Blog Post 1
In my first blog post, I have decided to highlight the idea of nur Muhammad from the fourth week readings where the idea was that the God created the prophetic light which “was the fountainhead of all prophetic activity, first manifesting itself in Adam, then in all the prophets, one after the other, until it found its full expression in the historical Muhammad.” as seen in Professor Asani’s “Infidel of Love”. To illustrate this theme I decided to create a video where the prophetic light was described by the candlelight. The idea that each prophet had a light which was passed down to the next prophet was expressed through the transference of candlelight from one candle to another by the torch. After the continual transference, it stops at the last candle which symbolizes the brightest and most perfect light which is a theme from the idea of nur Muhammad. Another crucial aspect is the music choice in which I used “Let Her Go” by the Passenger in order to create a peaceful ambiance. because one can only reach God when they have found inner peace. Note that the light stops at Muhammad and does not continue any further. However, while the idea of nur Muhammad shows the end of the prophetic light, some Muslims believe that the idea of prophetic light can continue in the post prophetic age through Ali’s descendants. This idea is known as the “light of the Imams” also known as the “nur Imamate” in which people believe that each Imam has a light just like the prophets. The thought originates from the time when Muhammad had declared “I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.” as seen in a hadith which proves the Imamate. The link to the blog post is a YouTube video here—-> http://youtu.be/eDyuTaDACw0