Remembrance and repetition: The spiritual foundations of Islamic art

Author: James Winston Morris

Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/4139

This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries.

Published in SUFI, vol. 47, pp. 15-19, Autumn 2000

Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons "Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States" (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/) James W. Morris . SUFI

Remembrance and Repetition: Spiritual Foundations of Islamic Art

BY JAMES W. MORRIS

God is Beautiful and He loves ...Surely hearts findpeace in beauty... (Hadith, recorded by remembrance ofGod: .. .joyfUl bliss Muslim, Ibn Maja, Tirmidhi) for them, and a beautiful returning! (Koran 13:28-29)

he best approach to appreciating any in contrast to the habitual assumptions of contemporary of the Islamic visual arts, for someone mass culture in any part of the world. For whether it encounteting them for the first time, is be in the distinctive patterns of these tribal and courtly to begin by listening attentively to the carpets; the styles of Arabic calligraphy adapted for so sacred music (whether popular .or many Islamic languages; the ornamental interplay of learned) of almost any traditional Is­ 'arabesque' and geometric elements in all the visual lamic culture. It might seem strange to media (ceramics, wood, leather, textiles and metalwork); learn to look by listening, but Islamic art, in all its the architectural layout of fountains and gardens, tomb­ expressions, is above all a highly refined visual music. shtines, palaces, or urban markets and religious com­ So if we begin to approach that art as a special sort plexes; the multiple perspectives in classical schools of of visible music, we are'far more likely to understand miniature painting; the repertoire of symbolic themes in it on its own aesthetic terms, as it was experienced by mystical lyric poetry; or the intricate formulae of social its otiginal creators and patrons. And at the same time etiquette (adab), ritual and polite speech: in all of these we will avoid the many extraneous aesthetic standards forms of the classical Islamic humanities, no matter what and assumptions of 'representation', 'originality', 'self­ their original culture and period, one inevitably encoun­ expression' and the like which modern viewers tend to ters recurrent elements of repetition and 1-hythm in­ carry over unconsciously from the context of Western tended to evoke an inner harmony and balance integrat­ (European) visual arts. ing and transcending the momentarily visible tensions In fact the 'outsider' or naive 'beginner' in tillS and emotional expressions of their constituent parts. situation may be uniquely capable of seeing how the Uninitiated modern observers of each of these artistic Islamic humanities, in cultural settings extending from forms, of course, have often mistakenly perceived pre­ West Attica to China and Indonesia, still share certain cisely these same shared aesthetic qualities and expec­ common forms and presuppositions-aesthetic and meta­ tations as representing qualities of repetitiveness, 'for­ physical foundations that stand out all the more clearly malism', 'decorative' superficiality, and an apparent lack

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of originality or truly 'authentic' expression. For as with describe their performance-or their listening--:-not as any traditional art or ritual, it is certainly true that only 'music', but rather as an act of 'intimate prayer' or long personal apprenticeship can reveal the heights of 'remembrance' of God, using the central Koranic teml individual creativity and mastery that can be realized dhikr. How that fundamental religious concept and its within the form.al constraints of each of those fields. related Koranic context actually came so thoroughly to However, one essential key to penetrating this inspire and pervade the Islamic humanities in all their mysterious aesthetic unity and 'musicality' of the Islamic manifold creative expressions is a story that has yet to humanities can be found simply by asking traditional be written. But for our purposes here, it is sufficient to Islamic musicians (or their audien·ce) what it is they are describe as succinctly as possible the fundamental spili­ actually doing. For more often than not, they would tual role of the Islamic humanities as dhikr-as bOtll

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cultural 'reminders' and repeated reduced to written or conceptual is -'the Truly-ReaL." (41:53). Indeed individual 'invocations' of the arche­ form. Thus in the prayerful re-cre­ . tIlete is notIling at all that is not part typal divine Qualities, the 'Most ation of the Koran, those Arabic of the 'Words' of this ongoing divine Beautiful Natnes'-within the broader roots are both literally and figura­ Concert: "Even if all tlle trees on Koranic vision of human being and tively the 'notes for each new reci­ earth were pens, and the sea (were the world. tation and genuine realization of that ink), witIl seven more seas replacing constantly recurring Revelation.) it, still the Words of God would not o begin with, in order to grasp Hence the various forms of tIle word be used up" (31:27). T the primordial 'musicality' of dbikr may convey simultaneously­ From the human point of Islamic art, it is essential to recall that and almost always from both the view, of course, few could argue the Koran, both in its origins and as divine and tIle individual human witll the Koran's repeated observa­ it is experienced in the daily ritual point of view-tIle related meanings tion that "no one really renlembers, and prayer life of most Muslims of (a) a reminder (in which sense but tIle people of Hearts" (2:269, 3:7, through the centuries, has always the Koranic revelation itself is re­ etc.). In response to that more usual been primarily an aural, nlusical peatedly called the divine 'Reminder' human condition of spiritual 'deaf­ reality. In fact the Arabic ternl quran par excellence); (b) the act of re­ ness' and heedlessness, few themes originally meant 'recitation,' and membering or recollecting; (c) men­ are more frequently stressed in the witIlin the revelations to Mu1)ammad tioning or repeating something; and Koran tIlan our uniquely individual eventually assembled as a written (d) even more specifically, the pro­ responsibility for constantly 'remem­ text, tIlat expression and related terms cess of 'invoking or prayerfully re­ bering' God and 'mentioning' or are also applied to the divine Arche­ citing (whether silentIy or in audible invoking the divine Names, not sim­ type of all revelation and creation. chanting or rhythmic song) tIle di­ ply through the prescribed forms of In fact the most fundamental Koranic vine Names, tIlose archetypal At­ ritual prayer, but at every moment image for God's ongoing creative tributes or Qualities of tIle all-en­ oflife: "...remember God while stand­ relation to tIle world is that of compassing divine Essence that are ing, and sitting, and (lying) on your Speech-and that divine Music is Inade manifest tIlfough the Spirit in sides,.. " (4:103, 33:191), "and remem­ said to be directly reflected in the creation and 'returned' to their di­ ber your Lord in your soul, humbly response of all the creatUres, even vine Source tllfough our individual and in awe.. .in the morning and in if we too often remain spiritually acts of prayer and recollection. the evening... " (7:205), ".. ,and re­ 'tone-deaf to that Symphony: the Thus from the divine perspec­ member/mention your Lord, when­ seven heavens and the eartIl, and all tive, tIle Koran portrays all of mani­ ever you have forgotten!" 08:24). who are in them, are singing His fest existence as an ongoing, time­ Thus the imperative of dhikr, in this praises: there is no tIling but that it less Act of divine dbikr, stressing in broader sense of all awareness, all js singing forth with His praise-and particular the instantaneous, ever­ recollection and realization of the yet you-all do not grasp their song­ renewed repetition of that creative divine Presence, extends far beyond of-praise! (16:44). process of divine Self-manifestation: tIle dozens of explicit Koranic refer­ Within that nl~taphysical con­ God begins the creation, and tllen ences to include ultimately evelY text, the ultimate purpose of the He repeats it again, and to Him you facet of the practical spiritual role of Koran-as with all the earlier divine are all returned (30:11). According to the Koran, the earlier divine revela­ revelations, and with all the later the Koranic account of the pre­ tions, and the divine messengers, artistic attempts to furtIler that same eternal Covenant of Adam and all teachers and spiritual guides who purpose-is simply to help 'remind' souls with God (at 7:174), all human are the present living embodiments or awaken human beings to an active beings were originally aware of that of this divine 'Reminder'. The very realizatjon of their unique role and Reality and constitutive relationship essence of this inner movement of special responsibility in that larger tllfough tlleir common root in the 'remembrance', and tIle hue goal of cosmic chorus. In' that regard, the divine Spirit: Remember God's bless­ human existence, is the soul's con­ key Koranic root dh-k-r beautifully ing on you-all by which He bound stant 'returning' from tlle transient expresses several equally essential you, when you said: "We hear and forms and events and 'tests' of this aspects of that all-encompassing we obey!", and be mindful of God... world to their true realities (the divine Concert. (Those unfamiliar (5:7). so in reality, all the realms of divine 'Names') and meanings in the with Arabic may not know that the existence and experience alike are 'unseen world' (al-ghayb) or the consonantal roots of the Koran, like the constantly repeated divine 'Signs' 'next life' (al-akhira) of the Spirit. the chords of musical leitmotifs or (ayaO and archetypal 'Likenesses' And the inner, spiritual focus of that traditional Chinese ideograms, typi­ (amthal) constituting God's creative movement is of course most clearly cally express a broad range of poly­ Act ofRemembrance: "We shall show reflected in the nearly intangible valent meanings and intricate se­ them Our Signs on the horizons and states and rhythms of traditional mantic connections that cannot be in their souls, until it becomes clear Islamic music (including lyric po­ adequately 'translated' or othelwise to them that Hu [tlle divine Essence] etry). Within tllat practical spiritual

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context it becomes easy to recognize boIs of the 'Other World' (the 'Gar­ creation' of essential Koranic struc­ the inseparable connections between dens', fountains and flowing water, tures and intentions that takes more each of the Islamic arts, as well as the celestial 'banquet', the divine palpable form in the visual or liter­ their integral ties to the wider com­ 'Court', and birds, greenery, fruits ary arts. plexes of the local Islamic humani­ and vegetal life of every sort); and The fourth essential principle ties and ritual in every domain of (c) the mysterious divine order of of traditional Islamic aesthetics, fol­ pre-modern life. the heavens, celestial bodies, the lOWing from its contemplative ainl From that comprehensive four elements and the geometric and (and likewise clearly mirroring its metaphysical perspective, it is hardly mathematical patterns underlying Koranic mode!), is the assumption of surprising that the ongoing creative their creation and harmonious com­ the actively transformationalor 'Par- _ expressions of tlns same process of binations. The third basic aesthetic ticipatorj nature of the spiritual spiritual 'reminding' throughout the feature reflecting the Koranic relationship between the 'creator' later Islamic arts and humanities have model-and again in the musical, (or performer) and their 'audience'. been profoundly influenced by the visual and literary arts alike-is the An art whose purpose is the move- aesthetic model of the ment from 'this Koran on many dif­ world' to the ferent levels. Eventu­ next, from ally the religiously spiritual uncon­ and ritually central sciousness to a role of the Koran in heightened Islamic life helped to awareness of mold tlle implicit can­ the divine SWrit ons and ideals of and the particu­ aesthetic expression lar divine At­ and appreciation tributes and alike in at least the Actions consti­ following fundamen­ tuting all our tal ways. First and experience, is perhaps most funda­ not likely to mentally, on a very work in a pas­ basic formal and sive or unde­ structural level, each manding fash­ of the Islamic arts ion. Such a (whether musical, radically spiri­ visual or literary) has tual and partici­ typically come to patory concep­ reflect the Koran's tion forces us distinctive musical to enter a very qualities of rhythm different world and constantly inter­ from the wide­ woven symphonic spread contem­ repetition and subtle porary' notions elaboration of its of the artist's central themes. Second, and even essentially contemplative aim of each work as some kind of mediatic 'pro­ more obviously, the concrete selec­ of these artistic forms: what is essen­ duction' (whether ideC?logical or tion of 'visual iconography,' of tlle tial in these arts is always what goes economic) or simply as another basic themes and formal elements on inside each viewer or auditor, the distracting 'entertainment'. As pre­ represented in the Islamic visual arts mysterious inner shift in awareness eminently with tlle Koran itself, the from tlle very earliest period, has from the sensible material, temporal adequate appreciation of any of the continued to be drawn from the forms in 'this world' Cal-dunya) to classical forms of Islamic art inevi­ three basic symbolic families of vi­ their transcendent Source and Real­ tably requires us to cross (or at least sual images of .tbe divine Presence, ity among the archetypal divine temporarily erase). the imagined of the transcendent Reality revealed Names. In this respect, as we have boundaries between what modem through all the appearances of this already mentioned, tlle endlessly culture has come to construe as world, that constantly recur in the varied musical forms of dhikr- separate realms of religious, aes­ Koran itself: namely, (a) tlle Arabic . whether chanted, sung, or with more thetic, ethical, intellectual, personal calligraphy of the divine 'Words' "elaborate instrumental accompani­ and communal actiVity and experi­ tllemselves; (b) the paradisiac syrn- ment-most clearly illustrate the 're- ence. In all honesty, few of us today

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are really used to thinking of-much The Arabic language has a see Him..." This art has accomplished less actually living-embroidery, or singularly expressive term, il;Jsan, its purpose when its viewer (or weaving, or gardening or everyday for describing this unique God-given listener) disappears in the contem­ conversation and storytelling as in­ capacity for actually perceiving, and plation of that divine Beauty. tegral acts of prayer. One striking then bringing into existence, what is indicator of this very different under­ beautiful-andat the same time truly he Islamic arts and humanities standing of the spiritual role of both good: a single word conveys the Thave their genesis, in every 'artist' and audience in traditional inner unity of that living awareness. cultural and social setting, in the Islamic cultures is that the closest In tl1e Koran, that rare spiritual vir­ ongoing spiritual obligation to com­ expression one could find for the tue is connected above all to God's municate the primordial message of humanities or fine arts in many special love for the prophets or the the Koran (including that of all the Islamicate languages, adabiyat is most accomplished saints, in a way earlier prophets and messengers) in simply the plural of adab, a term that may inevitably seem far re­ ways that can effectively touch and that could be very roughly translated moved from our own ordinary, so­ transform the lives and souls of each as "the spiritually and ethically ap­ cially constructed conceptions of human being. From that perspective, propriate attitude and its harmoni­ either good or beauty. But in a the recorded teachings ofthe Prophet ous expression in right action in famous Prophetic l;Jadith that is still and the Imams (including the l;Jadith each particular situation.' From this Widely used as a sort of catechism we have just recounted) ~re really point of view, the very act of artistic in many parts of the Islamic world the first Islamic exemplars of that ,. creation and appreciation necessar­ today, Mu1)ammad describes the true necessarily ongoing creative process' ily requires an unsettling and de­ nature of ihsan in terms that clearly of teaching and transformation. An manding kind of inner surrender, suggest the most characteristic pIjn­ awareness of the fundamental spiri-­ before one can discover the under­ ciples of Islamic art: the harmonious tual necessity of that process, and of lying peace of the deeper, divine marriage of aesthetic, ethical and its indispensable preconditions at harmony to which it leads: in fact intellectual perceptions and demands any time, suggests rather different those two inseparable aspects of this within their unifying spiritual Source perspectives and agendas from those expe~ence of the artist's transform­ and Aim. so loudly and vociferously pro­ ing intention--contemplative 'surren­ The l;Jadith itself recounts the claimed by the modem 'defenders' der' and the resulting spiritual Messenger's replies to three ques­ (and detractors) of religion. 'peace'-together are the original tions posed by a mysterious white­ Another way of opening up literal meaning of the Arabic word robed stranger, who he eventually those forgotten perspectives is to 'islam'. identifies for his companions as the reflect more deeply on just what it angel "Gabriel, who came to teach was that enabled the master ofShiraz et another fundamental feature the people their Religion" (Din, the to compress everything we have Y of the traditional Islamic arts ,primordial relationship between the discussed-and so much more-into and humanities-implicit in each of soul and its Creator). Nothing more these few lines: ~ the points mentioned above-was clearly highlights the culminating and the typical anonymity of their cre­ guiding role of aesthetic perception The Musician/Composer of ators and the pervasiveness of those and creation-and the essentially Love has a wondrous cultural forms precisely among the spiritual understanding of the artist's instrument and song: most 'popular' and 'uneducated' el­ activity-Within this tradition. The The impression of each chord (S)he strikesl has its way ements of society. (As a visible stranger's first two questions are to a Place. emblem.. of this reality that once about the intellectual and ethico­ encompassed every area of social ritual dimensions of religion, which May the world never be with and communal life, one need only the Prophet answers by summariz- out the lament of lovers-­ think of the countless masterpieces . ing the objects of faith and the Such a beautifully harmonious of carpets and textiles woven by essential religious obligations of and joy-giving melody2 women from the most diverse tribal monotheism, prayer, charity and it has! ~d village settings:) One striking fas~g. Then Gabriel asks him "What indication of the' deeper truth of the is il;Jsan?", the perception and real­ Koranic perspective is the way that ization of what is truly beautiful and the actual concrete realization of good. Mu1)ammad's reply is usually these essential spiritual virtues, translated as "To serve God as though whether in the 'arts' or any other you see Him; and even if you did area of human life, seems to have not see Him, surely He sees you." remarkably little to do with the formal But the last part of his reply can also Notes learning and 'official' religious ide­ be translated even more revealin°gly: 1. Also: "each veil(S)he removes/setsup... ologies of the past or present. "...and ifyou are not, then you do 2. AlsQ: 'intention' and 'air, atmosphere'.

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