Unique Reference Number: CVQ-1699 Author: Stephen Roche Submission: Islamic

Consultation: Status: Submitted Keeping it Green - An Open Space Strategy for Fingal Date Submitted: 25.09.2015 - 2:11am

Islamic Garden

Chapter: Keeping it Green - An Open Space Strategy for Fin...

Traditionally, an Islamic garden is a cool place of rest and reection, and a reminder of paradise. The Qur’an has many references to , and the garden is used as an earthly analogue for the life in paradise. There are surviving formal Islamic gardens in a wide zone extending from Spain and in the west to India in the east. Famous Islamic gardens include those of the Taj in India and the in Spain. The general theme of a traditional Islamic garden is water and shade, not surprisingly since came from and generally spread in a hot and arid climate. Unlike the European gardens, which are often designed for walking, Islamic gardens are intended for rest and contemplation. For this reason, Islamic gardens usually include places for sitting. The author, Cliord A. Wright, describes dierent garden types for dierent purposes in his book ‘The Muslim Gardens of Paradise’. ‘The Muslims had dierent kinds of gardens serving dierent purposes. The bustan was the garden of the inner court of a house, a formal garden with pools and water channels. The was an with palms, oranges,and vines irrigated by canals. The rawdah referred in particular to the vegetable garden that produced foods for the cooks.’ Many of the gardens of Islamic civilization are lost to us today. While most others may retain their forms, the original plantings have been replaced with modern ones. The garden is a transient form of architectural art dependent upon the climate, and the resources available to those who care for it.

Gardens in Islam The underlying theme of the Islamic garden is the concept of the chahar-bagh or four-fold garden. Classically, the chahar-bagh is constructed around a central pool or , with four streams owing from it, representing the four main elements of life. The Prophet (pbuh), describing his miraculous journey to heaven, mentions four rivers: owing with wine, milk, honey and water. The number four has an inherent symbolism reecting the natural world. The symbolism of an Islamic garden represents a universal theme – that of the understanding of nature and the universe. The quadripartite plan based on the chahar-bagh is developed in gardens all over the Islamic world. The in India is placed at the head of a large chahar-bagh. The gardens of the and the Alhambra palaces in Spain both have a series of courtyard gardens based on the chahar-bagh design. In an Islamic garden the emphases are on water and shade, not surprisingly, as many of the early Islamic gardens were created in hot and arid areas. Gardens in Islam, unlike the great gardens in the English tradition, are not so much places for walking in, as places of rest and quiet contemplation hence the need for a place to sit is also an important consideration. The aim is to strive towards spiritual and physical refreshment, to draw closer to God through quiet contemplation and to echo the Qur’anic phrase ‘gardens underneath which rivers ow’.

1 The Islamic garden, based on its Qur’anic archetype, is a place of retreat, shelter, abode, away from the tensions of everyday existence. There are many references in the Qur’an describing paradise as a garden, and in creating gardens on earth based on heavenly descriptions, man shows his desire to attain the highest state of being, his promise from God as reward for righteous struggle. Flowing water, and rivers are the most memorable descriptions one has after reading the Qur’anic references to paradise. The vision embodied in the Islamic garden is a universal one and it should appeal to everyone from whatever background or religion. The Islamic garden is an embodiment of a ‘spiritual vision with universal appeal’. Although the idea of paradise as a garden predates Islam, it was nevertheless the religion of Islam which emphasised these ancient and universal truths and gave them the new spiritual meaning.

Attachments:  CVQ-1699-833 - TAMAN PUTROE PHANG.doc

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