aspects of the frontispiece, its reverberating radiance might be well said to bring it into line with the descending movement of creation itself which both radiates and reverberates. But this only applies to the quality of the movement not to its direction. Lings (205), P. (46)
As far as single and double pages are concerned, Lings (2005) asserts that the single page represents a single microcosm whereas both pages together are an image of the harmony of the universe and the integration of the microcosm into that harmony. Where the illumination of a single page is not developed from a central point, that page must be understood, like the double pages, in a macrocosmic sense. The plurality of microcosms is represented by the ornamental units, each with its own center. Such pages, claims lings (2005) like their equivalents in mosque decoration, are above all the echoes of the verse Wheresoever ye turn, there is the Face of God, for the multiplicity of the world is as a non-transparent veil, whereas these paintings present multiplicity as a veil through which oneness can be clearly seen. They thus correspond to a stage which is intermediate between deceptive appearances and the reality expressed in the above verse.
The civilization of the Islamic West, is one of the most outstanding of these little worlds. It was established in north Western Africa and Spain at the beginning of the second/eighth century. Today it comprises morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
In general, the characteristics of Mamluk and Mongol frontispieces applies also to their Maghrebi counterparts as regard total effect. But there is a certain difference of means by which the effect is produced. As in Mamluk frontispieces, a section of symmetrically arranged polygons is formed by the prolongation and subsequent diversion of the lines which shapes the points of the central star. But the Maghribi artist broadens these lines into straps from the outset with the result that they become the most salient feature of the illumination, whereas in the Mamluk and Il-Khanid equivalents it is the geometrical figures themselves which attract our notice. Another striking difference stems from the fact that within a certain distance of the center there is no room for the broad straps unless they can be made to overlap; and the congestion of this overlapping round the centerpiece produces the impression of a whirling Shamsah. Otherwise expressed, whereas the central star of the Mamluk painting radiates, in the Maghribi painting it reverberates. As in the East, what we have called ‘the echo effect’ is also sometimes used in the West to reinforce the centrifugal impetus. But in some other cases, the outward radiation is largely outweighed by the vibrancy of the interlacing stap-work which is the main content of the frame. We are above all conscious of a mysterious Omnipresence which variates simultaneously in all directions. Lings (2005). P. (46)
final illuminated page from a twelfth/eighteenth century MaghribiQur’an, written in morocco for a prince of the family of the Sharifi Sultans. (Cairo, National Library of Egypt, 25, ff. 260v-261r). Lings (2005), P.(180)
It is worth mentioning that Moorish illumination was quite unaffected by the changes which took place further east in the tenth/sixteenth century. It continued to retain the mediaeval grandeur which was sacrificed to other qualities elsewhere.
- Map of Quran Illumination Project
Inspired by the below artistic maps of Pakistan and India respectively, which show the rich diversity of embroidery techniques in each region, I imagined my main piece in second year’s degree show as a map covering the Islamic lands and showing the diversity of Quran illumination in different eras.
Above is the India map, which focuses on hand-woven textiles, also focuses on the short history of each textile by state. Source: http://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/india-embroidery-map.jpg
I will also produce a series of illuminated Qur’an pages representing different styles of Qur’an Illuminations. I will not only replicate existing pages, rather I will be inspired from different versions of Qur’an pages to add my own design touch in terms of forms, colours and styles. My goal is to transform existing Qur’an pages into paintings on a big scale, while fulling maintaining the spirit of the different traditions which created and maintained the exquisitely splendid sacred art of Qur’an illumination.
I have already started directing my geometry work in this direction, and I will present the geometry of a Mamluk Qur’an as one of my exam pieces.
Conclusion
To conclude, the whole purpose of Qur’an illumination is to recall the higher or deeper dimension of the text. The relationship between the hidden book and the fully revealed Qur’an is one of the majesty to beauty, of contraction, or reserve, to expansion; and however paradoxical it might seem, illumination, being there to remind us of the hidden book, has an overall function of Majesty in relation to the Beauty of the text.
Hence, in a world full of wars and turmoil, the promotion of the sacred art of Qur’an illumination can contribute to the human welfare and peace if made more accessible to a wider audience, via museums, art galleries, and teaching workshops. A practical suggestion to promote splendour of this sacred art within the Prince’s School of traditional Arts would be including a series of Qur’an Illumination courses covering the different styles of various historical eras and regions of the Islamic lands within its open program.
Bibliography
Baker, C. (2007). Qur’an manuscripts. London: British Library.
Farhad, M., Rettig, S., Déroche, F., Tanındı, Z., Eldem, E. and McAuliffe, J. (n.d.). (2016) The art of the Qurʼan. Istanbul: Smithonian institution
James, D. (1988). Qurans of the Mamluks. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
Lings, M. (2005). Splendours of Qur’an calligraphy and illumination. Liechtenstein: Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation.
Schuon, F. (1982). Castles and Races. Middlesex: Perennial Books LTD.