Islamic Worldview Expressions Islam is a profoundly aesthetic worldview and one cannot judge it fairly, if it is approached only rationally.

The heart of Islam is submission to the total will of Allah, The word. Islam, means submission and the name contains the central idea! full and complete submission to the will of "od. An adherent is called a #uslim, one who has made the submission. The central expression of Islam is the greatness of "od alone. $ecause Allah is great and sovereign, all the world and all human affairs belong to him. %ince Allah is truly sovereign, what he has established for all of society, law, ethics, government, is just as important as the religious commandments, and inseparable from them. %o Islam is experienced as a total and indivisibile way of life. It is consistent with the basic premise! the absolute sovereignty of "od over all situations and over every atom of the universe&so whenever possible #uslims not only establish #uslim worship, but create #uslim societies under #uslim rulers based on 'ur(anic law. #uhammad, the founder of the Islamic worldview, lived in Arabia )*+,-./ 0.E. 1e was born and raised in the city of #ecca. Its holy sanctuary, which drew numerous pilgrims, was the home of many polytheistic gods and the resting place of a sacred blac2 stone, probably meteoric, believed to be from heaven. 1is family was part of the prestigious 'uraysh tribe, custodians of the sacred places of #ecca. When he was twenty,five he entered the service of 3hadijah, a wealthy widow older than he. 1e married her, and she bore his daughter 4atima. 5ntil he was about forty, his life was not much different from that of other merchants. Then, however, he found himself going off alone into the mountains more and more to devote himself to meditation. About the year -66 #uhammad began to have a remar2able series of experiences in the mountain caves. A mysterious dar2ness would come over him, then the luminous figure of the archangel "abriel would appear and recite words to him, which he could remember clearly. These words were first of all about the unity of "od who abominates idolatry and will judge the earth on a day of fire and anxiety. This "od calls upon all men to accept his sovereignty. #uhammad from the beginning had doubts about whether he had a divine revelation. 1is wife comforted and supported him. 1e was finally convinced that he had a divine vocation and he defended his initial experience with these words from the 'ur(an. $y the star when it setteth, 7our compatriot erreth not, nor is he led astray. 8either spea2eth he from mere impulse. The 'ur(an is no other than a revelation revealed to him! 9ne terrible in power taught it him, Endued with wisdom. With even balance stood he In the highest part of the hori:on! Then came he nearer and approached, And was at the distance of two bows or even closer, And he revealed to his servant what he revealed, 1is heart falsified not what he saw.

What; Will he then dispute with him as to what he saw< =%urah ).> #uhammad preached that Allah was no longer to be regarded as a high god who lived among other gods. 1e was uni?ue. 1e was a righteous deity who passed judgment on the sinner! When the sun shall be folded up, And when the stars shall shoot downwards,And when the mountains shall be set in motion, And when the camels ten months gone with foal shall be abandoned, And when the wild beasts shall be gathered together, And when the seas shall be swollen, And when souls shall be paired with their bodies, And when the damsel that had been buried shall be as2ed 4or what crime she was put to death, And when the leaves of the $oo2 shall be unrolled, And when the heaven shall be stripped away, And when hell shall be made to bla:e, And when paradise shall be brought near, Every soul shall 2now what it hath produced. $ut #uhammad(s "od was also merciful. Though terrible to the unfaithful and overwhelming in his glory to the pious, he was loving and compassionate. The "od of mercy hath taught the 'ur(an, 1ath created man, 1ath taught him articulate speech. The sun and the moon have each their times, And the plants and the trees bend in adoration, And the heaven he hath reared it on high@ and he hath appointed the balance, That in the balance ye should not transgress@ Weigh therefore with fairness, and scant not the balance. And the earth he hath prepared for the living tribes@ Therein are fruits and the palms with sheathed clusters, And the grain with its hus2 and the supports of life. 8inian %mart echoed the views of most scholars when he observed that there is a strong analogy between the visions of the 9ld Testament prophets and those of #uhammad. The term nabi, which in the 1ebrew scriptures is used as a term for prophet, was applied to #uhammad. Ai2e the ancient 1ebrew prophets, #uhammad had not only some direct experience of the numinous power of "od, which led him to affirm Allah(s uni?ueness@ he also spo2e typically through a form of impassioned utterance which was framed in verse of religious power. Arabic poetry flowed from his lips. 4or ten years #uhammad implored his fellow citi:ens in #ecca to obey this call to acceptance of the oneness of "od, but with little success. Indeed, it seemed to many that his fervent message threatened the lucrative polytheistic culture, and #uhammad found his position in #ecca untenable. In -// he accepted an invitation from the city of 7athrib =now #edina> to teach there. 1is journey, called the hejira, is the date from which the #uslim calendar begins. The #uslim year is made up of 6/ lunar months and is conse?uently some eleven days shorter than the solar 0hristian year. The #uslim months retrogress through the seasons every thirty two and one,half years. %o the month of fasting, Bamadan, can be midwinter when a #uslim child is born and midsummer when she is sixteen years old. In the ten years that remained to him #uhammad brought all Arabia, including #ecca, under his control. 1e became at once the religious leader of the Arabs, and their political ruler and military commander. The

revelations continued right up to his death. Islamic Crimary #yth! The 'ur(an These revelations constitute the 'u(ran, the %cripture of Islam. The 'ur(an is not a collection of diverse material from over many hundreds of years. It was all delivered in a period of no more than twenty,two years through one man. It is a boo2 of proclamation, proclamation of the oneness and sovereignty of "od, of his coming judgment, of man(s need to submit. It also presents a #uslim view of previous religious history, especially the earlier prophets such as Abraham, #oses, and Desus. It is said to be untranslatable and to be of incomparable beauty of rhythm and expression. It is supposed to represent the personal style of Allah, to reveal how "od thin2s and feels. It is li2e a series of paintings, all of the same subject. It begins with the following prayer which sums up its basic spirit! In the 8ame of Allah, the 0ompassionate and #erciful Craise be to Allah, Aord of the 0reation, The 0ompassionate, the #erciful, 3ing of Dudgment day; 7ou alone we worship and to 7ou alone we pray for helpE "uide us to the straight path. The path of those whom 7ou have favored. 8ot of those who have incurred your wrath, 8or of those who have gone astray. The 'ur(an was revealed to the Crophet #uhammad in Arabic. It originally was not written down. Instead it was transmitted through recitation and memory. The Crophet himself was the first transmitter and it was said that once a year he recited the 'ur(an =as much as had been revealed> twice in the same way. At the same time he would also recite parts of it for various Arabian tribes in their local dialects. Fariations could thus arise from two sources, the faulty memory of those who heard the standard recitation, and the variants associated with different tribes. After #uhammad(s death variants began to proliferate to such an extent that the third 0aliph (5thman =-GG,-)- 0.E.> ordered one Hayd ibn Thabit to compile a standard edition based on copies made by the first 0aliph, Abu $a2r =-./,-.G 0.E.>. 0ertain variations were allowed in this edition, but only in the 'uraysh, the dialect of the Crophet. All other 'uranic manuscripts were ordered destroyed, and the official written text, called the 5thmanic codex, was sent to the centers of Arab power, #ecca, #edina, Iamascus, $asra, 3ufa, and 7emen. 8evertheless, unofficial reading traditions continued, each with their own variants and peculiarities, and these formed the basis of a great deal of commentary =secondary myth> by the 'uranic exegetes, most notably by 4arra(. As late as the ninth century boo2s were written collating as many as /) different versions. 1owever, even many Arabs who supported the different reading traditions against the standard text put a limit on the number of reliable variants, and a core of seven variants, al,?iraa(aat al,sab(a, were set down by Ibn #ujahid =J)K,K.) 0.E.>.

1e remar2ed that a degree of standardi:ation was re?uired among variants because among traditional variants were included those of readers who did not understand correct grammar, those who memori:ed badly, those who 2new only the grammar, those who had learned from misinformed teachers, etc. The 'ur(an was meant to be recited and so heard. 1ence it has an aesthetic dimension that is lost in translation. "eorge 4oot #ore attempted an imitative translation of an early %urah =K.> to give the reader some notion of the form which he described as the rhymed sing,song in which the heathen soothsayers were wont to couch their responses. / $y the bright day And the night without ray, Thy Aord forsa2es not nor casts thee away. The hereafter the present will more than repay@ Thy Aord will give, nor say thee nay. 4ound he thee not an orphan and became thy stay, 4ound thee wandering and set thee on the way, 4ound thee poor and did thy wants allay< Therefore the orphan do not thou gainsay, 8or the beggar drive away@ $ut the goodness of the Aord display. The rhyme and alliteration made for pleasant acoustical effect and contributed to easy memori:ation. 0onsider again the lines in which #uhammad is said to have received his first revelation =surah K->! Becite in the name of your Aord who created, created man from a clot of blood. Becite 7our Aord is most glorious, Taught through script, Taught man what he 2new not. The sensuous character of the 'ur(an can perhaps be understood by observing how verses were used in decorating mos?ues. The basic architectural principle of the mos?ue is as distinctive and as beautiful as that of the "ree2 temple. "ree2 temples typically were constructed on hills from which one could see the #editerranean. Even when no such hill was present, the "ree2s would choose a site with some care and usually in a place that would be beautiful even without the temple. The basic conception of the mos?ue is that of an oasis in the desert. A large court with some water and often also trees in it is part of the whole design. As soon as one enters this court, one abandons urban life and retreats to the desert where Islam was born. A sense of space, of tran?uility under the sun is as

important as the building itself. The first function of the mos?ue is that its exterior must contribute to this sense. It is meant to be seen not only from a distance as part of a s2yline but also from nearby, not merely as one wal2s toward it to go inside but also as one sits or prays outside. The interior provides shade and coolness and a sense of spaciousness. There is no gathering of objects or clutter. Emphasis is on emptiness. There are no idols, no statues, no paintings. There may be old rugs on the floor, and one leaves one(s shoes outside. It is a place for meditation and studying the 'ur(an. #uhammad did not often use metaphors. There are few moments when the prophetic voice is not urgent and demanding. Even when describing harvests, the vision fades into the image of fields shorn by the sic2le of Allah! The similitude of the earth is as a golden robe %uch as the earth wears when watered by the rain, And the harvest ripens for men and beast together! $eautiful is the earth with her adornments; Woefully do men believe themselves her master! Then cometh 9ur commandment stealthily in the night, 9r in broad daylight We utter the command, And ma2e her barren, laying her waste, As though she had never blossomed in her day. %urah x 1e represents a stern and unrelenting deity, suspicious of men and demanding the absolute submission of men. %ubmission =islam> under its various forms is the continual study of #uhammad. 8early always #uhammad uses the image of the patriarchal Abraham, archetypal submitter. #uhammad never doubted that war was a blessed thing when fought in the cause of faith. Again and again in the 'ur(an he urges his followers to implacable war! %lay them wherever you find them, and drive them out of the places they drove you from. Idolatry is worse than war. $ut do not fight them within the precincts of the #os?ue unless they first attac2 you there@ but if they attac2 you there, then slay them. %uch is the reward of unbelievers. If they mend their ways, 2now that "od is forgiving and merciful. 4ight them until idolatry is no more, and "od(s religion is supreme. %urah ii $y precept and example he sanctified the sword. At the death of the prophet no one 2new what the future would bring. Almost alone and singlehanded #uhammad had brought the

Islamic state into being, and as far as anyone 2new he had made no recommendation for a successor. 1e had announced the law on all manner of subjects relating to daily life, but there was no law which related how the state should be ruled after his death, or how he should be buried, or what honors should be paid to him. Abu $a2r remembered that #uhammad had once told him! A prophet should be laid in the earth in the place where he dies. If #uhammad had not died in the hut of his favorite wife, the history of Islam might be very different. #any followers believed Ali would be elected to the vacant leadership position, for Ali was his adopted son, married to his daughter 4atima. $ut he was disli2ed by Ayesha, the wife in whose abode #uhammad died. Abu $a2r was then elected by acclamation and granted the title of 3alifa, or %uccessor. 1is famous inaugural sermon suggests the strengths of the man! Ferily I have become the chief among you, though I am not the best among you. If I do well, help me@ set me right, if I am in the wrong. 7ou shall show faithfulness to me by telling me the truth ,, to conceal the truth from me is treachery. The wea2 and oppressed among you shall be strong in my eyes, until I have vindicated their just rights, if the Aord wills@ and the strong among you shall be wea2 in my eyes, until I have made them fulfill the obligations due from them. 8ow hear2en to me! when the people abandon the fight =jihad> in the ways of the Aord, 1e casteth them away in disgrace. 3now also that wic2edness never abounds in any nation, but the Aord visiteth it with calamity. As I obey "od and and 1is #essenger, obey me@ but if I neglect the laws of "od and 1is #essenger, then refuse me obedience. Arise to prayer, and the Aord have mercy on you;. 0ombining Arabes?ue and Architecture The Iome of the Boc2 in Derusalem The mos?ue of The Iome of the Boc2 was finished in -K6 0.E. Its design and setting are magnificent. It is situated in a large court on the site where %olomon had built his temple in the tenth century, and where the Dews had built their second temple following the $abylonian exile. The Bomans devastated the area. 9mar, the second caliph, chose this site for a mos?ue. $ut the Iome of the Boc2 was actually built under the reign of Abd al,#ali2, who appointed some Dews as guardians of the temple mount, now called 1aram al,%harif = noble sanctuary >. The ban on idols and sculpture and painting of any representational character was due to Dewish influence. $ut there was also a 0hristian architectural influence. $oth the octagonal

shape of the Iome of the Boc2 and the dome surmounting it are found earlier in many 0hristian churches. The dome was copied from that of the church of the 1oly %epulcher, down to its measurements. $oth domes have been renewed several times, but that of the mos?ue 2ept its shape. The prototype for these domes was %t. %ophia. $ut the #uslims simplified the entire design. Their uncompromising monotheism rejected the three domes and three half domes and three tiers. Early mos?ues all had one dome. The explanation for the Iome of the Boc2(s construction held by the #uslim faithful is involved with the exegesis of the 'ur(an 6*.6! "lorified be 1e who carried 1is servant L#uhammadM by night from the masjid al,haram =#ecca> to the masjid al,a?sa Lthe farthest place of worshipM. Thus it might be suggested that the Iome of the Boc2 was built as a memorial of a specific incident in the prophet(s life. The architecture follows the tradition of 0hristian martyria, and resembles the structure commemorating the Ascension of 0hrist. Islamic tradition relates that in the year before going to 7athrib #uhammad received a visitation from the Angel. The 'ur(an contains only the above brief reference to the event. $ut tradition records that #uhammad was awa2ened in the depth of night by the Angel "abriel, who thundered! Awa2e, thou sleeper; 1e was da::led by the brightness of the Angel, and by the shining of a strange winged horse which had a human face. This horse was restless, but grew calm when #uhammad mounted it. Then in a flash the winged horse soared into the heavens in the direction of Derusalem, plunging to earth at #ount %inai and $ethlehem, where #uhammad offered prayers, and then the horse continued its progress. At the Temple in Derusalem the horse alighted, and #uhammad simply fastened it to the rings and entered the 1oly of 1olies to find Abraham, #oses and Desus praying together. 1e joined them for a space, but a ladder came down from heaven and he soared again toward the %eventh 1eaven and entered the house of the 0reator, where the light was blinding with incredible glory. There he was embraced by "od, whose face remained invisible in the annihilating brightness, yet he was made aware of the face as a presence, and he felt "od(s touch on his breast and shoulder, a touch which fro:e him to the heart and to the marrow of his bones. $linded and da::led, he stumbled from the divine presence@ the celestiaal ladder brought him with the speed of lightning to Derusalem, and with the same speed the winged horse returned him to the house of one of his converts in #ecca. This is the story #uhammad told and those who believe he was transported bodily point to the footprint in the Iome of the Boc2 in Derusalem where he leaped on his winged horse. "od is the Aight of the 1eavens and the earth. The similitude of 1is Aight is as a niche wherein is a lamp. And the lamp is within a glass,

And the glass as it were a pearly star. This lamp is lit from a blessed tree, And olive neither of the East nor of the West! Almost this oil would shine, though no fire touched it. Aight upon Aight, "od guideth whom 1e will to 1is Aight. And 1e spea2eth in parables to men, for 1e 2noweth all things. This Aight is revealed in the temples Which "od hath permitted to be raised in 1is name! Therefore men praise 1im in the morning and in the evening. Whom neither trade nor traffic divert from the remembrance of 1is name. As they offer prayers and ma2e payment of alms Through fear of the day when hearts and eyeballs shall roll, Mn hope of reward for their most excellent deeds. "od giveth 1is blessings without stint to whom 1e pleaseth. As for the unbelievers, their wor2s are li2e a mirage in the desert, And the thirsty dream of water, but find nothing there. $ut "od is present. 1e payeth them their due with swift rec2onings! 9r li2e the dar2ness of the ocean in a time of tempest, Wave riding upon wave, the clouds hovering over them! Aayer upon layer off dar2ness, %o that a man putting forth his hand scarcely sees it! 4or him there is no light when "od refuses 1is Aight. 1ast thou not seen how all things in 1eaven and Earth praise 1im< The very birds as they spread their wings praise 1im! Every creature 2noweth the worship and the praise, And "od 2noweth all their deeds. To "od belongeth the 3ingdom of 1eaven and the Earth, And unto 1im all things shall return. %urah xxiv There is nothing in the 'ur(an to e?ual this long surah uttered with the full breadth and sense of assurance. Terror lur2s in the text, but here it is 2ept at bay and the passion is spent. The Iome of the Boc2 has many inscriptions, at least three of which are 5mayyad. The major inscription is /G+ meters in length and runs above the arches of the inner octagonal arcade on both sides. The interior inscription is in six une?ual segments, each of which begins with the basmalah or invocation to the #erciful Allah. Each part, except for the one that has the date, contains a 'ur(anic ?uotation. The first part has surah 66/! %ay! 1e is Allah, the 9ne@ Allah the Eternal@ 1e has not begotten nor was 1e begotten@ and there is none comparable to 1im. The second part contains ...)G! Ferily Allah and 1is angels bless the Crophet@ 9 ye who believe, bless him and salute him with a worthy salutation. The third passage is from 6*.., the account of the 8ight,journey! And say! praise be to "od, Who has not ta2en unto 1imself a son, and Who has no partner in %overeignty, nor has 1e any protector on account of wea2ness. The fourth passage, -G.6 and )*./ reads! All

in heaven and on the earth glorify Allah@ to 1im is the 3ingdom@ to 1im is praise@ 1e has power over all things. The last and longest segment contains several texts. 4irst -G.6, -*./, and ...)G are repeated. They are then followed by G. 6-K,*6! 9 ye Ceople of the $oo2, overstep not the bounds of your religion@ and of Allah spea2 only truth. The #essiah, Desus, son of #ary, is only an apostle of Allah, and 1is Word which he conveyed into #ary, and a %pirit proceeding from 1im. $elieve therefore in Allah and his apostles, and say not Three. It will be better for you. Allah is only one Allah. 4ar be it from 1is glory that 1e should have a son. 1is is whatever is in the heavens, and whatever is on the earth. And Allah is a sufficient "uardian. The #essiah does not disdain being a servant of Allah, nor do the Angels who are near 1im. And all who disdain 1is service and are filled with pride, Allah will gather them all to 1imself. This ?uotation is followed by an invitation to prayer! Cray for your Crophet and your servant, Desus, son of #ary, which is followed by 6K..G,.*! And the peace of Allah was on me L#aryM the day I was born, and will be the day I shall die, and the day I shall be raised to life. This is Desus, the son of #ary@ this is a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It beseems not Allah to beget a son. "lory be to 1im. When he decrees a thing, 1e only says to it,($e,( and it is. And verily Allah is my Aord and your Aord@ adore 1im then. This is the right way. The long inscription ends with the text of ..6-,6*! Allah witnesses that there is no Allah but 1e@ and the angels, and men endued with 2nowledge, established in righteousness, proclaim there is no Allah but 1e, the #ighty, the Wise. The true religion with Allah is Islam@ and they to whom the %criptures had been given differed not until after the 2nowledge had come to them, and through mutual jealousy. $ut, as for him who shall not believe in the signs of Allah, Allah will be prompt to rec2on with him. Thus the inscriptions ma2e clear that one function of the Iome of the Boc2 was to be a reminder to the faithful and a guardian against defection. 4or at the same time these inscriptions were being etched, the 0hristians in the neighboring basilica of the 8ativity in $ethlehem were inscribing edicts from 0hurch councils, especially those asserting the trinitarian dogma.

The "reat #os?ue of Iamascus was formed at the start of the eighth century by converting the fourth,century church of %t. Dohn the $aptist, itself a former temple of Dupiter. This mos?ue dwarfed those of Derusalem. The eight sides of the Iome of the Boc2 measure -K feet each. The Aasa mos?ue is /-/ feet long. The mos?ue of Iamascus measures G.6 feet in length and was intended to be the greatest mos?ue in the world. Walid I is reported to have told the citi:ens of Iamascus! 7ou are preeminent over the rest of the world in four glories! light, air, gardens, and fruit. I have added the fifth! the mos?ue. This mos?ue has been destroyed by fires in 6+-K, 6G++, 6G*K, and 6JK., but always rebuilt again and again. The concept of the minaret originated at Iamasacus. The ancient enclosure had four s?uare watch towers at the corners which the caliph 2ept and put to a new use by having the calls to prayer sent forth from them. 9nly one of the four minarets of the "reat #os?ue remains. The "reat #os?ue of %amarra in #esopotamia, about -+ miles north of $aghdad on the Tigris river, was built by the Abbasids in the ninth century. Its court measures some *JG feet by )6/ and the outer walls are some J feet thic2. Isfahan is a splendid example of an artistic mos?ue. Isfahan is situated some /++ miles south of Teheran, almost halfway to %hira: and Cersepolis. It was a provincial capital in the Carthian empire, but did not become important until the %elju2 Tur2s made it the capital of their empire in the middle of the eleventh century. They initiated one of the great periods of art and built the 4riday mos?ue =#asjid,i,Dami>, the first and most impressive of the three mos?ues that ma2e Isfahan one of the most beautiful cities of the Islamic world. A major innovation in this mos?ue is the use of ivans, large vaulted niches closed on three sides but open to the central court on the fourth side. %maller niches were also fitted into low arcs and fitted into upright rectangles. The four walls that surround the great court consist of two tiers of such ivans, those above being of the same width as those below but with shorter sides and in the middle of each wall is a large ivan. The tiles show Islamic influence. What distinguishes the tile wor2 and other arts of Islam, including Cersian rugs, is the avoidance of representation and the virtuosity in the development of abstract decoration. 9rnamental use of Arabic inscription is fre?uently stunning, and the tiled domes of Isfahan provide abundant beautiful examples. When figures of men and animals finally appeared in Islamic art, care was ta2en to avoid the slightest suggestion of idolatry. 0arpets dared to show figures because one tread upon them. G 8evertheless most carpets did not use images of men or animals. #uhammad(s aversion to luxury was another element in forming Islamic aesthetics. The Arab society into which he was born loo2ed down on men who wor2ed with their hands. When the 3aaba in #ecca, a modest structure, burned down in -+), the #eccans summoned a "ree2 carpenter who was then on board a ship passing through

Duddah. This foreigner rebuilt the shrine with the assistance of a coptic craftsman. ) According to tradition, #uhammad said! Whoever drin2s from gold and silver vessels, drin2s the fire of hell. %o #uslims did not ma2e vessels of gold and silver. "radually substitutes began to be used. A film of golden luster would be added to pottery in the ninth century. Then thin pieces of gold and silver inlay in bron:e or brass appeared. In India the Taj #ahal has a fairy tale beauty about it, but the building is in the tradition of Islamic art. The monuments of Islam have more in common around the world than do those of other worldviews. #uslims hold that Islam is the ultimate religion. It is the religion of Abraham, the primal monotheism of the beginning, come bac2 in finali:ed form. It is the ultimate expression of religion because it is in fact the simplest and clearest. Islamic submission to oneness is expressed in part through the avoidance of shir2, idolatry, or putting other gods beside the 9ne. It is typified by the avoidance of images, and often of any representational art, in #uslim religion and culture. This is not a condemnation of the created world. Islam has little asceticism of this 2ind. It praises the joys of marriage and the table, and paradise itself is described in sensual terms. $ut these are gifts of "od, to be accepted and enjoyed for themselves with gratitude. #uslim expansion occurred for the most part without physical destruction and without massacres. As a result the sum total of art and material culture of the pre,Islamic world remained as such with its uses and associations intact. Islam also inherited a complex set of collective memories, legends, and myths, some as locali:ed as village cults, others involving heroic legends such as that of the Iranian hero Bustam or of %olomon. Thus the point of departure for Islamic art is the actual use by the #uslim world of its material, aesthetic, and emotional inheritance. 4rom early Islamic times arose an artistic principle that rejected the complex uses of representations in con?uered areas. In legali:ing iconophobia, it endowed it with moral rectitude. The following passage from the tenth,century writer Ibn #is2awayh can serve as an illustration. In listing vices, he mentions the see2ing of that which is precious and which is a source of dispute for all.... When a 2ing, for instance, owns in his treasury an object of rare ?uality or a precious stone, he thereby exposes himself to being afflicted by its loss. 4or such objects are unfailingly destined to be damaged when we consider the nature of the generated world and the corruption which wills that all things be altered and transformed and that all that is treasured or ac?uired become corrupted.... 5nable to replace La lost objectM with an exact e?uivalent, the 2ing becomes a prisoner

of necessity.This text suggests more than a rejection of representation and a conviction that all aesthetic creativity that is tied to the material world is vanity and evil. In this way Islamic attitudes, conditioned by historical circumstances, reached a rejection of art in the same way almost every puritanical reaction has done. According to the basic teaching of Islam! There is no divinity other than Allah = la ilaha il, Allah>. %o it is through the distinction of the different planes of reality that everything is gathered beneath the infinite vault of the %upreme 5nity. 4rom this point of view, it is thought to be a fundamental error to project the nature of the absolute into the relative. The primary source of this error is the imagination or illusion =al,wahm>. %o a #uslim sees in figurative art a contagious manifestation of this error. The image projects one order of reality into another. %o every artistic creation must be treated according to the laws of its domain of existence and must illustrate those laws. Architecture, for example, must manifest the static e?uilibrium and state of perfection of motionless bodies, typified in the regular shape of a crystal. The crude material is lightened and rendered diaphonous by the chiselling of the arabes?ues and by carvings in the form of stalactites and hollows. The abstract nature of Islamic art reveals as directly as possible 5nity in multiplicity. Art to the #uslim must be a proof of the divine existence in that it is beautiful without showing any subjective interpretation. Its beauty must be li2e that of the starry s2y. Arabes?ue In the arabes?ue, the typical creation of Islam, the geometrical genius meets the nomadic spirit. The arabes?ue is a 2ind of dialectic of ornament, in which logic is allied to a living continuity of rhythem. It has two basic elements, the interlacement and the plant motif. The former is a derivative of geometrical speculation, while the latter represents a sort of graphic formulation of rhythm, expressed in spiraloid designs which may possibly be derived not so much from plant forms as from purely linear symbolism. All suggestions of individual form are removed by the indefiniteness of a continuous weave. The repetition of identical motifs, the flamboyant movement of lines, and the decorative e?uivalence of forms in relif or incised, all contribute to the effect. 9rnament adorns monuments from many cultures. It is on the Ara Cacis in Bome, %t. %ophia in 0onstantinople, or any 0orinthian capital. The presence of ornament does not modify the meaning of the monuments on which they are found, but their absence is detrimental. %o as Islam forced on itself a number of limitations on what could be representational or iconographically significant, it paid more and more attention to ornament. Thus every new motif,

especially inscriptions, were elaborated. Fegetal elements dominate. While palmettes, half,palmettes, grape leaves and bunches, and rosettes are most numerous, almost every motif of vegetal origin found in classical, early $y:antine, %assanian, 0entral Asian, and possible Indian ornament can be found in Islamic art. The second 2ind of ornament involves geometric designs. Although vegetal and geometric themes predominate, animal, human, and epigraphical themes exist as well. $ut neither its si:e nor its internal forms dictate early Islamic ornament. It is arbitrary in itself. This arbitrariness is carried down to the level of design composition and is intended to separate an object(s surface from its shape. At least part of this involves the notion, lilah al,bagi, the Bemaining is to Allah. The implication is that arbitariness and lac2 of order are necessary because they prove divine permanence. 8o human creation can reflect physical reality because Allah alone ma2es everything permanent. Cygmalion(s sin, falling in love with his creation, is the great sin. %ince the artist must avoid imitating Allah, the artist becomes free to recompose the units of nature in any way she sees fit and the more arbitrary, the better. 4rom the eleventh century on Islamic art became more self assured. The formation of Islamic aesthetics can be thus seen as an accumulation and distribution of forms from all over the con?uered world. A choice was made among the visual languages, the forms or combinations of forms that could continue to serve in the Islamic setting in the midst of the preceding traditions. %o the generali:ed niche of the art of anti?uity became the mihrab@ coins lost all images and became covered with inscriptions@ animated representations disappeared from all that was private, and aniconic doctrine developed. Eventually a purely ornamental art dominated that part of the aesthetic wor2s available to the public. The noblest Islamic worldview expression ta2es the form of calligraphy, and it is the writing of the 'ur(an that is the sacred art par excellence. It represents the visible body of the Iivine Word. In sacred inscriptions the Arabic letters combine fluently with arabes?ues, especially plant motifs, which are brought into close relationship with the Asiatic symbol of the tree of the world. The leaves of this tree correspond to the words of the %acred $oo2. Arabic callibraphy contains within itself alone decorative possibilities of inexhaustible richness@ its modalities vary between the monumental 3ufic script with its rectilinear forms and vertical brea2s, and the nas2hi with its line as fluid and as serpentine as it could be. The richness of the Arabic script comes from the fact that it has fully developed its two (dimensions(! the vertical, which confers on the letters their hieratic dignity, and the hori:ontal, which lin2s them together in a continuous flow.* The Iivine Word must remain a verbal expression, and as such

instantaneous and immaterial, in the li2eness of an act of creation. 9nly this way does it preserve its evocative power. #anifested in time but not in space, speech avoids the changes effected by time on spatial things. Written sources do not indicate the existence of a teaching on the arts before the tenth century. Islamic Aiterature Within the Arabic literary tradition, both medieval and modern, women enjoyed a less prominent position than male authors. This does not mean women were excluded. There were prominent women poets, li2e the pre,Islamic al,32hansa( and the medieval Andalusian Wallada, as well as women mystics and scholars. $ut most female poets were the Islamic e?uivalent of geishas, the singing slave girls, whose social marginality and dubious respectability were witnessed by the treatment they received in textual sources. 0onse?uently few women authors came to be included in the history of Arabo,Islamic literature. In fact, the literature displays an interest in and fear of women. The ?uestion of the position of women in Islam has long fascinated the West. The image of women languishing under the yo2e of Islam titillates the Western observer and permits him to place himself in the superior position. Women and their role become a stic2 with which the West can beat the East. J The female narrator of The Thousand and 9ne 8ights, %hahra:ad, symboli:ed narrative power. 1er way with words and perceived ability to control discourse provo2e envy today.K The e2phrasis of The Thousand and 9ne 8ights, the frame of prologue and epilogue, is a powerful narrative. 4rom %hahra:ad(s perspective, the e2phrasis becomes a time,gaining techni?ue. %hehre:ad tempori:es by ma2ing one story follow another, until at last she has gained her victory. 6+ Iesire is the heart of the e2phrasis, but desire as a problem. 4or there are proper and improper desires. Thus one episode in which the two 2ings are deceived by their adulterous wives leads the two 2ings in unison to shout Allah, Allah.... Inna 2ayda2unna (a:im ="od, "od... Indeed your guile is great>. This is a ?uote from the 'ur(an(s twelfth surah, that of Doseph. The presence of this verse does more than allude to the story of the Egyptian ruler(s wife, her infatuation with Doseph, and the subse?uent accusations. It became a convention for alluding to the sexual tric2s of women. %hahra:ad differs from the females previously presented in the stories. They represented purely sexual physical desire in the most obvious ways possible. Their exploitive use of desire is part of the problem the vi:ier(s daughter is to correct. $ut her techn?i?e of ending the story at dawn so the listener is left in suspense could be seen as the ultimate in female seductive tric2ery. $ut the desire is elevated into a 2ind of desire that is not limited and can be extended and shared indefinitely.

Another common convention of early Islamic narrative is the attempted seduction of a holy man. In the #a2ayid al,8iswan are a number of examples. That of 4adlun can serve as a first illustration. The angel "abriel supposedly announced 4adlun(s ordeal to #uhammad before it happened. The ordeal would ta2e place in the reign of 5mar and only Ali, the Crophet(s cousin and son,in,law could help 4adlun. 4adlun was ordered by #uhammad to veil himself in order to avert the female ga:e and the possible problems that would ensue. $ut 4adlun had the misfortune of having a woman fall in love with him anyway. 1e rebuffed her advances, but she was clever and accused him of several evil actions. %he turned his nightlong prayers at the cemetery into grave robbing. 5mar, to solve the mystery, followed 4adlun and found that he spent his night in prayer and in self,flagellation. %o the woman next continued her tric2s during the pilgrimage. 4irst she attempted without success to have the holy man give her money to the poor in the holy city as redemption for her sin,to,be with him. Then, with the aid of her slave girl, she set the man up for theft. When the judgment of this act was delayed until the return from the pilgrimage, she murdered her own slave girl and accused 4adlun not only of the murder but of raping her as well. 4adlun made his pilgrimage in chains and when it was over, he was brought before the ruler, who ordered him to be beaten. Dust at the moment when the beating is to begin Ali appears, first in a dream and then in reality. Ali(s arrival is miraculous. 1e crosses the distance between 3ufa and #edina in a few steps. he tells 5mar that he believes in 4adlun and will demonstrate to the ruler a trial that will surprise the angels in heaven. he has the woman brougt in and as2s her about her accusations and her witnesses. 1er witnesses are numerous, but Ali as2s if she will go by the testimony of her fetus. %he agrees. Ali has a rod that belonged to the Crophet brought in, places it on her belly, and as2s the fetus to reveal the culprits of the various crimes. This the fetus does. 1is father is the woman(s blac2 slave@ his mother is the murderess and the one responsible for staging the theft. 5mar is pleased and Ali as2s that the woman(s punishment be put off until she has delivered the baby and nursed it. Ali is allowed to return to 3ufa, and 5mar waits until the birth occurs. 1er newborn is blac2 and dies on the spot. %he is 2illed and 4adlun lives happily ever after worshiping the #ost 1oly. The narrative bristles with sensitive issues! the political rivalry between 5mar and Ali, the collusion between #uhammad and Ali, the sexual liaison of the good woman and the blac2 slave,, but all this again stresses a fundamental ambiguity in the narrative that characteri:es Islamic art. The same body of stories contains an additional story of the same type. At the time of the ancient Israelites, there were six men who rejected the world and wanted to seclude themselves in the worship of the Almighty. The oldest suggested they see2 the

wilderness. They settled close to a city and said their prayers regularly, while managing to 2eep themselves alive by weaving and selling mats. Eventually the 2ing of Israel learned of them, who had a young daughter whose mother had died. The 2ing began to cry and when the daughter as2ed the reason, he replied that he wished to join the worshipers because this world was worthless. 1is daughter at hearing this also began to cry and as2ed how she could get along without him. 1e replied that women had no business sitting with men either by day or by night. The girl replied that she was young and had nothing to do with men, so why did not her father get her some men(s clothing and she could accompany him. The 2ing did this and the two went to join the seven worshipers. The daughter was believed to be a man and joined the men in their holy activities. The 2ing then fell deathly sic2 and enjoined his companions to ta2e care of his son. 9ne day while this young man was on his way to the city to sell mats, he was observed by the daughter of that city(s ruler. Ta2en by his beauty, she got her wet nurse to lure him to the house, on pretense that the nurse had a sic2 son who needed the youth(s religious intercession. Alone with the ruler(s daughter, the young man, invo2ing the deity, resisted her advances. 1e was let out and continued on his way to the mar2et. The young woman(s sexual urges got the better of her, however, and again with the aid of her wet nurse, she had intercourse with a man who impregnated her. The mother discovered the pregnancy, and the 2ing summoned his daughter. %he said that it was the young man with the seven worshipers who had done this. The 2ing had the police beat and bring the entire group before him. The worshipers insisted on the young man(s innocence and the 2ing decided to send him off alone to an isolated sector of the 2ingdom. The daughter(s newborn was sent there as well. When the young manEwoman prayed to "od that 1e should ta2e care of this child, the deity as2ed the angel "abriel to comission a ga:elle to ta2e care of the infant. The young manEwoman then as2ed "od to ta2e this child so it would not distract her from her prayers@ which was also done. 8ews of this worshiper reached the city and the seven original holy men as2ed the 2ing to return their young companion to them. This was also done. Eventually the young holy manEwoman became ill and his companious as2ed for a testament. This completed, and at their insistence that there had to be the ritual washing of the dead, the young mon2 re?uested that the eldest among them ta2e a 2nife and open the armor he was wearing. After that they could do with her what they wished. When death came, the re?uest was followed. The elder opened the breastplate and found himself loo2ing at a young woman(s chest. 1e dropped the 2nife and told the others of what he had seen. They told him to loo2 again, but he insisted that they call in the women of the city to handle the case. This was done, and it was discovered that she was indeed a woman. The 2ing reali:ed his crime and had her properly buried. 1e had his daughter

2illed and her head paraded around the city with words of warning. The narrator finishes the tale with a typicl warning! Aoo2, my brother, at the actions of women... . %o we see2 protection from "od from their guile. Indeed their guile is great. 66 This is a story that rivals 4adlun(s in complexity. Two 2ings with two daughters lay their fortunes across the text. 9ne ruler, in search of the deity, will provo2e the transvestism and cross,sexual role in his daughter. The other ruler, still in control of the city and his worldly 2ingdom, has a sinful daughter. The issue is not as clear as it would initially appear. The sexual ambiguity of the first 2ing(s daughter maintains much of the tension in the story. 1ow the narrator shifts from the masculine to the feminine gender when discussing herEhis activities tells us as much about the ultimate gender issues as the development of the story itself. ... The exclusive religious experience belongs to men. It is, therefore, only through her transvestism that the young woman can form part of this male group of worshipers.6/ Islam has a story of Adam and Eve. And recite to them the tiding of him to whom We gave 9ur signs, but he cast them off, and %atan followed after him, and he became one of the perverts. And had We willed, We would have raised him up thereby@ but he inclined toward the earth and followed his lust. %o the li2eness of him is as the li2eness of a dog@ if you attac2est it it lolls its tongue out, or if thou leavest it it lolls its tongue out. That is that people(s li2eness who cried lies to 9ur signs. %o relate the story@ haply they will reflect. =%urah *! 6*G,)> Islam recogni:es the sin, but does not see the effects as extending to others. And when the Aord too2 from the 0hildren of Adam, from their loins, their seed, and made them testify touching themselves, Am I not your Aord< They said, 7es, we testify ,, lest you should say on the Iay of Besurrection, As for us, we were heedless of this. 9r lest you say, 9ur fathers were idolaters aforetime, and we were the seed after them. What, wilt Thou then destroy us for the deeds of the vain,doers< =%urah *! 6*/,*.> %in is basically refusal to submit to the will of Allah revealed through the prophets, especially the last one, #uhammad.

#uslims claim that Islam brought improvement in the state of women. Eve was created by "od to be a helper and companion for Adam. Islam does not permit infanticide or abuse of women. Wives should be properly treated. Women can inherit and own property, but they are dependent on men. #an2ind fear your Aord, who created you of a single soul, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them scattered abroad many men and women@ and fear "od by whom you demand one of another and the wombs@ surely "od ever watches over you. "ive the orphans their property, and do not exchange the corrupt for the good@ and devour not their property with your property@ surely that is a great crime. If you fear that you will not act justly towards the orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four@ but if you fear you will not be e?uitable, then only one, or what your right hands own@ so it is li2elier you will not be partial And give the women their dowries as a gift spontaneous@ but if they are pleased to offer you any of it, consume it with wholesome appeties. $ut do not give to fools their property that "od has assigned to you to manage@ provide for them and clothe them out of it, and spea2 to them honorable words. Test well the orphans, until they reach the age of marrying@ then, if you perceive in them right judgment, deliver to them their property@ consume it not wastefully and hastily ere they are grown. If any man is rich, let him be abstinent@ if poor, let him consume in reason. And when you deliver to them their property, ta2e witnesses over them@ "od suffices for a rec2oner. To the men a share of what parents and 2insmen leave, and to the women a share of what parents and 2insmen leave, whether it be little or much, a share is apportioned@ and when the division is attended by 2insmen and orphans and the poor, ma2e provision for them out of it,

and spea2 to them honorable words. =%urah G! 6,K> A representative of the %ufi tradition, Dami =d. 6GK/ 0.E.> explains human all,comprehensiveness. The entities were all colored windows upon which fell the rays of $eing(s %un. In every window ,, red, yellow, blue,, the light appeared in the window(s color. The light of "od(s $eing ,, And "od(s is the highest li2eness L6-!-+M ,,is li2e sensory light, while the realities and immutable entites are li2e different colored pieces of glass. The variegations of the self,manifestation of the Beal within those realities and entities is li2e the diverse colors. The colors of light show themselves according to the colors of the glass, which is light(s veil. $ut in actual fact, light has no color. If the glass is clear and white, light appears within it as clear and white. If the glass is dar2 and colored, light appears dar2 and colored. At the same time, light in itself is one, simple, and all,encompassing. It has no color and no shape. In a similar way, the light of the Beal(s $eing has a self manifestation with each reality and entity. If that reality and entity should be near to simplicity, luminosity, and clarity ,, such as the entities of disengaged intellects and souls ,, $eing(s light appears in that locus of manifestation in extreme clarity, luminosity, and simplicity. If instead it is far from simpliciity, li2e the entities of corporeal things, then $eing(s light will appear dense, even though, in itself, it is neither dense nor subtle. 1ence it is 1e ,, exalted and holy is 1e ,, who is the true 9ne, free of form, attribute, color, and shape at the level of unity. And it is also 1e who manifests 1imself within the multiple loci of manifestation in diverse forms, in accordance with 1is names and attributes. Dami represents the sapiential tradition when he narrates the story of the creation of Adam from the 'ur(an =/!.+,.G>. The passage is ta2en from his mathnawi, %ilsilat al,dhahab. 1e precedes each poetical section with a short prose summary. Explaining that the children of Adam do not 2now their own perfection and imperfection, since they were not created for themselves. 9n the contrary, they were created for other than themselves. 1e who created them created them only for 1imself, not for them. 1e gave them only what would be proper for them in order to belong to 1im. Were they to 2now that they were created for their Aord, they would 2now that "od created the creatures in the most perfect forms.... Ceople always believe

that they were created for themselves. Whatever appears to them as appropriate, they consider to be good and perfect, $ut whatever they imagine as inappropriate they put into the category of imperfection. $ut this belief is error itself, since they were created for "od. The goal of their creation, whatever it might be, cannot be surpassed. In reality the human being(s perfection is that which is desired from his existence by "od. 4rom the existence of things "od only wanted the manifestation of 1is names or attributes. 8o matter what appears in the courtyard of the cosmos, the goal is manifesting the property of a name. If we suppose that a thing did not come to exist, how could the property of the name be shown< That is why the Crophet addressed his 0ompanion long ago, saying, If there were to appear from you no wor2 within which there was the taint of sin, "od would create people of error so that they might sin and err, And then as2 forgiveness for that sin, ma2ing manifest the property of the 4orgiver.6. Ahmad %amani =d. 66G+ 0.E.> gives a more poetical rendition of the same principle. 1e ?uotes "od(s hidden command to all things! 9 tree, put up your head next to Adam(s throne; 9 appetite for the fruit, enter into Adam(s heart; 9 accursed one, let loose the reins of your whispering; 9 Eve, you show the way; 9 Adam, don(t eat the fruit, have self,restraint; 9 self,restraint, don(t come near Adam; 9 "od, "od, what is all this< We want to bring Adam down from the throne of indifference to the earth of need. We want to ma2e manifest the secret of love. 9 servant, avoid disobedience and stay away from caprice; 9 caprice, you ta2e his reins; 9 world, you display yourself to him; 9 servant, you show self,restraint; 9 self,restraint, don(t come near him.; 9 "od, "od, what is all this< We want to ma2e the servant plead with 5s. We want to ma2e manifest 9ur attribute of forgiveness. 6G Islamic worldview expressions place human beings at center stage, not objectively but ?ualitatively. #uslims should see2 for 2nowledge in order to 2now "od, cosmos, and self. 3nowing self means 2nowing what it is to be human. 1ence the myth of Adam is a

constant point of reference. 8ajm al,Iin Ba:i =d. 6/)- 0.E.>, author of one of the great Cersian classics of %ufism, #irsad al,(ibad, narrates the story of Adam(s creation with attention to the ?ualities that tradition ascribes to human beings and other creatures. 1e expresses many of the major topics and explains how the divine attributes become manifest within human beings. The cosmos is fre?uently pictured as a circle made up of two arcs, the Arc of Iescent and the Arc of Ascent. The top of the circle corresponds to the Crime Intellect, while the bottom corresponds to the corporeal human body. 1umans begin ascending from the bottom point of the circle. "od said, I am about to create a mortal from clay L.J!*6M. The Crophet said, narrating the words of "od, I 2neaded the clay of Adam with #y two hands for forty days. 7ou should 2now that when it was desired to fashion the human frame from the four elements ,, water, fire, wind, and earth ,, these were not 2ept in the attribute of simplicity. Bather, they were carried down through the descending degrees. The first descending degree was that of compoundness, for the element at the stage of simplicity is closer to the World of the %pirits, as was explained. When it is desired to bring the element to the station of compoundness, it must leave simplicity behind and advance to compoundness. Thereby it moves one descending degree away from the World of the %pirits.... When it reaches the human station from the animal realm, it descends one more degree. There is no degree lower than the human person. This is the lowest of the low. .... The human frame belongs to the lowest of the low while the human spirit belongs to the highest of the high. The wisdom in this is that human beings have to carry the burden of the Trust ,, 2nowledge of "od. 1ence they have to possess the strength of both worlds to perfection. 4or there is nothing in the two worlds that has their strength, that it might be able to carry the burden of the Trust. They possess this strength through attributes, not through form. ....... In the 2neading of the clay of Adam, all the attributes of satans, predators, beasts, plants, and inanimate objects were actuali:ed. 1owever, that clay was singled out for the attribution of N#y two hands.( 1ence each of these blameworthy attributes was a shell. Within each was placed the pearl of a divine attribute. 7ou 2now that the sun(s ga:e turns granite into a shell that contains pearls, garnets, rubies, emeralds, tur?uoises, and agates.

Adam was singled out for I 2neaded the clay of Adam with #y two hands for the period of forty days, and according to one tradition, each day was e?uivalent to one thousand years. 0onsider then ,, for which pearl was Adam(s clay the shell< ..... Aove(s dew made clay of Adam(s earth, throwing uproar and tumult into the world, Aove(s lancet pierced the spirit(s vein ,, out fell a drop. They called it heart.6) The poet Bumi provides accounts of the human ascent from the inanimate to truly human. I died from the mineral 2ingdom and became a plant. I died to vegetative nature and attained to animality. I died to animality and became a human being. %o why should I fear< When did I ever become less through dying< 8ext time I will die to human nature, so that I may spread my wings and lift my head among the angels. 9nce again, I will be sacrificed from angelic nature and become that which enters not the imagination.6The goal of human life is to purify the soul and allow it to rejoin the world of luminosity from which it descended. This theme permeates Islamic expressions. We can ta2e Avicenna as a typical illusration of this aspect of Islamic worldview expression. 1e summari:es in one of his major wor2s! We have established the situation of the true Beturn. We have proven that felicity in the next world is earned by ma2ing the soul incomparable. To ma2e the soul incomparable is to 2eep it far from those bodily conditions that conflict with the causes of felicity. This ma2ing the soul incomparable is ac?uired by character traits and second natures. 0haracter traits and second natures are earned through specific acts. Their characteristic is that the soul turns away from the body and sense perception and constantly remembers its own %ource. When it 2eeps on going bac2 to its own Essence, it no longer receives the activity of bodily states.6* The 5mayyad dynasty, which originated from a #eccan family related to the Crophet, followed the rule of the fourth 0aliph and

shifted the seat of the Islamic Empire from #edina to Iamascus. Arabic literature, both prose and poetry, flourished in the 5mayyad period. 5mayyad literature expressed the life of the #uslim. The poetry reflected the political sciences, the battles, the courts, and Islamic expansion. An 5mayyad poet expressing his courage and love of heroism said! I fear that I might die in bed, and hope for a death under the points of full spears. A 2ind of pure love poetry emerged called 5dri ga:al. 9ne of the great poets is Damil who loved $uthayna. 9h, might it flower anew, that youthful prime And restore to us, $uthayna, the bygone time; And might we again be blest as we wont to be When thy fol2 were nigh and grudged what thou gavest me. %hall I ever meet $uthayna alone again Each of us full of love as a cloud of rain< 4ast in her net was I when a lad, and till This day my love is growing and waxing still. I have spent my lifetime, waiting for her to spea2, And the bloom of youth is faded from off my chee2@ $ut I will not suffer that she my suit deny, #y love remains undying, though all things die.6J In another poem Damil writes! They say! Ta2e part in the 1oly War =Dihad> Damil, go on a raid; $ut what jihad do I want besides the one that has to do with women< 0onversation in their company brings joy@ but each man who dies in their midst is a martyr. (5mar ibn Abi Babi(ah from #ecca was famous for his poems. 8ote how he expressed his feelings toward women in the following poem. Would that 1ind had fulfilled to us her promise, and healed our souls of their suffering; Would that she had acted independently for once; It is the wea2ling who does not act independently. They asserted that she as2ed our lady,neighbors, when she stripped herself one day to bathe, Io you see me to be as he describes me,, in "od(s name answer me truly; ,, or does he not observe moderation. Then they laughed together, saying to her, 4air in every eye is the one you love;

%o they spo2e out of an envy with which they were charged because of her@ and of old envy has existed amongst men. A young maiden is she who, when she discloses her cool lips, there is revealed from them teeth white as camomile,blossoms or hailstones. %he has two eyes whose lids contain an intense whiteness and blac2ness, and in her nec2 is a slender softness. Tender is she, cool in that season of heat when the vehemence of the summer has burst into flame. Warm in wintertime, a coverlet for a lad under the night when the bitter cold wraps him around. Well I remember when I spo2e to her, the tears running down over my chee2. I said! Who are you< %he answered, I am one emaciated by passions, worn out by sorrow. We are the people of al,3haif, of the people of #ina@ for any slain by us there is no retaliation. I said, Welcome; 7ou are the goal of our desire. 8ame yourselves now; %he said, I am 1ind. #y heart is destroyed by grief, and it yet comprehends a youth slim as a straight, true lance, clad in fine rainment. 7our people are indeed neighbors of ours, we and they are but a single thing. They told me that she bewitched me ,, how excellent is that bewitchment; Whenever I said, When shall be our tryst< 1ind would laugh and say, After tomorrow; 6K The 5mayyad period also produced many semi,%ufi poets li2e Babi(a al(Adawiyyah, a lady from $asra who died in Derusalem. 1er poems stress her love and devotion to "od. In one poem she says! Two ways I love Thee! selfishly, And next, as worthy is of Thee. (Tis selfish love that I do naught %ave thin2 on Thee with every thought@ (Tis purest love when Thou dost raise The veil to my adoring ga:e. The "olden Age of Islamic literature was the period *GK,6+)) 0.E. The year *GK mar2s the beginning of the Abbasid Iynasty which establishxed the seat of government at $aghdad. Coetry flourished in this period but became more sophisticated. Al,1asan ibn 1ani died in J+. 0.E. 1e is one of the figures of the Thousand and 9ne 8ights and was renowned for his command of Arabic language. 1is Anthology features poetry ranging from the devotedly religious to the totally secular. 1is poems about love and wine are considered by Arabists to be unparalleled. Thou scolder of the grape and me, I ne(er shall win thy smile; $ecause against thee I rebel, (Tis churlish to revile.

Ah, breathe no more the name of wine 5ntil thou cease to blame, 4or fear that thy foul tongue should smirch Its fair and lovely name 0ome, pour it out, ye gentle boys, A vintage ten years old, That seems as though (twere in the cup A la2e of li?uid gold. And when the water mingles there, To fancy(s eye are set Cearls over shining pearls close strung As in a carcanet./+ The poet Abu al,(Atahiyah was dubbed the father of religious poetry. In the following lines he expressed his dismay at this world. What ails me, World, that every place perforce I lodge thee in, it galleth me to stay< And, 9 Time, how do I behold thee run To spoil me< Thine own gift thou ta2(st away; 9 Time; inconstant, mutable art thou, and o(er the realm of ruin is thy sway. What ails me that no glad result it brings Whene(er, 9 World, to mil2 thee I essay< And then I court thee, why dost thou raise 9n all sides only trouble and dismay< #en see2 thee every wise, but thou art li2e A dream, the shadow of a cloud, the day Which hath but now departed, nevermore To dawn again@ a glittering vapor gay./6 The Andalusian poet Ibn (Arabi of #urcia who lived between 66-) and 6/G+ 0.E. represents the mystical bent of Andalusian poetry of the %ilver Age. #y heart is capable of every form A cloister for the mon2, a fane for idols, A pasture for ga:elles, the pilgrim(s 3a(ba, The Tables of the Torah, the 3oran. Aove is the faith I hold@ wherever turn 1is camels, still the one true faith is mine.// 9ne of the most important mystic poets was 9mar ibn al(4arid of 0airo =66J6,6/.)>. 1is anthology contains tens of mystical odes li2e this one titled, 9n a blind girl.

They called my love a poor blind maid! I love her more for that, I said@ I love her, for she cannot see These grey hairs which disfigure me. We wonder not that wounds are made $y an unsheathed and na2ed blade@ The marvel is that swords should slay, While yet within their sheaths they stay. %he is a garden fair, where I 8eed fear no guardian(s prying eye@ Where, though in beauty blooms the rose, 8arcissuses their eyelids close./. 0oming closer to the modern period, one of the important Calestinian poets is 4aadwa Tu?an. %he was born at 8ablus in 6K6* 0.E. %he wrote several boo2s and hundreds of poems mar2ing the struggle for Calestinian self,determination. 1ere are some lines from a poem entitled "one are those we love, written after the deaths of three Calestinian leaders by an Israeli raid on April 6+, 6K*.! 9ne eagle after another vanished into dar2ness. 9ne by one they were slain for having towered above the clouds. #otherland for your sa2e their blood was spilled li2e rosary beads of rubies slip. "one are those we love. Calestine in the seasons of your irremediable mourning you dran2 cups of absinthe we dran2 7our thirst was un?uenched ours eternal. Waterless we shall remain here at the mouth of the fountain till the day of their return with the ocean of dawns that they embraced@ A vision that 2nows no death A love that has no end./G The following by the contemporary %audi poetess 4aw:iyya Abu 3halid is called #other(s inheritance. #other, 7ou did not leave me an inheritance of nec2laces for a wedding but a nec2 that towers above the guillotine.

not an embroidered veil for my face but the eyes of a falcon that glitters li2e the daggers in the belts of our men. 8ot a piece of land large enough to plant a single date palm but the primal fruit of The 4ertile 0rescent. In the bundle of your will I thought I could find a seed from The "arden of Eden that I may plant in my heart forsa2en by the seasons. Instead 7ou left me with a sheathless sword the name of an obscure child carved on its blade. Every pore in me every crac2 opened up! A sheath. I plunged the sword into my heart but the wall could not contain it. I thrust it into my lungs but the window could not box it. I dipped it into my waist but the house was too small for it. It lengthened into the streets defoliating the decorations of official holidays Tilling asphalt Announcing the season of The 0oming 4east./) The short story provides a different 2ind of Islamic worldview expression. The %yrian writer Walid I2hlassi may be ta2en as an example. The Iead Afternoon The wall,cloc2 struc2 five, filling the house with its ringing. I was watching the swallows from my window as they crossed the city s2y, thousands of swallows, blac2 moving spec2s. The evening, meanwhile, prepared to occupy its place in a new day. #ay they find favor with "od, I said to my grandmother, who had finished her prayers. I was late performing the afternoon prayer, she answered sadly. 8ever mind, there will be other afternoons. #y grandmother did not hear me. I loo2ed at an enormous fly s?uatting on the outside of the window,pane. It

seemed to be defying me, sitting there so close to my nose. This fly has annoyed me all day, I said, and I haven(t been able to 2ill it. #y grandmother did not reply@ she had started on a new prayer. I was not conscious of the passage of time@ the fly had ta2en up so much of it. I had threatened it by tapping on the glass, but it had not stirred. Aoo2ing at my finger,nails and seeing that they were long, I produce a pair of scissors and began to pare them. The s2y was being engulfed in soft dar2ness, and the only sound to cut across my grandmother(s voice as she recited her prayers, seated in her ga:elle,s2in chair, was the cloc2 stri2ing six. #y young sister came in from the other room. Today we(ll be eating 2unafa with walnuts, she announced. I don(t li2e it. #y sister laughed. This morning you said you wanted 2unafa. I just don(t li2e it. Turning again to the window, I was surprised to find that the fly was still asleep. #y grandmother, caressing my young sister, said to her! Turn on the radio so we can listen to 4eiru:. We listened to her at midday, I said firmly. The dar2ness outside prevented me from seeing the swallows. Even so, though, I li2ed 4eiru:(s voice. We(ll listen to her again, said my grandmother. I did not reply@ I was contemplating the sleeping fly. A frightening thought occurred to me! what if one of them should watch me as I lay sound asleep< I heard my sister as2ing my grandmother to tell us the story of The %inging 8ightingale this evening and my grandmother saying, Iidn(t we finish it yesterday< The little girl cried out petulantly! 7esterday; 7esterday(s over. 7ou won(t hear the story of the singing nightingale any more, I whispered to myself and I was filled with sadness. I(ll tell you a new one today, said my grandmother. We don(t want a new story, exclaimed my sister. $ut the old one(s finished. It(s not finished, shouted my sister. I tried to excuse my sister, as she jumped off my grandmother(s lap and hurried out of the room, but I too felt annoyed@ I too wanted the old story. After a while I complied with my grandmother(s re?uest to switch on the radio, and searched round for a station. I found one as the cloc2 struc2 seven. This is Aleppo. I drew a veil of silence over the voice.

Aet(s hear the news, protested my grandmother. 4lic2ing through the pages of the morning paper, I said! It(s stale news. 8ew things may happen, my son, exclaimed the old lady, suddenly conscious of her age. I began reading the headlines! having already done so at midday they did not affect me. All at once I wanted to get out of that room, but I had nowhere particular to go, so I changed my mind and stayed where I was. The little girl returned with her large doll. Will you tell %u:anne a story< %he as2ed, loo2ing at her grandmother with a challenge in her eyes. The old lady laughed. I went bac2 to the window! the dar2ness had settled down completely in the vastness of the s2y. I felt a great desire to tease the sleeping fly coming over me. I no longer felt any resentment against it and had forgotten its impudence. Won(t you tell %u:anne a new story< as2ed my sister. The fact was that I did not 2now any story. Then I remembered one I heard on the radio at noon. I(ll tell you the story of The $ear and the 1oney. I replied. $ut it(s an old one, cried my sister. 0onfused, I returned to observing the fly. What is it< as2ed the little girl, coming towards me as I sat by the window. A sleeping fly. A sleeping fly< my sister as2ed, 2nitting her brows. Is that a new story< It(s asleep, it(s tired. Will you tell it to %u:anne< she said. All right, I(ll tell it. #y sister drew close to me. What are you loo2ing at< she demanded. I(m loo2ing at the fly. %he climbed on to a chair and stared at it. Then she proclaimed triumphantly in her shrill voice. $ut it(s dead; I felt uneasy as I loo2ed at the girl who was suddenly as tall as I was. It(s asleep. It(s dead; said my sister, ama:ed at my ignorance. I opened the window cautiously and blew softly on the fly@ it fell off li2e a wisp of paper. I remembered it flying around me, remembered that I had hated it and then loved it. Won(t you tell %u:anne the story of The %leeping 4ly < I didn(t answer her! I was listening to the stri2ing of the cloc2 which reverberated through the house./-

The harshness of the desert, the constant movement of the tribe from place to place in search of herbage, the anxiety experienced as a result of this unstable life, the necessary severing of love and friendship ties, the belief in the relativity of all values, the strong indulgence in life, the bitter consciousness of the immanence of death, the heroic attempts to relive the happy moments of the past, and the necessary striving for the immortali:ation of those moments! all these are components of the pre,Islamic vision./* The 6K*J novel al,8ihayat =Endings> by (Abd al,Bahman #unif/J echoes this view. The novel begins! Irought; It was drought, again. Iuring drought seasons, life and things change, even people. Their nature changes@ sorrows come into being deep down inside the heart@ initially they are vague, but when anger erupts ,, and that happens often ,, then they explode. The emphasis on the intense heat and dangers of travel in the desert, the difficult ?uest for food, all these and other features set this novel apart from some other Arabic wor2s. 8ovels written by Islamic authors tend to a large degree to ta2e as their subjects the city and its dwellers, especially the bourgeoisie. The setting of this novel is the village of al,Tiba on the desert edge. The hardships implicit in the life create strong ties among the inhabitants and summon home sons of the community who have sought fortunes elsewhere. $ecause hunting is a major source of food, the villagers resent city dwellers who come out to the village to hunt for sport. The environment is pictured for the reader with intimate detail. The chief character is the community as a whole, reflecting the Islamic sense of belonging. Individual actions are described but their import is always their contribution to the community. The first third of the boo2 is a description of the village, its environs, its people and their problems of sheer survival. Al,Tiba is described variously. 4or example, The people of al,Tiba 2now how to turn a tale in that remar2able way which ma2es things seem incredibly important@ it(s a trait which sons inherit from their fathers. In many people(s opinion it ma2es them special 2inds of people and even more gives them the ability to influence and even convince others./K The physical environment of the village

is where the desert starts ... to the south, the ground gradually loses color and limestone roc2s can be seen. It changes by stages until you come close to the hori:on and then there are sand dunes at first followed by the desert itself. This emphasis on the impersonal character of the village and its surroundings continues for several chapters. Eventually after a representation of a particularly cra:ed year of hunting we read the first mention of an individual, Assaf, at whose door the blame is laid for all this madness. That big lunatic, Assaf, he(s responsible for all the misery; .+ A period of particular difficulty moves the villagers who have gone to the city to send provisions of all 2inds and eventually return themselves. In this transition period there is a movement from general to specific time. That very afternoon towards the end of summer, four guests arrived in two cars, along with friends of theirs from al,Tiba. The stage is set for the series of events which ta2e up the rest of the novel. When the hunting expedition returns to the village with the dead body of Assaf and the men gather at the #u2htar(s house, the narrative mood changes. Time is now fro:en as the series of stories unfolds. They all concern animals. There is for example the story of a man who becomes frustrated in his attempt to shoot a mountain goat. 8ext day he finds it again and cannot understand why the animal is standing absolutely still. 1e shoots and immediately hears the animal scream. The sight is unforgettable! With a final bound he reached the spot, but before he could even get a glimpse of the goat(s horns, the little 2id had po2ed its head and a tiny part of its body out of its mother. %he was leaning a little over to the right, but she 2ept trying with all the strength she had to push the new creature into the light of the world@ she wanted to deliver it before she died. As she loo2ed at it, her eyes were full of tears;.6 9ther stories narrate episodes of hapha:ard and irrational slaughter of animals. The succession of stories which display man(s affection and admiration for animals, the traits which they show towards each other and toward humans, and the disgust at those who abuse and interfere with nature, that the death of Asssaf, who has all along warned them about such things and their conse?unces, now assumes proportions which turn the funeral into a collective purging of

the community. %uch is the emotion created by the all,night vigil, the return of so many of the village children from the city and the arrival of others from neighboring regions that the village women, of whom absolutely nothing is heard throughout the wor2, appear at the grave site and begin a mournful chanting and dancing. The novel ends ambiguously. Cerhaps Assaf(s death will bring some relief to the village and its struggling people, but perhaps not. 9nce again we see a typical literary example of the characteristic ambiguity in Islamic worldview expressions. Edward al,3harrat, a contemporary Arabic author answered the ?uestion why he wrote! Why do I write then< I write because I don(t 2now why I write. Ioes the impulse come from some powerful force< I 2now that I use it as a weapon to bring about change, change both in the self and others... for something better, more beautiful perhaps...something warmer to ward off the bitter chill of barbarity and lonelines...something soothing in the oppressive heat of violence and suffocation... I write because I want there to be something in what I write ,, in everything I write ,, which will ma2e even a single reader lift his head proudly and feel with me that in the end the world is not a desolate, meaningless landscape... I write because the world(s a riddle, woman is a riddle and so is my fellow man. All creation is a riddle... that is what I want to write about and that is why I write../ Endnotes 6 8inian %mart, The Beligious Experience =8ew 7or2! #acmillan, 6KK6>, p. .K*. / "eorge 4oot #oore, 1istory of Beligions, / Fols. =8ew 7or2! 0harles %cribner(s %ons, 6K6.>, p. .K+. . In Bobert Cayne, The 1istory of Islam =8ew 7or2! Iorset, 6K)K>, p. JK. G Bichard Ettinghausen, The 0haracter of Islamic Art, in The Arab 1eritage, 8abih Amin 4aris, ed. =Crinceton! Crinceton 5niversity Cress, 6KGG>, p. /)J. ) Ibid., /). . - In 9leg "rabar, The 4ormation of Islamic Art =8ew 1aven! 7ale 5niversity Cress, 6K*.>, pp. K*,KJ. * %ee Titus $urc2hardt, %acred Art in East and West =Aondon! Cerennial $oo2s, 6K-*>, pp. 66-f. J 4edwa #alti,Iouglas, Woman(s $ody, Woman(s Word! "ender and Iiscourse in Arabo,Islamic Writing =Crinceton! Crinceton 5niversity Cress, 6KK6>, p. 6. K %ee Dohn $arth, 0himera =8ew 7or2! 4awcett 0rest, 6K*/>, pp. K,-G>. 6+ #ia I. "erhardt, The Art of %torytelling! A Aiterary %tudy of the Thousand and 9ne 8ights =Aeiden! E.D. $rill, 6K-.>, pp.

.K*,KJ. 66 This and the preceding 4adlun story ta2en from Ibn al,$atanuni, 8iswan, fol. 6+*@ from #alti,Iouglas, Woman(s $ody, Woman(s Word, pp. -/ff. 6/ 4edwa #alti,Iouglas, Woman(s $ody, Womans Word, p. -). 6. %am(ani, Bawh al,arwah .6/. 6G Ibn al(Arabi, 4utahat II. ).+./)>. 6) Ba:i, #irsad al(ibad -),K/. 6- 8asafi, Insan,(i 2amil, 6G/,G.. 6* Ibn %ina, al 8jah .+*. 6J 4rom B.A. 8icholson, A Aiterary 1istory of the Arabs =0ambridge! 0ambridge 5niversity Cress, 6K**>, p. /.J. 6K In A.D. Arberry, Arabic Coetry! A Crimer for %tudents =0ambridge! 0ambridge 5niversity Cress, 6K-)>, p. G+f. /+ 8icholson, op. cit. p. /KG. /6 Ibid., p. /KKf. // Ibid., p. G+.. /. 1.A.B. "ibb, Arabic Aiterature! An Introduction =9xford! 9xford 5niversity Cress, 6K*G>, p. 6.6. /G In #.1. $a2alla, Arabic 0ulture through Its Aanguage and Aiterature =Aondon! 3egan Caul, 6KJG>, pp. 6KGf. /) Ibid., pp. 6K*,KJ. /- Ibid., pp. //G,.* /* Adnan 1aydar, The #u(alla?a of Imru( al,'ays! its structure and meaning, I , Edebiiyai IIE/ =6K/*>, //*,/J. /J $eirut! Iar al,Adab, =6K*J> p. ). /K Ibid., p. 6.. .+ Ibid., p. .+. .6 Ibid., p. 66*. ./ In the journal al,Adab =4eb.,#arch 6KJ+>, 66+.

%uggested Beadings Andrae, Tor, In the "arden of #yrtles! %tudies in Early Islamic #ysticism =Albany! %587 Cress, 6KJ*>. Arberry, A.D., The Coem of the Way! Translated into English Ferse from the Arabic of Ibn al 4arabi =Aondon! Emery Wal2er, 6K)/>. OOOO #odern Arabic Coetry! An Anthology with English Ferse Translations =Aondon! 0ambridge 5niversity Cress, 6K*)> Austin, B.W.D., The %ufis of Andalusia =Aondon! "eorge Allen P 5nwin, 6K*6>. 0hittic2, W.0. Ieath and the World of Imagination! Ibn al( Arabi(s Eschatology, The #uslim World *J =6KJJ> )6,J/.

,,,The %ufi Cath of 3nowledge! Ibn al(Arabi(s #etaphysics of Imagination =Albany! %587 Cress, 6KJK>. 0orbin, 1enry, The #an of Aight in Iranian %ufism =$oulder! %hambala, 6K*J>. 8. Ianiel, The Arabs and #ediaeval Europe =Aondon and $eirut, 6K*)>. Elias, Damal D. 4emale and 4eminine in Islamic #ysticism, #uslim World *J =6KJJ> /+K,/G. "abrieli, 4rancesco, ed. Arab 1istorians of the 0rusades =8ew 7or2! Iorsett, 6K)*>. "raham, W. Iivine Word and Crophetic Word in Early Islam =The 1ague! #outon, 6K*6>. 3houri, #ounah, Coetry and the #a2ing of #odern Egypt, 6J//,6K// =Aeiden! E.D. $rill, 6K*6>. 3isa(i, al, The Tales of the Crophets of al,2isa(i. Trans. W. Thac2ston =$oston! Twayne, 6K*J>. #urata, %achi2o, The Tao of Islam =Albany! %tate 5niversity of 8ew 7or2 Cress, 6KK/>. %chimmel, A. As Through a Feil! #ystical Coetry in Islam =8ew 7or2! 0olumbia 5niversity Cress, 6KJ/>. OOOO#ystical Iimensions of Islam =0hapel 1ill! 5niversity of 8orth 0arolina Cress, 6K*)>. %mith, D.I. and 1addad, 7., Eve! Islamic Image of Woman, in Women and Islam, ed. A:i:ah al,1ibri, et all. =8ew 7or2! Cergamon, 6KJ/>, 6.),GG. C.A. Throop, 0riticism of the 0rusade! A %tudy of Cublic 9pinion and 0rusade Cropaganada =Amsterdam, 6KG+>.