SHAFAQNA- Islamic art has always retained its intrinsic quality and unique identity. Just as the religion of Islam embodies a way of life and serves as a cohesive force among ethnically and culturally diverse peoples, the art produced by and for Muslim societies has basic identifying and unifying characteristics. Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onward by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by Islamic populations, Hisour told.
It is not art specifically of a time, or of a place, or of a single medium. Instead it covers many lands and populations, and includes a range of artistic fields including architecture, calligraphy, painting, glass, ceramics, pottery and textiles, among others. As it is not only a religion but a way of life, Islam fostered the development of a distinctive culture with its own unique artistic language that is reflected in art and architecture throughout the Muslim world.
Islamic art is synonymous with sacred art. It is an art which transmits a Divine message and transcends time and place. It draws its roots from the Spirit and manifests itself in our physical world, according to khaledazzam.net. Although the religion of Islam does not set out a mode of artistic expression, every aspect of it contains within itself the possibility of visual and symbolic representation. The main influence on this artistic expression is the Quran, in fact the Quran through inscriptions, recitation and prayer sets the rhythm for the life of every Muslim.
Universal message of Islamic art
The universal message of Islamic art draws its inspiration from both a physical and a metaphysical order both of which have their origin in the Truth of the Absolute. On the level of the physical, Islamic art seeks its fundamental principles from the laws of the natural world. These are the laws of the natural order of being which man has experienced on a daily basis since the beginning of time. Man, in Islam, is not the measure of all things. The Muslim artist acknowledges by his Islam – his submission to the Divine Will – that God is the Supreme Artist.
Thus the relationship between the Muslim and his surrounding space is one that is based on reverence and not arrogance. If he has to leave an imprint on this physical space then it must be done with humility and with no sense of defiance to the natural order of being. On the level of metaphysics, Islamic art aspires to the highest principles. It acts as a bridge or vehicle to transmit the realm of heaven into our physical world. The art and architecture of Islam is more than just an aesthetic or spatial experience; it represents a symbolic vision of a higher reality. Architecture, for instance, is the art of ordering space. When an architecture has its roots in a sacred tradition it extends this sense of order from physical space to an expression of a metaphysical order.