Download here - Chester Beatty Library

Islam: Faith, Art, Culture
- Manuscripts of the Chester Beatty Library
by Elaine Wright
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: THE EARLY HISTORY OF ISLAM
The Lifetime of the Prophet
The Expansion of the Islamic State Under the Rashidun
Silsila-nama
Murad III’s Life of the Prophet and the Production of Images
An Islamic World History: Mirkhwand’s Rawdat al-safa
CHAPTER 2: MUHAMMAD AND HIS FAMILY
The Names of the Prophet
Poems in Praise of the Prophet
Hilya al-nabi
The Prophet’s Night Journey
Muhammad’s Wives and Children
Muhammad’s Uncle: Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib
Ali and Shi‘a Islam
Fatima: Daughter of Muhammad and Wife of Ali
Shi‘a Iran
CHAPTER 3: THE QUR’AN
Formal Structure and History of the Qur’an
The Arabic Alphabet
The Language of the Faith
The Basmala
The Qur’an: Content and Style
Death and Paradise
Uses of the Qur’an and Qur’anic Inscriptions
Qur’anic Commentaries
CHAPTER 4: QUR’ANIC CALLIGRAPHY AND CALLIGRAPHERS
The Role and Art of the Calligrapher
Calligraphic Scripts
The Colophon
The Ibn al-Bawwab Qur’an
The Ruzbihan Qur’an
CHAPTER 5: THE PRACTICE THE FAITH
The Five Pillars of Islam
The First Pillar of Islam: The Profession of the Faith
The Second Pillar of Islam: Daily Prayer
al-Fatiha
The Most Beautiful Names of God
The Third Pillar of Islam: The Giving of Alms
The Fourth Pillar of Islam: Observance of the Annual Fast
The Fifth Pillar of Islam: The Hajj
Futuh al-Haramayn
The Kiswa
Islamic Law: The Shari‘a and Sunna
Hadith
The Four Schools of Islamic (Sunni) Jurisprudence
The Study of the Faith: al-Ghazali
CHAPTER 6: PROPHETS AND OTHER PEOPLE OF THE QUR’AN
Sources for the Lives of the Prophets
Adam and Hawwa
Idris
Nuh
Lut
Yusuf
Musa
Yunus
Sulayman
Iskandar, Khidr and Ilyas
Maryam
Isa
CHAPTER 7: MYSTICAL ISLAM
Sufism
Sama and Dhikr
Sufi Orders: The Chishtiyya
Sufi Orders: Jalal al-Din Rumi and the Mevleviyya
Persian Mystical Poets: Attar and Jami
CHAPTER EXCERPTS
Chapter 1, The Early History of Islam
The Qur’an is the holy book of the Islamic faith and is regarded as the written record
of the exact words uttered by God. God did not speak directly to Muhammad, rather
his words were transmitted to him by Jibril (the Archangel Gabriel). Muhammad
received the first revelation in 610, when he was about forty years old. It was not until
two years later, on the night now celebrated annually as laylat al-qadr, meaning ‘the
Night of Power’ (or the Night of Destiny), that Muhammad began to preach openly.
Arabia in the seventh century was a tribal society, and it was from the weakest of the
tribal clans that many of Muhammad’s first converts were drawn. As some members
of a clan converted to the new faith but not others, families became divided, and so
hatred for Muhammad amongst the non-converts grew. By 622, hostility towards the
Muslim community had peaked and the majority of the Meccan Muslims emigrated
north, making a new home for themselves in the city of Medina. By the time of his
death in 632, Muhammad’s influence had spread throughout much of the Arabian
peninsula.
Chapter 2, Muhammad and his Family
Muhammad’s first wife, Khadija, was fifteen years his senior but the only one of his
wives to bear him children. Of their four children to survive infancy (all daughters),
Fatima was the only one to outlive him. She married Ali, who was raised in
Muhammad’s home as his foster-son and later served as one of the first caliphs (i.e.,
successors to the Prophet after his death). The majority of Muslims are known as
Sunni Muslims, because they follow the sunna, or customary practice, of the Prophet.
The Shi‘a form the second largest group of Muslims and take their name from the fact
that they adhere to the shi‘a, or ‘party’, of Ali and his descendants. The fundamental
difference between the two groups is that the Shi‘a maintain that only a direct
descendent of the Prophet can serve as caliph--or imam in Shi‘a terminology. They
therefore regard Ali as the true first caliph. As the wife of Ali and the mother of
Hasan and Husayn (the Prophet’s beloved grandsons), Fatima is venerated by all
Muslims but in particular the Shi‘a.
Chapter 3: The Qur’an
The Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad over a period of more than twenty years,
from 610, when the first revelation was received, until a few days before his death in
632. The revelations are arranged in the Qur’an in the form of suras and ayas,
generally referred to by non-Muslims as chapters and verses. The 114 chapters that
comprise the Qur’an are of varying lengths and are arranged not in the order they
were received but in order of diminishing length, more or less. The Qur’an is never
illustrated, but is instead often beautifully illuminated with non-figural decorations.
Each chapter is usually marked by an illuminated heading, with other illumination
denoting the end of each verse and marginal decoration indicating every fifth and
tenth verse.
Chapter 4: Qur’anic Calligraphy and Calligraphers
Because the Qur’an is considered by Muslims to be a record of the actual words that
God spoke to the Prophet Muhammad, the copying of the Qur’an is an act imbued
with sanctity, making calligraphy the most highly esteemed art in Islam and placing
the calligrapher in a position of pre-eminence over all other artists. This favoured
position of calligraphy and the calligrapher in the religious domain extends to the
secular domain as well as to other media. Over the years a number of different scripts
developed, most of which could be used for copying both sacred and secular texts.
Chapter 5: Practice of the Faith
There are five basic duties and observances that are obligatory for all Muslims.
Known as the pillars (arkan) of Islam, they are the foundation of the faith and consist
of the profession of the faith, daily prayer, the giving of alms, observance of the
annual fast, and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Chapter 6: Prophets and Other People of the Qur’an
Muslims regard the Qur’an as the final portion of God’s revelation to mankind,
completing but not supplanting God’s earlier revelations to the Jews and Christians
who, like Muslims, are considered People of the Book. The prophets of the Old and
New Testaments are therefore also considered prophets in Islam and likewise many
other biblical figures are referred to in the Qur’an and revered by Muslims. Although
the Qur’an is never illustrated, depictions of these individuals appear in other types of
texts, though their depiction of course falls beyond the realm of orthodox Islam.
Chapter 7: Mystical Islam
Sufism is the term used to describe the mystical or esoteric dimension of Islam. The
word Sufi derives from the Arabic word suf, meaning wool, and is thought to refer to
the rough wool garments once worn by Sufis as a sign of humility (for only the poor
wore wool) and hence as a symbol of their rejection of the material world. The goal of
the Sufi is knowledge of God and, specifically, full realization of union with God. To
achieve this--or to attempt to do so--the adherent is guided by a master, or shaykh (or
pir, in Persian) as he travels along a spiritual Path or Way (tariqa), consisting of
numerous stations (maqams) and states (hals).