Aniconism in Islam
Encyclopedia
Aniconism
in Islam is a proscription in Islam against the creation of images of sentient living beings. The most absolute proscription is of images of Allah
, followed by depictions of Muhammad
, and then Islamic prophets and the relatives of the Prophet, but the depiction of all humans and animals is discouraged in the Hadith
and by the long tradition of Islamic authorities, especially Sunni ones. This has led to Islamic art
being dominated by Islamic geometric patterns
, calligraphy
and the barely-representational foliage patterns of the arabesque
; but figurative art still has a strong tradition, especially on a small scale in private works for the home or palace. The proliferation of photographic and filmed images today has led to controversy, with some religious authorities stating, for example, that all television is un-Islamic; but this is not a widely held position.
, the Islamic holy book
, does not explicitly prohibit the depiction of human figures; it merely condemns idolatry . Interdictions of figurative representation are present in the Hadith
, among a dozen of the hadith recorded during the latter part of the period when they were being written down. Because these hadith are tied to particular events in the life of the Islamic prophet
, Muhammad
, they need to be interpreted in order to be applied in any general manner.
Sunni exegetes
, from the 9th century onward, increasingly saw in them categorical prohibitions against producing and using any representation of living beings. There are variations between religious Madh'hab (schools) and marked differences between different branches of Islam
. Aniconism is common among fundamentalist
Sunni sects such as Salafi
s and Wahhabis (which are also often iconoclastic
), and less prevalent among liberal movements within Islam
. Shi'a and mystical orders
also have less stringent views on aniconism. On the individual level, whether or not specific Muslims believe in aniconism may depend on how much credence is given to hadith, and how liberal or strict they are in personal practice.
Aniconism in Islam not only deals with the material image, but touches upon mental representations as well. It is a thorny question, discussed by early theologians
, as to how to describe God, Muhammad and other prophets, and, indeed, if it is permissible at all to do so. God is usually represented by immaterial attributes, such as "holy" or "merciful", commonly known from His "Ninety-nine beautiful names". Muhammad's physical appearance, however, is amply described, particularly in the traditions on his life and deeds recorded in the biographies known as Sirah Rasul Allah. Of no less interest is the validity of sightings of holy personages made during dreams.
While talking about Islam, Titus Burckhardt
sums up the role of aniconism in a way that might hold true for cases throughout a variety of cultures:
, particularly against the statues worshipped by pagans
. The following hadith presents Muhammad condemning pictures:
To show the superiority of the monotheist
faith, Muhammad smashed the idols at the Kaaba
. He also removed paintings that were blasphemous to Islam
, while protecting others (the images of Mary
and Jesus) inside the building. The hadith below emphasizes that aniconism depends not only on what, but also on how things are depicted.
Although pagans in Muhammad's times
also worshiped trees and stones, Muhammad opposed only images of animated beings – humans and animals —, as reported by the Hadith. Subsequently, geometrical ornamentation
became a sophisticated art form in Islam.
Mohammad also warned his followers of dying amongst people that built places of worship at graves and placed pictures in it (i.e. Christians).
Mohammad made it very clear that angels do not like picture.
s entering Mecca
, deprived of figurative images. Other spheres of religion – mysticism, popular piety, private level – exhibit in this regard significant variability. Aniconism in secular contexts is even more fluctuating. Generally speaking aniconism in Islamic societies is restricted in modern times to specific religious contexts. In the past it was enforced in some times and places but not others.
is not just a modern phenomenon or due to current technology, westernization or the cult of the personality
. Fresco
s and relief
s of humans and animals adorned palaces of the Ummayad era, as on the famous Mshatta facade
now in Berlin. Figurative miniatures in books occur later in most Islamic countries, though somewhat less in Arabic-speaking areas. The human figure is central to the Persian miniature
and other traditions such as the Ottoman miniature
and Mughal painting
, and represents a good deal of the attractiveness of Islamic art
for non-Muslims. The Persian miniature tradition began when Persian courts were Sunni, and continued after the Shiah Safavid dynasty
took power. Shah
Tahmasp I
of Persia began as a keen patron and amateur artist himself, but turned against painting and other forbidden activities after a religious crisis in mid-life. From the 13th to 17th century depictions of Muhammad
, in later examples usually veiled,) and other prophets or Biblical
characters, like Adam
, Abraham or Jesus and Solomon
and Alexander the Great (often identified with a figure in the Quran), became common in painted manuscripts from Persia, India and Turkey. Extreme rarities are an illustrated Qur'an depicting Muhammad and, in a Spanish-Muslim
manuscript datable from the 16th century, five Ummayad and Abbasid caliph
s. Iblis too is present in various illustrated manuscripts. The prohibition on the depiction of God has, as far as is known, remained absolute at all times.
The avoidance of idolatry
is the main concern of the restrictions on images, and the traditional form for religious cult image, the free-standing sculpture, is extremely rare, and there are no large examples of humans. The Pisa Griffin
, of a mythical beast and designed to spout water for a fountain, is the largest example, at three feet tall in bronze, and probably only survives because it was taken as booty by the city of Pisa
in the Middle Ages. Like the famous lions supporting a fountain in the Alhambra
, it probably came from Al-Andaluz, one of the more relaxed Arabic-speaking regions in this respect. The griffin and lions cannot easily be regarded as potential idols, given their submissive position (and the lack of religions worshipping lions or griffins), and the same is true of small decorative figures in relief
on objects in metalwork, or figures painted on Islamic pottery
, both of which are relatively common. In particular hunting scenes of humans and animals were popular, and presumably regarded as clearly having no religious function. The figures in miniatures were, until the late 16th century, always numerous in each image, small (typically only an inch or two high), and showing the central figures at roughly the same size as the attendants and servants who are usually also shown, thus deflecting potential accusations of idolatry. The books illustrated were most often the classics of Persian poetry and historical chronicle
s.
The hadith show some concessions for context, as with the dolls, and condemn most strongly the makers rather than the owners of images. A long tradition of prefaces to muraqqa
s sought to justify the creation of images without getting involved in discussions of the specific texts, using arguments such as comparing God to an artist.
Miniature painting was mostly patronized by the court circle and is a private form of art; the owner chooses who to show a book or muraqqa
(album). But wall-paintings with large figures were found in early Islam, and in Safavid and later Persia, especially from the 17th century, but were always rare in the Arabic-speaking world. Such paintings are also mainly found in private palaces; examples in public buildings are rare though not unknown, in Iran
there are even some in mosques.
Forms of Islamic calligraphy
evolved, especially in the Ottoman period, to fulfill a function similar to that of representative art by means of calligraphic representation, when on paper usually with elaborate frames of Ottoman illumination
. These include the name of Muhammad, the hilya
, or description of his physical appearance, similar treatments of one or more of the names of God in Islam, and the tughra
, a calligraphic version of the name of an Ottoman sultan.
Today, the concept of an aniconic Islam coexists with a daily life for Muslims awash with images. TV stations and newspapers (which do present still and moving representations of living beings) have an exceptional impact on public opinion, sometimes, as in the case of Al Jazeera
, with a global reach, beyond the Arabic speaking and Muslim audience. Portraits of secular and religious leaders are omnipresent on banknotes and coins, in streets and offices (e.g. presidents like Nasser
and Mubarak
, Arafat
, al-Assad
or Hezbollah's Nasrallah
and Ayatollah
Khomeini
). Anthropomorphic
statues in public places are to be found in most Muslim countries (Saddam Hussein
's are infamous), as well as art schools training sculptors and painters. In the Egypt
ian countryside, it is fashionable to celebrate and advertise the returning of pilgrims from Mecca on the walls of their houses.
Taliban movement in Afghanistan
banned photography and destructed non-Muslim artifacts, especially carvings and statues such as Buddhas of Bamyan
, generally tolerated by other Muslims, on the grounds that the artifacts are idolatrous
or Shirk (polytheism)
. However, sometimes those who profess aniconism will practice figurative representation (cf. portraits of Talibans from the Kandahar
photographic studios during their imposed ban on photography).
For Shi'a communities, portraits of the major figures of Shi'ite history are important elements of religious devotion. Portraits of Ali – with veiled and unveiled face alike – can be bought in Iran
around shrines and in the streets, to be hung in homes or carried with oneself, while in Pakistan
, India and Bangladesh
they notoriously ornate trucks, buses and rickshaws. Contrary to the Sunni tradition, a photographic picture of the deceased can be placed on the Shi'ite tombs. A curiosity in Iran is an Orientalist
photography supposed to represent Muhammad as a young boy. The Grand Ayatollah Sistani
of Najaf
in Iraq has given a fatwā
declaring the depiction of Muhammad, the prophets and other holy characters, permissible if it is made with the utmost respect.
hiding his face, head, or whole body, and from about 1500 is often shown with a veiled face. Members of his immediate family and other prophets may be treated in the same way. More generally, it can be argued that since God is absolute, the act of depiction is his own and not that of a human; and miniatures are obviously very crude representations of the reality, so the two cannot be mistaken. At the material level, prophets in manuscripts can have their face covered by a veil or all humans have a stroke drawn over their neck, symbolising the severing of the soul, and clarifying the fact that it is not something alive and imbued with a soul that is depicted: a purposeful flaw to make what is depicted impossible to live in reality (as merely impossible in reality is still often frowned upon or banned, such as representations of comic book characters or unicorns). Calligraphy
, the most Islamic of arts in the Muslim world, has also its figurative side due to anthropo- and zoomorphic
calligrams. Few portraits were attempted, and the ability to create recognisable portraits was rare in Islamic art until the Mughal tradition began in the late 15th century, although in both Mughal India and Ottoman
Turkey portraits of the ruler then became very popular in court circles.
from those of Christians, Jews, Zoroastrian
s and pagans. Therefore, emphasizing calligraphy
and abstract decoration over figurative painting and sculpture set the Qur'an apart from the Bible, the mosque from the church and – after a certain period of using Byzantine
and Sassanid
coins – the Muslim dinar
from the Christian solidus
. After the Mongol
invasions of the 13th century, there were lively debates in Persia about the merits of (Islamic) calligraphy and (Chinese influenced) painting. In modern times, the image-producing technologies of print, photography, movie, television and, more recently, the Internet, were all imports from a world outside the Muslim community, and thus easily perceived as threats to its integrity. These changes also came through difficult contexts for the Islamic world: colonization, modernization, authoritarian regimes, economic difficulties, and wars. Quite naturally, a paradoxical mix ensued, of an aniconist Islamic discourse propagated through representational mass media.
which takes the form of a prohibition on any idol
or on any artistic representation of God
. The third of the three related religions, Christianity, not only for long had no such prohibition but an active tradition of making and venerating images
of God
and other religious figures. However there were periods of aniconism, in the Early Christian church, in the Byzantine iconoclasm of the 8th century, and following the Protestant Reformation
, when Calvinism
in particular rejected all images in churches.
Aniconism
Aniconism is the practice or belief in avoiding or shunning images of divine beings, prophets or other respected religious figures, or in different manifestations, any human beings or living creatures. The term aniconic may be used to describe the absence of graphic representations in a particular...
in Islam is a proscription in Islam against the creation of images of sentient living beings. The most absolute proscription is of images of Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
, followed by depictions of Muhammad
Depictions of Muhammad
The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....
, and then Islamic prophets and the relatives of the Prophet, but the depiction of all humans and animals is discouraged in the Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
and by the long tradition of Islamic authorities, especially Sunni ones. This has led to Islamic art
Islamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
being dominated by Islamic geometric patterns
Islamic geometric patterns
Islamic decoration makes great use of geometric patterns which have developed over the centuries. Many of these derived from various earlier cultures: Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Central Asian, and Persian. They are usually distinguished from the arabesque, the term for decoration in Islamic art...
, calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Perso-Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all...
and the barely-representational foliage patterns of the arabesque
Arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...
; but figurative art still has a strong tradition, especially on a small scale in private works for the home or palace. The proliferation of photographic and filmed images today has led to controversy, with some religious authorities stating, for example, that all television is un-Islamic; but this is not a widely held position.
Theological views
The Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, the Islamic holy book
Islamic holy books
Islamic holy books are the texts which Muslims believe were dictated by God to various Islamic prophets throughout the history of mankind. All these books, in Muslim belief, promulgated the code and laws of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an, the final holy scripture, was sent because all the...
, does not explicitly prohibit the depiction of human figures; it merely condemns idolatry . Interdictions of figurative representation are present in the Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, among a dozen of the hadith recorded during the latter part of the period when they were being written down. Because these hadith are tied to particular events in the life of the Islamic prophet
Prophets of Islam
Muslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
, Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, they need to be interpreted in order to be applied in any general manner.
Sunni exegetes
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
, from the 9th century onward, increasingly saw in them categorical prohibitions against producing and using any representation of living beings. There are variations between religious Madh'hab (schools) and marked differences between different branches of Islam
Islamic schools and branches
Muslims are basically divided in two major factions, Sunnis and Shias, that are further divided into various Schools of Jurisprudence and orders of Imamate. All other movements within such as Salafi, Modernists, the Mystical Sufi Orders, Deobandi and Barelvi are either Sunni or Shia or both...
. Aniconism is common among fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
Sunni sects such as Salafi
Salafi
A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
s and Wahhabis (which are also often iconoclastic
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
), and less prevalent among liberal movements within Islam
Liberal movements within Islam
Progressive Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought within Islam or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements)...
. Shi'a and mystical orders
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
also have less stringent views on aniconism. On the individual level, whether or not specific Muslims believe in aniconism may depend on how much credence is given to hadith, and how liberal or strict they are in personal practice.
Aniconism in Islam not only deals with the material image, but touches upon mental representations as well. It is a thorny question, discussed by early theologians
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, as to how to describe God, Muhammad and other prophets, and, indeed, if it is permissible at all to do so. God is usually represented by immaterial attributes, such as "holy" or "merciful", commonly known from His "Ninety-nine beautiful names". Muhammad's physical appearance, however, is amply described, particularly in the traditions on his life and deeds recorded in the biographies known as Sirah Rasul Allah. Of no less interest is the validity of sightings of holy personages made during dreams.
While talking about Islam, Titus Burckhardt
Titus Burckhardt
Titus Burckhardt , a German Swiss, was born in Florence, Italy in 1908 and died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1984. He devoted all his life to the study and exposition of the different aspects of Wisdom and Tradition.He was an eminent member of the "traditionalist school" of twentieth-century authors...
sums up the role of aniconism in a way that might hold true for cases throughout a variety of cultures:
- "Islam is centred on Unity, and Unity is not expressible in terms of any image. Thus, Islamic art as a whole aims to create an ambiance which helps man to realise his primordial dignity; it therefore avoids everything that could be an 'idolCult imageIn the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...
' even in a relative and provisional manner – nothing must stand between man and the invisible presence of God – thus eliminating all the turmoil and passionate suggestions of the world and in their stead creating an order that expresses equilibrium, serenity and peace."
Hadith and exegesis examples
During its early days, aniconism in Islam was intended as a measure against idolatryIdolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
, particularly against the statues worshipped by pagans
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
. The following hadith presents Muhammad condemning pictures:
- Narrated AishaAishaAisha bint Abu Bakr also transcribed as was Muhammad's favorite wife...
(a wife of Muhammad):
- Narrated Aisha, umm-al-mu'minMu'minMūʾmin is an Arabic Islamic term frequently referenced in the Qur'an, literally meaning "believer", and denoting a person that has complete submission to the Will of Allah, and has faith firmly established in his heart, i.e...
īn:
- Narrated AliAli' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
(Ali ibn AbuTalib):
- Narrated Aisha:
- Narrated Aisha:
To show the superiority of the monotheist
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
faith, Muhammad smashed the idols at the Kaaba
Kaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
. He also removed paintings that were blasphemous to Islam
Islam and blasphemy
Blasphemy in Islam is any irreverent behavior toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs that Muslims revere. The Quran and the hadith do not speak about blasphemy. Jurists created the offence, and they made it part of Sharia. Where Sharia pertains, the penalties for...
, while protecting others (the images of Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
and Jesus) inside the building. The hadith below emphasizes that aniconism depends not only on what, but also on how things are depicted.
- Narrated `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas`Abd Allah ibn `AbbasAbd Allah ibn Abbas was a paternal cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is revered by Muslims for his knowledge and was an expert in Tafsir , as well as an authority on the Islamic Sunnah.-Family:...
:
- Muslim b. Subaih reported:
Although pagans in Muhammad's times
Arabian mythology
Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...
also worshiped trees and stones, Muhammad opposed only images of animated beings – humans and animals —, as reported by the Hadith. Subsequently, geometrical ornamentation
Arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...
became a sophisticated art form in Islam.
- Narrated Said bin Abu Al-Hasan:
- Aisha reported:
- Aisha reported:
Mohammad also warned his followers of dying amongst people that built places of worship at graves and placed pictures in it (i.e. Christians).
- Narrated Aisha:
- Narrated Aisha:
Mohammad made it very clear that angels do not like picture.
- Narrated Abu Talha:
- Narrated Salim's father:
- Narrated Ali ibn Abu Talib:
- On the other hand, there are hadith stating that the Prophet permitted dolls belonging to both his wife and daughter in his own house.
Religious core
In practice, the core of normative religion in Islam is consistently aniconic. Its embodiment are spaces such as the mosque and objects like the Qur'an or the white dress of pilgrimPilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s entering Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, deprived of figurative images. Other spheres of religion – mysticism, popular piety, private level – exhibit in this regard significant variability. Aniconism in secular contexts is even more fluctuating. Generally speaking aniconism in Islamic societies is restricted in modern times to specific religious contexts. In the past it was enforced in some times and places but not others.
Past
The representation of living beings in Islamic artIslamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
is not just a modern phenomenon or due to current technology, westernization or the cult of the personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
. Fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s and relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s of humans and animals adorned palaces of the Ummayad era, as on the famous Mshatta facade
Mshatta facade
The Mshatta Facade is the decorated part of the facade of the 8th century Umayyad residential palace of Qasr Mshatta, one of the Desert Castles in Jordan, which is currently installed in the south wing of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany...
now in Berlin. Figurative miniatures in books occur later in most Islamic countries, though somewhat less in Arabic-speaking areas. The human figure is central to the Persian miniature
Persian miniature
A Persian miniature is a small painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts...
and other traditions such as the Ottoman miniature
Ottoman miniature
Ottoman Miniature or Turkish miniature was an art form in the Ottoman Empire, which can be linked to the Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences. It was a part of the Ottoman Book Arts together with illumination , calligraphy , marbling paper and bookbinding...
and Mughal painting
Mughal painting
Mughal painting is a particular style of South Asian painting, generally confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums, which emerged from Persian miniature painting, with Indian Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist influences, and developed largely in the court...
, and represents a good deal of the attractiveness of Islamic art
Islamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
for non-Muslims. The Persian miniature tradition began when Persian courts were Sunni, and continued after the Shiah Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
took power. Shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...
of Persia began as a keen patron and amateur artist himself, but turned against painting and other forbidden activities after a religious crisis in mid-life. From the 13th to 17th century depictions of Muhammad
Depictions of Muhammad
The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....
, in later examples usually veiled,) and other prophets or Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
characters, like Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
, Abraham or Jesus and Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
and Alexander the Great (often identified with a figure in the Quran), became common in painted manuscripts from Persia, India and Turkey. Extreme rarities are an illustrated Qur'an depicting Muhammad and, in a Spanish-Muslim
Islam in Spain
Islam in Spain has had a fundamental presence in the culture and history of the nation. The religion was present in modern Spanish soil from 711 until 1492 under the rule of the Arabs and Moors of al-Andalus. For key historical dates, see Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula...
manuscript datable from the 16th century, five Ummayad and Abbasid caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
s. Iblis too is present in various illustrated manuscripts. The prohibition on the depiction of God has, as far as is known, remained absolute at all times.
The avoidance of idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
is the main concern of the restrictions on images, and the traditional form for religious cult image, the free-standing sculpture, is extremely rare, and there are no large examples of humans. The Pisa Griffin
Pisa Griffin
The Pisa Griffin is a large bronze sculpture of a griffin, a mythical beast, which has been in Pisa in Italy since the Middle Ages, though it is of Islamic origin. It is the largest medieval Islamic metal sculpture known, at over three feet tall , and was probably created in the 11th century in...
, of a mythical beast and designed to spout water for a fountain, is the largest example, at three feet tall in bronze, and probably only survives because it was taken as booty by the city of Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
in the Middle Ages. Like the famous lions supporting a fountain in the Alhambra
Alhambra
The Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex located in the Granada, Andalusia, Spain...
, it probably came from Al-Andaluz, one of the more relaxed Arabic-speaking regions in this respect. The griffin and lions cannot easily be regarded as potential idols, given their submissive position (and the lack of religions worshipping lions or griffins), and the same is true of small decorative figures in relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
on objects in metalwork, or figures painted on Islamic pottery
Islamic pottery
Medieval Islamic pottery occupied a geographical position between Chinese ceramics and the pottery of the Byzantine Empire and Europe. For most of the period it can fairly be said to have been between the two in terms of aesthetic achievement and influence as well, borrowing from China and...
, both of which are relatively common. In particular hunting scenes of humans and animals were popular, and presumably regarded as clearly having no religious function. The figures in miniatures were, until the late 16th century, always numerous in each image, small (typically only an inch or two high), and showing the central figures at roughly the same size as the attendants and servants who are usually also shown, thus deflecting potential accusations of idolatry. The books illustrated were most often the classics of Persian poetry and historical chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
s.
The hadith show some concessions for context, as with the dolls, and condemn most strongly the makers rather than the owners of images. A long tradition of prefaces to muraqqa
Muraqqa
A Muraqqa is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter...
s sought to justify the creation of images without getting involved in discussions of the specific texts, using arguments such as comparing God to an artist.
Miniature painting was mostly patronized by the court circle and is a private form of art; the owner chooses who to show a book or muraqqa
Muraqqa
A Muraqqa is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter...
(album). But wall-paintings with large figures were found in early Islam, and in Safavid and later Persia, especially from the 17th century, but were always rare in the Arabic-speaking world. Such paintings are also mainly found in private palaces; examples in public buildings are rare though not unknown, in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
there are even some in mosques.
Forms of Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Perso-Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all...
evolved, especially in the Ottoman period, to fulfill a function similar to that of representative art by means of calligraphic representation, when on paper usually with elaborate frames of Ottoman illumination
Ottoman illumination
Turkish or Ottoman illumination covers non-figurative painted or drawn decorative art in books or on sheets in muraqqa or albums, as opposed to the figurative images of the Ottoman miniature. In Turkish it is called “tezhip”, an Arabic word which means “ornamenting with gold”...
. These include the name of Muhammad, the hilya
Hilya
A hilya , hilye is a text describing the physical appearance of the Prophet Muhammad, often carried in a breast pocket...
, or description of his physical appearance, similar treatments of one or more of the names of God in Islam, and the tughra
Tughra
A tughra is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of an Ottoman sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. It was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign...
, a calligraphic version of the name of an Ottoman sultan.
Present
Depending on which segment of Islamic societies are referred to, the application of aniconism is characterized with noteworthy differences. Factors are the epoch considered, the country, the religious orientation, the political intent, the popular beliefs, the private benefit or the dichotomy between reality and discourse.Today, the concept of an aniconic Islam coexists with a daily life for Muslims awash with images. TV stations and newspapers (which do present still and moving representations of living beings) have an exceptional impact on public opinion, sometimes, as in the case of Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
, with a global reach, beyond the Arabic speaking and Muslim audience. Portraits of secular and religious leaders are omnipresent on banknotes and coins, in streets and offices (e.g. presidents like Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
and Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
, al-Assad
Hafez al-Assad
Hafez ibn 'Ali ibn Sulayman al-Assad or more commonly Hafez al-Assad was the President of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule consolidated the power of the central government after decades of coups and counter-coups, such as Operation Wappen in 1957 conducted by the Eisenhower administration and...
or Hezbollah's Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah
Hasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...
and Ayatollah
Ayatollah
Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
). Anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
statues in public places are to be found in most Muslim countries (Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's are infamous), as well as art schools training sculptors and painters. In the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian countryside, it is fashionable to celebrate and advertise the returning of pilgrims from Mecca on the walls of their houses.
Taliban movement in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
banned photography and destructed non-Muslim artifacts, especially carvings and statues such as Buddhas of Bamyan
Buddhas of Bamyan
The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2,500 meters...
, generally tolerated by other Muslims, on the grounds that the artifacts are idolatrous
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
or Shirk (polytheism)
Shirk (polytheism)
In Islam, shirk is the sin of idolatry or polytheism. i.e. the deification or worship of anyone or anything other than the singular God, or more literally the establishment of "partners" placed beside God...
. However, sometimes those who profess aniconism will practice figurative representation (cf. portraits of Talibans from the Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
photographic studios during their imposed ban on photography).
For Shi'a communities, portraits of the major figures of Shi'ite history are important elements of religious devotion. Portraits of Ali – with veiled and unveiled face alike – can be bought in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
around shrines and in the streets, to be hung in homes or carried with oneself, while in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, India and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
they notoriously ornate trucks, buses and rickshaws. Contrary to the Sunni tradition, a photographic picture of the deceased can be placed on the Shi'ite tombs. A curiosity in Iran is an Orientalist
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
photography supposed to represent Muhammad as a young boy. The Grand Ayatollah Sistani
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani is the highest-ranking Twelver Shia marja in Iraq and the leader of the Hawza of Najaf.-Early life:Sistani was born in Mashhad, Iran, to a family of religious scholars who traced their roots to Isfahan...
of Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
in Iraq has given a fatwā
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
declaring the depiction of Muhammad, the prophets and other holy characters, permissible if it is made with the utmost respect.
Circumvention methods
Medieval Muslim artists found various ways to represent especially sensitive figures such as Muhammad. He is sometimes shown with a fiery haloHalo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
hiding his face, head, or whole body, and from about 1500 is often shown with a veiled face. Members of his immediate family and other prophets may be treated in the same way. More generally, it can be argued that since God is absolute, the act of depiction is his own and not that of a human; and miniatures are obviously very crude representations of the reality, so the two cannot be mistaken. At the material level, prophets in manuscripts can have their face covered by a veil or all humans have a stroke drawn over their neck, symbolising the severing of the soul, and clarifying the fact that it is not something alive and imbued with a soul that is depicted: a purposeful flaw to make what is depicted impossible to live in reality (as merely impossible in reality is still often frowned upon or banned, such as representations of comic book characters or unicorns). Calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Perso-Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all...
, the most Islamic of arts in the Muslim world, has also its figurative side due to anthropo- and zoomorphic
Zoomorphism
Zoomorphism is the shaping of something in animal form or terms. Examples include:*Art that imagines humans as animals*Art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal*Art that creates patterns using animal imagery, or animal style...
calligrams. Few portraits were attempted, and the ability to create recognisable portraits was rare in Islamic art until the Mughal tradition began in the late 15th century, although in both Mughal India and Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Turkey portraits of the ruler then became very popular in court circles.
Causes
It is equally important to stress that, wherever it surfaced, Islamic aniconism is partially due to the special historical relationship between images and Muslim identity. In the early days of Islam, for example, it was critical to distinguish the customs of the nascent UmmahUmmah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
from those of Christians, Jews, Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
s and pagans. Therefore, emphasizing calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
and abstract decoration over figurative painting and sculpture set the Qur'an apart from the Bible, the mosque from the church and – after a certain period of using Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Sassanid
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
coins – the Muslim dinar
Dinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
from the Christian solidus
Solidus (coin)
The solidus was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans, and a weight measure for gold more generally, corresponding to 4.5 grams.-Roman and Byzantine coinage:...
. After the Mongol
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
invasions of the 13th century, there were lively debates in Persia about the merits of (Islamic) calligraphy and (Chinese influenced) painting. In modern times, the image-producing technologies of print, photography, movie, television and, more recently, the Internet, were all imports from a world outside the Muslim community, and thus easily perceived as threats to its integrity. These changes also came through difficult contexts for the Islamic world: colonization, modernization, authoritarian regimes, economic difficulties, and wars. Quite naturally, a paradoxical mix ensued, of an aniconist Islamic discourse propagated through representational mass media.
Comparison with Judaism and Christianity
Judaism, which is related to Islam as a monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, and other prophets, has a comparable prohibitionIdolatry in Judaism
Judaism strongly prohibits any form of idolatry. Judaism holds that idolatry is not limited to the worship of an idol itself, but also worship involving any artistic representations of God. In addition it is forbidden to derive benefit from anything dedicated to idolatry...
which takes the form of a prohibition on any idol
Cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...
or on any artistic representation of God
God in Judaism
The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic. God is an absolute one indivisible incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable, and that it is only God's revealed aspect that...
. The third of the three related religions, Christianity, not only for long had no such prohibition but an active tradition of making and venerating images
Christian art
Christian art is sacred art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity, though other definitions are possible. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of...
of God
God in Christianity
In Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. God is believed by most Christians to be immanent , while others believe the plan of redemption show he will be immanent later...
and other religious figures. However there were periods of aniconism, in the Early Christian church, in the Byzantine iconoclasm of the 8th century, and following the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, when Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
in particular rejected all images in churches.
See also
- TaghutTaghut"Taghout" redirects here; for the village in Azerbaijan, see Ataqut.The Arabic word taghut means to "cross the limits, overstep boundaries," or "to rebel." In Islamic theology, the word refers to idolatry or to worship anything except Allah, I.e. worshiping Jesus or Muhammad would be taghut....
- Censorship by religionCensorship by religionCensorship by religion is a form of censorship where freedom of expression is controlled or limited using religious authority or on the basis of the teachings of the religion. This form of censorship has a long history and is practiced in many societies and by many religions...
- Depictions of MuhammadDepictions of MuhammadThe permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....
- Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyThe Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
General
- Jack GoodyJack GoodySir John Rankine Goody is a British social anthropologist. He has been a prominent teacher at Cambridge University, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1976, and he is an associate of the US National Academy of Sciences...
, Representations and Contradictions: Ambivalence Towards Images, Theatre, Fiction, Relics and Sexuality, London, Blackwell Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-631-20526-8.
Islam
- Oleg GrabarOleg GrabarOleg Grabar was a French-born art historian and archeologist, who spent most of his career in the United States, as a leading figure in the field of Islamic art and architecture.-Academic career:...
, "Postscriptum", The Formation of Islamic Art, Yale University, 1987 (p209). ISBN 0-300-03969-7 - Terry Allen, "Aniconism and Figural Representation in Islamic Art", Five Essays on Islamic Art, Occidental (CA), Solipsist, 1988. ISBN 0-944940-00-5 http://www.sonic.net/~tallen/palmtree/fe2.htm
- Gilbert Beaugé & Jean-François Clément, L'image dans le monde arabe [The image in the Arab world], Paris, CNRS Éditions, 1995, ISBN 2-271-05305-6
- Rudi Paret, Das islamische Bilderverbot und die Schia [The Islamic prohibition of images and the Shi'a], Erwin Gräf (ed.), Festschrift Werner Caskel, Leiden, 1968, 224–32.
External links
- The figurative representation in Islamic Arts