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 Autumn 2000 15 SUFI Remembrance and Repetition: Spiritual Foundations of Islamic Art 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 16 Issue 47 James W. Morris SUFI 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.