Insights into Islam

The Prophetic Light; from Allah to Muhammad

This is a watercolor painting depicting the Prophetic Light. The top circle is the largest and represents Allah, or al-nur, the ultimate source of light. The light glows in the middle of the circle and radiates outward into the darkness. This radiance illuminates the world and provides a context through which people can understand it. The further you go from God’s light, the darker it becomes, symbolizing the lack of a clear path. Allah is not the sole source of light, however, and has passed it to each of his prophets in turn, starting with Adam and ending with Muhammad. In this painting, the succession of prophets is represented symbolically by descending circles of light. Since Muhammad is the last prophet, the last circle representative of him. This continuity of illuminating knowledge is represented by the extension of the alif in “Allah”, which entwines each successive prophet, ending with Muhammad. In Muhammad, Allah’s light is still present, as seen by the candle filling the bottom circle.

This idea of the prophetic light is seen in the images of Marie-Rose Seguy’s  “The Miraculous Journey of Mahomet.” These images depict the ascension of Muhammad, or the mi’raj. In this story, the prophets are all seated and Muhammad is leading them in prayer. Each prophet has a lamp by him and Professor Asani emphasized that this lamp is a symbol of the prophetic light that each possesses. It is this God-given light that is depicted in the ascension scene that justifies the message that each of the prophets delivered.

Center versus Periphery Collage

“Center” Practices

Drinking the Qur’an; a periphery practice

Depiction of the Prophet; a periphery practice

Ta’ziyeh; a periphery practice

A Chinese-Style Mosque

In this blog post, I will discuss the theme of center versus periphery practices in Islam. Section leader, Ceyhun, defined periphery practices as those that were observed by only a subset of the Muslim population. Center practices, on the other hand, are closer to the core of Islam and are therefore practiced by a larger number of Muslims. I placed examples of “center” practices in the yellow circle. The Qur’an assumes its rightful place in the center, as it is the keystone of the religion. It is surrounded by a lantern, symbolizing the idea that Allah is the source of illumination, the shahada, a map symbolizing pilgrimage to Mecca, accompanied by a picture of the ka’ba, an image symbolizing the zakat, the numbers 1-5, representing the 5 times a day one must pray to Mecca, and examples of classic arabesque. These practices and images are at the core of the faith and are recognized by the vast majority of Muslims.

However, it is not uncommon for those who identify with communities of interpretation closer to the “center” to cast a wary eye on peripheral practices, as some see them as impurities in the faith. This is seen in the El-Tom’s “Drinking the Qur’an:The Meaning of Quranic Verses in Berti Erasure.” El- Tom writes with scientific authority, as he assesses the practice of erasure, or drinking of Quranic verses in order to aid the drinker in an array of different circumstances, in African-Islamic cultures (El-Tom, 1985, p. 417). El-Tom defines erasure as a periphery practice at the outset, saying, “The drinking of Koranic verses seems to be widespread only on the periphery of the Islamic world,” (1985, p. 415). El-Tom’s distinction between what he refers to as “classical” (1985, p. 428) and what is periphery carries throughout the work. He says that the meaning of Qur’an verses is “assigned and imposed” (El-Tom, 1985, p.428) by the Berti, further casting doubt on the practice. These statements raise a host of questions. Who has the authority to determine what is peripheral and what is not? In other words, why is El-Tom able to make this judgement about another community of interpretation? Does this type of assessment place some communities above others in terms of validity? My opinion is that if a practice allows individuals to feel closer to God, its legitimacy may be defended.

This theme can be connected to ideas seen later in the course. Three more such ideas are represented on the poster. The Chinese-style mosque shows the blending of Chinese-style architecture with Islam. The Ta’ziyeh is a passion play depicting the death of Hussein that is observed ardently, but only in Iran. A small number of communities of interpretation allow for the depiction of religious figures, such as the Prophet himself, while most consider that idolatry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIt0aJ2Lp7g&feature=youtu.be

I chose to create a blog post about Qur’an recitation because oral engagement with scripture plays such an integral role in the Islamic religion and culture. Qur’an recitation is a widely recognized practice among many communities of interpretation. However, as Professor Asani demonstrated in lecture, different regions have distinct recitation styles. The universality of recitation made it a fitting topic for a blog post. Specifically, I decided to hone in on an analysis of the Sells 29 Surat Al-Qadr recitation through the lens of dance and Al-Ghazali’s theory, as is laid out in Quasem’s “External Rules of Qur’an Recitation.”

It makes sense to analyze the conventions of Qur’an recitation through dance because the underlying theme of personal interpretation runs throughout both of them. When one recites the Qur’an, he relies on his emotional experience with the text and interprets that it a performance of remarkable aesthetic beauty. When one dances, a similar relationship is seen, where the dancer must interpret the music in order to generate an authentic and engaging performance. By dancing to a recitation of the Qur’an, I was able to display the ways in which I was affected by the performance. I was able to react to the reciter’s interpretation of the Qur’an, which in turn inspired feelings inside of me that manifested itself in my movement. For further appreciation of the recitation, I find it helpful to consider the main convention set forth by Al-Ghazali.

Two of Al-Ghazali’s main points are that the beauty of the text cannot become lost and reading must take place in a manner that allows the meaning of the text to be absorbed. The beauty of the text is dictated by the style in which it is written, the sound of the words as speech, and the intonation of the reciter. This emphasis on reading out loud underscores the importance of viewing the Qur’an as an oral work, whose beauty and meaning lay as much in the sound of the text as they do in the words themselves. Intonation is meant to improve upon this beauty, as it highlights the important aesthetic elements of the reading to the listener. The manner in which the text is absorbed is also important. It is emphasized that the reader should read at a pace slow enough for the listeners to internalize the message. If not, listeners are not able to appreciate all that the text has to offer and will be unable to deeply ponder the recitation. If all of these conditions are met, the idea is that Qur’an recitation will be both beautiful and enriching (Quasem, 1979, p.34-55). 

The Sells 29 version of Surat Al-Qudr follows Al-Ghazali’s theory in that the style is slow and meditative. This allows listeners to both ponder the meaning of the surat, as well as admire its beauty. There is a continuity of tone and rhythm in the recitation, which I believe is responsible for this meditative quality. When considering how to interpret this recitation as movement, the continuity manifested itself in a circular/spiraling motif that is seen throughout the dance. Another aspect of the Sells 29 version of Surat Al-Qudr is the frequent pauses throughout the recitation. This allows for reflection on the words just recited, which is also in accordance with the Al-Ghazali theory. Whenever a pause would occur, the movement also pauses. This reflection may be directed toward God, which is shown in the dane as an upward gaze or open arms, or a more internal reflection, demonstrated by a recoiling of the arms.

Given that each recitation draws from personal experience with the text, each version of the same Surat will sound slightly different. If this dance had been performed to a different version of the Surat, a novel set of qualities would have manifested themselves in the movement.

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