Week Three Blog – The Qur’an
The importance of the Qur’an is at the heart of what it means to be a Muslim. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the word of God, as revealed to his Prophet Muhammad. This week we listened to, and read about, the recitation of the Qur’an in various parts of the world, examined the art of calligraphy and the Qur’an, and also read about some unique practices involving the Qur’an in different Muslim cultures. Kristina Nelson discussed the divinity of the Qur’an in her article, The Sound of the Divine in Daily Life, and stated, “The Qur’an is considered the miracle of Muhammad’s prophethood. The proof of its divine source is in its inimitable euphony, eloquence, and wisdom, for Muhammad was neither poet nor sage, but an unlettered merchant. Most Westerners find the claim to the Qur’an’s inimitable beauty baffling, for they have had access only to the written text, whether in translation or in the original Arabic. The ears hear more than the eyes see in the written text, and it is only in the sound that the full miracle is realized. Thus, while the meaning of each word may be translated from the Arabic, the Qur’an itself is untranslatable” (Nelson, 258). Abdullahi Asman El-Tom in his article Drinking the Koran: The Meaning of Koranic Verses In Berti Erasure discussed the importance of memorizing the Qur’an and the unique practice of drinking the Qur’an among the Berti of the northern Darfur Province of the Republic of the Sudan, “The Koran is regarded as containing divine power; thus, to possess the Koranic texts renders an individual powerful and protects him against misfortunes and malevolent forces. The highest form of the possession of the Koran is its commitment to memory, which amounts to its internalization in the head, the superior part of the body, whence it can be instantly reproduced by recitation. But the Koran can also be internalized in the body by being drunk. Although drinking the Koran is seen as being far less effective than memorizing,it, it is superior to carrying it on the body through the use of amulets” (El-Tom, 416).
I was deeply moved and inspired by the film that we saw in class “Koran by Heart”. During the film the recitation of the Qur’an took place, often with eyes shut, and seemed to transport the reciter into another world. Often the children did not understand the Arabic words that they were saying but they were still deeply moved by the powerful words of the Qur’an. Girls and boys from all over the world took part in the Qur’an recitation competition. Kristina Nelson discussed the transcendent quality of Quranic recitation and observed, “Quranic recitation is more than an art” and that “The meaning of the Qur’an is not restricted to the words: the meaning transcends the words” (Nelson, 259). Sometimes the children were so engrossed in their recitation that they were moved to tears. In my collage I wanted to show the beautiful and luminous faces of the young Qur’anic reciters as they were transported by the sound of the Qur’an recitation and the sense of achievement that they felt. I was able to find a photo of the young girl from the movie, who was struggling with her father in the search of more education and opportunities, and was very happy to put her in the collage.
In the collage children who are reading and reciting from the Qur’an surround the opening pages of, what I felt to be, the most beautiful version of Qur’anic calligraphy. Irvin C. Schick talked about the divine origin of the Qur’an and the importance of calligraphy in his article Writing the Body in Islam and noted, “This divine origin has burdened Muslims with the important mission of preserving the word of God in a worthy vessel, and that is precisely the impulse that lies at the root of the art of Islamic calligraphy. The holy mission with which Arabic writing is thus charged has in turn endowed it with a special status in Islamic culture: the script that preserves the word of God is perceived as a Godly script. In this regard, the identification of Arabic script with the religion of Islam is profound and perhaps unequalled” (Schick, pg. 2). The manuscript that I chose to use is the opening pages of a Qur’an from Turkey from the time of the Ottoman Dynasty. The original manuscript was painted in ink, various colors, and gold on paper. The art of calligraphy is seen at it’s best in this glorious manuscript. I put the first verse of the Qur’an surrounding the Qur’an and then surrounded it by the faces of the children as they recited the verses. I wanted to use the real faces of Islamic children from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds to show the diversity within Islam and that the Qur’an is a uniting element within the Islamic faith. These children also show great beauty in their commitment and sincerity as they connect, internalize, and commune with God. While the collage turned out rather awkward – it is a great reminder of a lovely movie that gave me my first understanding of a “living Qur’an” and exemplified Kristina Nelson’s thought about Quranic recitation, “The ears hear more than the eyes see and that it is only in the sound that the full miracle is realized” (Nelson, pg. 258).