The Lamp
“God is the Light of the heavens and the earth.
The Parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche and within it a Lamp
the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star
Lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive, neither of the east nor of the West,
whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it
Light upon Light! God doth guide whom He will to His Light
God doth set forth Parables for men: and God doth know all things.”- Qur’an (24:35)
In Week 4 we learned about the Prophet Muhammad, and the special relationship Muslims have with him. The Prophet is revered by Muslims, like Jesus Christ is by Christians, without him being deified. Muslims see him as the Walking Qur’an, and the Perfect Man. Muslims strive to become like the Prophet by imitating his sunnah, or practices. Still he is seen as human, the Perfect Man, which is the biggest difference between Muslims’ relationship with Muhammad and Christians’ relationship with Jesus.
For my artistic response, I created a non-figural representation of the Prophet Muhammad. The verse quoted from the Qur’an above is the famous light verse. Ali Asani in his book Infidel of Love, narrates “According to Muqatil, the lamp, in this verse, is a fitting symbol for Muhammad, who has been described elsewhere in the Qur’an as a “shining lamp.” ” (Asani 133). The Prophet is often connected to light imagery. He is described at times as being a reflection of God’s light, being surrounded by light , and casting no shadow. My image is based of the light verse (above) and the comparison between the Prophet and a radiant lamp “siraj munir”. I drew an outline of an oil lamp in the style of Islamic Art, and filled it with attributes of the Prophet. These attributes are connected to Names of God in Islam. For example Al-Rahman, The Merciful, is a name of God while the Prophet is rahmah, mercy. The lamp is filled with, and radiates, the light of the Prophet.
Translations:
rahmah- mercy
rahim – beneficent, merciful
karim – generous
nur – light
halim – forbearing
mu’allim – teacher
sabur – patient
‘azim – sublime (character)
wali – guardian (of the Believers)
siraj munir – radiant lamp
john said,
May 20, 2015 at 3:53 pm
Thanks for the info