"Prohibition of statues" .. Thus Islam created its own version of the arts

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The idea of ​​outlawing the embodiment of souls - as strict as it appeared in the early part of Islam - seemed to be a tool of creativity. But at the same time, the relationship between art and Islamic religion was confusing and creative. Transients may appear to be a coercive and authoritarian relationship; but by examining them, we see that the relationship as strict as it has opened endless horizons of creativity.

Many believe that the main purpose of the prohibition of the personification of the animate beings is to remove the idea of ​​the personification of God or any idols from the minds of Muslims. No modern nations can be united by a monotheistic religion that asks people to believe in the unseen; to leave them wide open for embodiment and sculpture, and a few years before that they worshiped in their own hands! The prohibition of animate spirits in the golden ages of Islam pushed the crucible of miniatures, ornaments, Islamic calligraphy, architecture, textiles, carpets, ivory sculpture, leather goods, metal gems and others.

Islamic art has become a great sea despite the horrors of the prohibition. The prohibition of the embodiment of animate beings became the starting points for new types of art. It is true that it was not invented but was modified and developed until it became artistic edifices of Islamic identity. It is indisputable that these edifices did not come out distorted because of their commitment to the orders of the law of Muslims. Rather, it perfectly mimics a hadith: "God is beautiful and loves beauty."

Islam was not just a doctrinal aspect, but imposed certain lifestyles on people, which led people to develop their ideas, ways of living, language and therefore their culture as a whole. Consequently, the visual arts, which emerged from the first century AH to the present day, mimicked the manifestations of that culture that applied in all forms of life until there became what is known as the term “Islamic art”. The term covers not only architectural activities or ideological buildings; all forms of visual arts that have emerged by artists on Muslim-ruled lands. As a result, the term has become too loose because it covers a very long historical period that is still extended (over 1400 years).

The creativity of Muslim artists was manifested in various fields, such as calligraphy, painting on glass, carpets and motifs, but architecture had the greatest share of creativity in Islamic art.

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This era covered a large number of peoples and nations in different times, affiliations, societies, geographical environments and religious cultures resulting from the multiplicity of doctrines (Shiites, Sunnis, Sufis, etc.). Thus, it was natural that Islamic arts were highly private, by virtue of the uniqueness of religion, and at the same time very rich and diverse. This is the heaviest feature of Islamic art.

The creativity of Muslim artists was manifested in different areas: architecture, which had the largest share of creativity, calligraphy and painting on glass, carpets and decorations. Before the conquest, the lands conquered by Muslims were under Byzantine or Sasanian rule; art was of course influenced by different religious and artistic traditions, some of which continued under Islamic rule. This led to the richness of the experience and the formation of special features of art in each patch separately because of the different historical tributaries and geographical environments. For example, Islamic art appeared in areas today known as Iran, Iraq, parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan and eastern Turkey, deeply influenced by its Sasanian roots, which are also rooted in Babylonian civilization (Persia).

Artistic production in this area was characterized by a large decoration on walls, paper, fabrics, glass and calligraphy. Drawing the inscriptions and motifs was an artistic technique rooted in this region throughout civilizations and ages, and the origin of the richness of the works of art in this region can be traced back to the immortal Babylonian works of the Gate of Ishtar and the Law of Hammurabi. [1] Nebuchadnezzar, one of the kings who ruled Babylon, the gate of Ishtar in 575 BC to Ishtar the goddess of Venus. The portal is one of the oldest and most ancient works of art known to man. The Babylonians covered the entire gate with blue alabaster, white marble and colored tiles. It is also decorated with 575 prominent animal figures on its walls, including dragon, lion and bull. It was taken by the Germans under the Ottoman Empire and later installed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. [2]

Hammurabi, the sixth kings of Babylon, the oldest written canon in human history, is one of the oldest works of art in prehistoric kingdoms dating from 1790 BC. The canon was inscribed on an 8-foot basalt column, now on display at the Louvre. [3] Therefore, Islamic art in this region came very rich from the rest of the areas under Islamic rule. The idea of ​​engraving and decoration was a technique rooted in Mesopotamian civilizations from BC. Even with the emergence of what is now known as "Islamic art", he was influenced by the regional historical tributaries of that region.

However, the prohibition of the embodiment of animate beings has been a major cause of the burst of creativity towards Arabic calligraphy, architecture and decoration in all areas that have been under Islamic rule since the first century AH. Although the area mentioned above in the kingdoms of Babylon or Sassanid / Persian was the richest in the decoration and architecture by the historical tributaries; a technical school emerged as one of the most prominent features of Islamic art and included all areas under the rule of Muslims under its banner and shared by all Muslim communities of different regional tributaries. This school is: Islamic Calligraphy.

Arabic / Islamic Fonts

The development of Islamic calligraphy began since the collection of the Qur'an and its codification in newspapers during the era of Abu Bakr has moved those newspapers to Omar bin al-Khattab after him. However, the process of innovation and improvement was somewhat slow at the time due to the state of nomadism of the Arabs and their preoccupation in the early days of the Empire with conquests and economic expansion. [4]

"You have disagreement in it Vtlhon who distanced me from the most intense and the most melodic gathered together, O companions of Muhammad and write to the people Imam." [5]

(Othman Bin-Affan)

Later, when the state settled and competing cultural centers emerged - Baghdad, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Kufa, and Basra - artists moved to copy the Koran, improve its calligraphy, and become a stand-alone artistic practice. It was used as an ornament and a form of ornamental and retouching in writing, which in turn led to the emergence of decorations on both ends of the verses. The idea of ​​decorating the Koran with geometric patterns or plant patterns that mimic nature to give magic to the words; turned the calligraphy from a simple means of transferring and writing the speech to the drawing and artistic practice of his schools and rules.

Because of this, the transcripts in each country adopted a certain type of writing that distinguishes them from other countries. The Islamic calligraphy school is divided into various types, each type has its own form and style, and each town has its own customs of writing. The types of lines exceeded twenty types, including: optical line, Kufic line, Isfahani line, civil line, the Mecca line, the Iraqi line and the Kairamoz line, from which the Persian line appeared.

The Umayyad calligrapher, his liberated pole, is one of the most famous calligraphers to have emerged as a calligrapher. Although the calligraphy in the early Umayyad period was still not dotted, the editor devised after the dot the "Galilee line", a combination of Hijazi and Kufi. Galilee was used to decorate the Dome of the Rock from the inside and is still used today to decorate mosques and niches.

Miniatures

Next comes the art of Islamic calligraphy. The miniature is an ornate image in a manuscript. It was famous for the Persian, Ottoman and other manuscripts. As mentioned earlier, the miniatures and ornaments in the region historically known as Persia were very rich by virtue of their regional historical tributaries. The custom continued after the Islamic conquest of that country. Artists in this region were of a sophisticated artistic sense and, from the first centuries of the Hijra, polished and embellished the Koran, and decorated the footnotes of the books with miniatures and motifs.

Like the Islamic calligraphy, the school of miniatures expanded to many doctrines such as those known during the Seljuk, Mughal, and Abbasid era. Copies of Kalila and Dimna, translated during the Abbasid era, showed a clear influence on the Persian school in miniatures, and boldness in portraying animate beings. This is a distinct feature in miniatures after the era of the adult caliphate. [7]

By virtue of historical development, the idea of ​​decoration and miniatures transcended the books and moved to mosques, buildings and houses. This fusion between miniature and architecture was what is known today as Islamic architecture. The concept of Islamic architecture in itself extended to include the structural features of the first country of East India through the country beyond the river, Iran, Khorasan, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and the Levant, Egypt, Turkey and Spain to the Maghreb.

Architecture

The beginning of the features of Islamic architecture since the early issuance of Islam when the Prophet devoted a particular building to worship, a mosque. Mosques were spread in the neighboring countries due to the Islamic conquests but had no distinctive architectural features for the same reasons that Islamic calligraphy did not appear as art in that period.

Later, after the transfer of the Islamic caliphate to Damascus by the Umayyads, Islamic architecture seemed influenced by the Ghassanids' building art (an Arab dynasty that established a Byzantine kingdom in Syria). Umayyad architecture is considered a transitional period between Christian architecture and the Abbasid style, yet the Umayyads are credited with the appearance of domes and porches. The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, to this day, is the birthplace of Umayyad architecture, and was ordered by Alwaleed bin Abdul Malik. The mosque has a rectangular shape and has a majestic dome called the Dome of the Eagle, and porticoes on a row of historical columns.

After the Umayyads, the Abbasid architecture, between 750 and 945 AD, was influenced by Persian / Sassanid architecture until Baghdad fell to the Mongols. The Abbasids were interested in the founding of new cities such as Baghdad and Samarra. They were also interested in the construction and decoration of palaces. They continued to build domes in the footsteps of the Umayyads and developed from minarets. They also paid attention to frescoes in the footsteps of the Babylonian gate of Ishtar.

The Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun, the Abbasid caliph, is one of the most prominent features of the Abbasid architecture that moved to Egypt. It was built by Ibn Tulun in 263 AH / 877 CE in a Samurai style where the minaret of the Twisted is listed. The mosque is the only one in Egypt whose features have not changed since its construction. The four facets of the mosque are simple, with only decorative stucco windows.

The Islamic conquest of Persia also benefited from a wealth of historical artistic creations rooted in the law of Hammurabi. This was of course reflected on Islamic architecture in these areas; architects used mosaics, built canals and paved roads. The Isfahan Mosque in the Iranian city of Isfahan is one of the oldest Persian mosques today. It consists of four Persian iwans decorated with Islamic lines and has four opposite doors. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012.

Thus, the prohibition of the embodiment of souls was eventually poured into new channels established for what is now known as Islamic art. These arts have emerged with a unique and aesthetic narrative. Throughout the centuries, its creators have grown and enriched by regional cultures and historical tributaries of each country, all poured into one melting pot.