Voices of Islam (192 page)

The Art of Qur’an Illumination
43

contains mysteriously everything, being no less than the Uncreated Word of God. We will come back later to this apparent contradiction.

From the point of view of descent, it is this instrument that the
Sura
palmette may be said to portray. Nor does this constitute a change of meaning inasmuch as the Pen, no less than its ‘‘consort’’ the ‘‘Guarded Tablet,’’ is in the direct line of the descent of the Revelation and therefore virtually identical with it. It is simply a question of two directions, and the ‘‘neutral’’ horizontality of the palmette allows for its application to both.

The verse of the tree speaks of ‘‘its branches in Heaven.’’ The palmette in the margin is as near to a direct illustration as this art will allow. In other words, it is a reminder that the reading or chanting of the Qur’an is the virtual starting point of a limitless vibration, a wave that ultimately breaks on the shore of Eternity, and it is above all that shore that is signified by the margin, toward which all the movement of the painting, in palmette, finial, crenellation and flow of arabesque is directed.

Another symbol which expresses both perfection and infinitude, and which is intimately, though not apparently, related to the ‘‘tree,’’
7
is the rayed sun. Again and again the Qur’an refers to itself as light
8
or as being radiant with light, and many periods of Qur’an illumination can give us examples of marginal verse counts inscribed in circles whose circumferences are rayed or scalloped. The solar roundels,
shamsa
or ‘‘little sun’’ is used also of stellar ornaments, and occasionally replace the rosettes which divide the verses, and the rosettes themselves are often made luminous with gold. Sometimes the symbolism of light is directly combined with that of the tree, as when a solar roundel appears inside the
Sura
palmette,
9
or when the palmette itself is rounded and rayed, with its lobe replaced by an outward pointing fi There are other variants of the same combination, and what has already been said about the two directions applies equally here, for the Revelation is not only a shining of light from the next world, but it also throws its light toward the next world by way of guidance; nor can this reversed reintegrating light be separated from the soul’s spiritual aspiration, which is likewise figured by everything that points to the beyond.

Related in more ways than one to the tree are the arabesques with which the palmettes, the roundels and other marginal ornaments are fi

and which often serve as a surrounding frame for the main part of the page. Being vineal rather than arboreal, the arabesque does not by its nature point out a way, though it can give a clear indication of tendency,
10
and that is certainly one of its main functions in Qur’an illumination. At the same time, in virtue of its elusiveness, it constitutes in itself a mysterious and supraformal presence. It is also, like the tree, a vital presence and, where it is a background for the script, it serves to heighten the effect of the letters as vehicles of the Living Word. Moreover, as a portrayal of rhythm, by its constant repetition of the same motifs, in particular the small palmette, at regular intervals, it suggests rhythmic Qur’an recitations, which

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take place, we are told, not only on earth but throughout all the degrees of the universe.
11

In this context, mention must also be made of the symbolism of certain numbers and their geometrical equivalents. Nine and three, like the circle and the triangle, are worldwide symbols of Heaven, their earthly complements being the number four and the square or the rectangle. The rectangular setting of the Qur’anic text thus signifies the terrestrial state which has been penetrated by the Revelation, and in most periods we fi

examples of a semicircular or triangular anse attached to the outer or ‘‘beyond’’ side of the rectangle, or to its summit. In either case it can only be the celestial dimension of the text which is indicated. The exact architec- tural equivalents are in the two varieties of
qubba,
the hemispherical dome of the Eastern mosque and its pyramidal equivalent in the Maghrib.

It may be asked why, if the founders of the tradition desired certain effects, they did not use more directly imperative means. To give the impression of light, for example, why did they not surround their ornaments and the text itself with broad golden rays, instead of the delicate antenna-like finials which, though occasionally red, are more often black or brown or blue? The answer is not only that the illuminator does not wish to ‘‘raise his voice’’ above that of the Qur’an but also that he particularly wishes to avoid any such obviousness as might cause a premature crystallizing of the imagination and thus fatally arrest the soul from continuing to penetrate more deeply in the required direction. Inevitably, the more obvious impression of light has been attempted; analogously, there is a tenth/sixteenth-century Western Qur’an
12
in which the illuminator has replaced the palmettes by naturalistic tree branches. But such experiments merely serve to make one appreciate all the more the subtle and incalculable power of the traditional stylised symbol, which the craftsman has only to follow, ‘‘blindly’’ or not, as the case may be. It must also be remembered that the whole purpose of illumination is to recall the higher or deeper dimension of the text. The relationship between the ‘‘hidden book’’ and the fully revealed Qur’an is one of majesty to beauty, of contraction, or reserve, to expansion, and, however, paradoxical it may seem, illumination, being there to remind us of the ‘‘hidden book,’’ has an overall function of majesty in relation to the beauty of the text. This holds true
13
even when the illumination is at its most beautiful and when the text

is written in a particularly majestic style.

Color is used toward the same ends as form. Gold was the initial element, and after a short period of fl ation, that is, by the middle of the tenth century
CE
, blue had been given a marked precedence over both green and red, and it was soon raised to the level of parity with gold in the East, whereas in the West, gold retained its original supremacy with blue as secondary. The importance of these two colors can be gauged by the fact that whatever extra pigments might be added, it was nearly always in a subordinate capacity. Moreover, in almost every style and age, one is likely to find a Qur’an in

The Art of Qur’an Illumination
45

which the illuminations consist exclusively of blue and gold, and this same exclusiveness is liable to be a feature of certain pages in any Qur’an even where polychrome illuminations are to be found on other pages.

Blue is the color of the Infi which is identical with Mercy, for ‘‘My Mercy embraceth all things’’ (Qur’an 7:156). The great symbol of this Infi is the all-surrounding sky. The relevant Divine Name,
al-Rahman,
the fi t of the two Names of Mercy, has been well translated ‘‘the Infinitely Good,’’ for it expresses the essential ‘‘roots’’ of Mercy. At this level, mercy, revelation, and religion are one. We have here what might be called the ‘‘feminine’’ aspect of Providence
14
or more precisely the ‘‘maternal’’ aspect. Thus the supreme archetype of Revelation is termed the ‘‘Mother of the Book’’ (Qur’an 13:39) and in this connection it may be noted that the most simple word formed from those letters which have the basic meaning of mercy,
ra’, ha’, mim,
is
rahim,
‘‘womb.’’
15
Closely related to
al-Rahman
is the Name
al-Muhit,
the All-Embracing, and by extension, the word
muhit
also means ‘‘ocean.’’
16

As a symbol of Infi Mercy, the sea is, in fact, second only to the sky itself, whose color it takes and assimilates, and in particular connection with the All-Embracing, another feature of Qur’an illumination must be mentioned; so prevalent that many have suspected a ‘‘superstition,’’ namely the use of blue for the outermost edge, both in individual ornaments and where there is a border to the text. One has the impression of an unwritten law that blue must have the last word, and enough has been said to make it clear why such a circumscription is no limitation.

If blue liberates by Infi gold liberates because, like the sun, it is a symbol of the Spirit and therefore virtually transcends the whole world of forms. Gold, by its very nature, ‘‘escapes’’ from form to the point that a cal- ligrapher writing in gold has to outline his letters with black in order to make them formally effective. As the color of light, gold is, like yellow, intrinsically a symbol of knowledge. Extrinsically, it means teaching or manifestation. Blue in the presence of gold is therefore Mercy inclined to reveal itself.

This brings us to the second Name of Mercy,
al-Rahim,
which signifi Mercy manifested and which we translate ‘‘the All-Merciful’’ since linguisti- cally it is an intensive form of
rahim,
merciful, though less intensive than the name which precedes it. If it be asked why the illuminators did not revert from blue to green,
17
which is the color of Mercy manifested (being the result of the mixture of the colors of intrinsic mercy and of light), it might be answered that the Qur’anic text itself takes the place of green. This is no reason why green should not make a parallel appearance. But in his overall fidelity to blue, which takes religion back to its first origins, the illuminator assents to a typically Islamic ellipsis whereby the whole process of revelation is as it were folded back into its principle, with nothing between primary cause and ultimate effect. Islam loves to dwell on the roots of things; the chapter that is named after the ‘‘cause’’ in question,
Surat al-Rahman,

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begins with an ellipsis in the opposite direction: ‘‘The Infinitely Good taught the Qur’an’’ (Qur’an 55:1–2). To say that blue and gold are the equivalents of the subject and the verb of this sentence is to sum up all that has so far been said about color in Qur’an illumination.

Blue and gold are opposite enough to enhance each other greatly. But in the triple domain of primary color, perfect balance cannot come by two, but only by three. To take two of the colors and to leave out the third or to reduce it to being a mere auxiliary means that the scales will necessarily be tipped one way or another, but this can be a way of gaining or heightening a required effect. Gold has the exaltation to balance the depth of blue, but not being a hot color, its mere warmth does not level out the coldness of blue. The resulting overall coolness does much to contribute to the total effect of holiness.
18

Of all the features of illumination so far touched on, fine examples are to be found considerably before the close of the thirteenth century. That date is mentioned here chiefly because it marks the end of an era, or more precisely because the end which had in fact taken place some 50 years previously had time by the turn of the century to make itself felt in the domain of art. Moreover, for reasons not unconnected with what brought the era to a close, the year 700/1300 or thereabouts forms a kind of barrier on the far side of which Qur’an manuscripts are relatively rare. Inestimable treasures must have been destroyed by the Mongol invaders who sacked Baghdad
19
in 1258, perhaps even more than had already been destroyed in the course of the Crusades. But, as if by compensation, the new era seems to have brought with it a fresh impetus, which had its effect on Qur’an calligraphy.

NOTES

This chapter is taken from
Splendours of Qur’an Calligraphy and Illumination
(
©
2005 Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation, all rights reserved). It is reproduced with minor modifications with permission from the Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation and the Lings estate.

1. Particularly important is Richard Ettinghausen’s ‘‘Manuscript Illumination’’ in
   A Survey of Persian Art,
   vol. III (London, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1939), 1937–1974.
   

2. Frithjof Schuon,
   Understanding Islam
   (Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom Books, 1998), 60.
   

3. We are here at the very roots of the question, and it may be inferred from this that the relative absence of the ‘‘living’’ fi element in all the central arts of Islam has causes which are far more profound and more positive than is generally supposed.
   

4. It goes without saying that this reference here is not to every artist or craftsman but to the small minority of ‘‘founder-artists’’ whoever they may have been. Once the tradition had been established it would simply have been followed, with more or less
   

   The Art of Qur’an Illumination
   47
   

   understanding but without question, by generation after generation. Nor does this chapter claim, by putting certain trains of thought into the minds of its readers, to reproduce the mental processes of the pioneers themselves. Inspiration tends to fold up thought, and all that the following paragraphs can presume to do is to note some of the more obvious relevancies of Qur’an illumination to the Book it illuminates, in the knowledge that sacred art is providentially, by definition, the most strictly relevant art in the world. It would be beside the point and void of interest to say that such and such an artisan may well not have had some particular intention or other. At this artistic level, any correspondence that strikes the intelligence of one who contemplates the work in question is the proof of an intention
   in divinis.
   

5. There are two main varieties of this symbol; the heavier and more complicated form with its cumbersome protruding petals or wings had a period of ascendancy, fortunately never exclusive, from the ninth to the eleventh centuries
   CE
   . But it was eventually superseded altogether by the simpler and more stylised palmette which is incomparably the more effective, and which itself may be subdivided into two varieties according to whether its roundness be suddenly or gradually tapered to its lobe.
   

6. The importance of this ornament is tragically demonstrated whenever, as is all too often the case, a binder in trimming the pages of an old manuscript has trimmed away the lobes of the palmettes. How little has been lost, and yet how much!
   

7. For this relationship, see Rene´ Gue´non,
   The Symbolism of the Cross
   (London, U.K.: Luzac, 1958), 52; and Martin Lings,
   Symbol and Archetype
   (Cambridge, U.K.: Quinta Essentia, 1997), 90–94.
   

8. For example, ‘‘We have sent down to you a clear light’’ (Qur’an 4:174) and ‘‘We have made it a light whereby We guide whom We will’’ (Qur’an 42:52).
   

9. These luminous palmettes are suggestive of another Qur’anic tree, the one that feeds the lamp that is the symbol of the Divine Light of which the Qur’an itself is an aspect: ‘‘a sacred olive tree that is neither of the East nor of the West; its oil well-nigh blazeth in splendour though the fire hath not touched it’’ (Qur’an 24:35).
   

10. As is found in the powerfully extroverted arabesque.
    

11. The Qur’an mentions the angels as reciting its verses (Qur’an 37:3). For a profound and relevant comment on this passage, see Rene´ Gue´non, ‘‘The Language of the Birds,’’ in
    Fundamental Symbols
    (Cambridge, U.K.: Quinta Essentia, 1995), 39.
    

12. 1522 in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. See A. J. Arberry,
    The Koran Illuminated
    (Dublin: Hodges Figgis, 1967), plate 47.
    

13. It could almost be said that when it ceases to hold true, this is the beginning of decadence.
    

14. This manner of speaking must not be taken too exclusively since truth and wisdom belong to this aspect and blue is one of their symbols, but they cannot be called specifi lly ‘‘feminine.’’ See also the author’s chapter on ‘‘The Symbolism of the Triad of Primary Colours,’’ in
    Symbol and Archetype
    (Cambridge, U.K.: Quinta Essentia, 1997).
    

15. Not unanalogous is the iconographical connection in Christianity between the color blue and the Virgin Mary, who may be considered as the supreme human manifestation of the principle in question.
    

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    Voices of Art, Beauty, and Science
    

16. Also relevant is the connection, we might almost say symbolic identity in certain respects, between Mary and the sea.
    

17. Astrologically, the color blue corresponds to the planet Jupiter, ‘‘the greater benefi and green to Venus, ‘‘the lesser benefi and there is a certain analogy between these two principles and the two Names of Mercy
    al-Rahman
    and
    al-Rahim.
    

18. The phrase ‘‘coolness of the eyes’’ means ‘‘delight’’ in Arabic and is especially connected with the joys of Paradise. But needless to say, red is also related to spiritual joy, and sometimes, especially in the Islamic West, the illumination on a page is almost entirely red and gold, but here also the outermost edges are blue.
    

19. For just over 500 years, since 750
    CE
    , Baghdad had been the cultural and administrative center of the Islamic world, but after 34 days of destruction it never reached this status again. Nonetheless, Islam was able to absorb its conquerors.