Quranic calligraphy represents the response of the soul to the divine message. It occupies a special place in the evolution of the traditional Islamic visual art and is the most visible aspect of Islamic civilisation. Calligraphy on walls and other objects of everyday life remind the believers of God’s presence in all phases of human life. The Quran, containing the inexhaustible possibilities of creativity, attests to the “ink” in the verse, “If all the trees on the earth were pens and if the sea eked out by the seven seas were ink, the words of God could not be written out unto their end.”
The Quran is called the book of truth. It may also be called a book of mercy, for all chapters begin with “In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.” God affirms his mercy in the verse, “My mercy embraces all things.”
The blue sky and the blue seas that surround the land are a symbol of God’s infinite mercy. The name ar-Rahman, translated as “the most compassionate, is symbolised by blue. The second name, ar-Rahim, “the boundless merciful”, is also by extension a name for Prophet Mohammad. The first name denotes the divine source of mercy, the second name is expressive of all manifested mercy, and here lies the explanation why green is generally considered to be the colour of Islam.
Yellow is the colour of manifestation, and if it is brought to bear upon blue, the resulting colour is green. The Quran speaks about the green garments worn by the souls in paradise. However, the dominant colour of Islamic art remains blue, representing God’s mercy. There are many “Blue Mosques” around the world, and blue is the primary colour used in the art of Quranic calligraphy, also called the art of illumination. Most outer borders of sacred Islamic texts are in blue, reminding us that Allah’s mercy embraces all things.
Illumination makes possible the visualisation of spiritual energy which flows from the reading of the sacred text; it crystalises the flow of the soul towards God; it helps in renewing the soul in the presence of God’s words. Illuminations in yellows and blues create a halo around the sacred words, the luminosity generated by the presence of the word that is the World of Light.
Hazrat Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad, is recognised as the first Islamic calligrapher. The Kufic script is attributed to him. He said, “The beauty of writing is the tongue of the hand and the elegance of thought.” Thus, all art produced through complete submission to God, concentration and inner annihilation becomes sacred art.
Sadia Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer and author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam. She can be contacted at sadiafeedback@gmail.com
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