Preliminary Clarifications On Islamic Art

Figurative painting is not only unpopular among the Muslims, but also had been
condemned by orthodox Muslim theologians who warned painters of severe

punishment of hell.
What in Christianity was regarded as the highest term of praisecalling one a
painter, which in Arabic is musawwirwas to the early Muslim theologians the
most damning affirmation of a persons guilt.
The influence of the Ulama, as Muslim theologians are called, was so enormous
that for several centuries, painting in general was kept from becoming, integral part
of the Muslim culture. The Islamic expansion, which brought with it the pictorial arts
of neighboring cultures, gave rise to the Islamic painting of miniature which was
developed to a high degree of artistic refinement and distinction.
The patronage of pictorial art in the expanded world of Islam has triggered a debate
among Ulama on the issue of figurative art prohibition. Patrons of figurative painting
did not only argue for its legality, but also insisted on its conformity with the Islamic
concept of God and its view of the universe. If this is so, this painting is not only
"Muslim" in ethno-geographical sense, but also "Islamic" in essence as it is
expressive of Tawhid or the Islamic Doctrine of God's Oneness.
In the Philippines, Muslim painting in general has not been studied. In research,
Muslim figurative painting itself makes for an exciting topic as it is wrapped in art
issues of the so-called religious prohibition and of the status of Muslim painters in
changing times.
So how do Philippine Muslim painters cope with all these problems? Does Islam
really discourage figurative painting or prohibit portrayal of images? How come there
developed Islamic figurative painting among some Muslims? What aesthetic
alternative can Islamic art offer?
Meanwhile, the crisis in Mindanao offers great opportunity for painters to exercise
social responsibility. In light of the Moro problem" what can
Muslim painters do to help?
Here we explore these questions from a Muslims perspective.
PRELIMINARY CLARIFICATIONS ON ISLAMIC ART
The prohibition of figurative art was a matter of attitude of orthodox theologians not
of Islamic doctrine.
In doctrine, Islam does not prohibit figurative art nor does it condemn the art of
painting. The Qur'an has no verse that can be cited to back up any prohibition. Even
the Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon himhence on, Pbuh), one of
which is supposed to mete punishment of hell to the painter (Goldzher in Arnold,
1965: 5), were said by many contemporary Muslim scholars and Ulama to have
been misunderstood and taken out of context by the early Muslim theologians.
(Ahmad Muhammad Isa, Majallat Al-Azhar, 1950: 605-609; 731) Prophet
Muhammad (Pbuh) himself did not show any opposition to figurative art except when
it was placed before him as he prayed?
The condemnation of figurative arts was, therefore, a theological opinion common to
the whole Muslim world, and the practical acceptance of it largely depended on the
theologians' influence upon the habits and tastes of society at any particular time.
Through time, Muslim or Islamic art has been understood in different ways. "Muslim
art" is loosely defined to refer to any art produced by a Muslim artist, regardless of
whether his art subject is Islamic or not.
The use of the word "Muslim" or "Islamic" to describe something, as in art, should be
qualified. In its strictest religious sense, "Muslim art" is different from "Islamic art."
The former is used in a non - religious sense, the latter refers to art having to do
with Tawhid or the Islamic belief in God's Oneness.
The Islamic Tawhid as an encompassing concept requires art to be in harmony with
God's Transcendent Nature, which in the arts is suggested by such qualities as
abstraction, stylization of figures and composition in a highly relational manner
alluding to the attributes of God as Universal Being, All Present, and with No Ending
Nor Beginning.

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Figurative painting is not only unpopular among the Muslims, but also had been

condemned by orthodox Muslim theologians who warned painters of severe

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