#islam art

[yeesiine]

Moroccan tea.

[kocalls]

Yıldız Sarayı Cami 🕌

[tasmuh]

Sultan Qaboos Mosque - OMAN

[zeinebonair]

الانبياء - 87:88 . . . . These Ayas always hit home ... I love how Allah SWT portrays to us these powerful moments with just a few sentences... Yunus PBH is angry, frustrated, and tired; he storms away from his people and away from Allah's command. Then, a tragedy: he finds himself in the pits of a whale's stomach. Can you imagine that? So dark, so locked away from everything and everyone. Even if you screamed at the top of your lungs, who would hear you, in the middle of the sea in a storm and from the insides of a whale? And so, he calls upon Allah, the only one who truly listens... who always listens... and here comes my favorite part: "So We answered his prayer and rescued him from anguish." And my even more favorite part: "And so do We save the believers". . . . . . . . .

[zegalba]

Azerbaijani artist Tunzala Mamedzadeh's Hand-Painted Quran in Gold on 164 Feet of Black Silk

[koenji]

Folio from a Manuscript of the Qur'an. Iran, Shiraz, 1550-1575. Ink, colors and gold on paper.

[al-islam]

اللهم إني اسألك أن تستر علي، وتُهذِّب قلبي، وتؤدّب طَبعَي، وتحسّن خُلُقي، وتضبط سلوكي، واسألك أن تشغلني بغاياتٍ تليقُ بدربك، وترزقني حكمة القول، وفَنّ الصّمت، وبلاغة الرَّدّ، وجَلال الحُضور، وجمال الغياب.

Ya Allah, I ask You to cover me, to refine my heart, to discipline my nature, to improve my character, to regulate my behavior, and I ask You to occupy me with goals that are worthy of Your path, to bless me with wisdom in speech, the art of silence, eloquence in response, majesty in presence, and grace in absence.

[livesunique]

The Alhambra, Granada, Andalusia, Spain,

Courtesy: Kate Bach

[arsvitaest]

The horoscope of the Persian Timurid ruler Iskandar Sultan, 1411. This is the only surviving individual illuminated horoscope from medieval Islam. Al-Mizan (Libra) is at 3 o'clock in the circle of zodiac signs.

[yeesiine]

Fountain in a Moroccan Garden

[kocalls]

nuruosmaniye cami 🕌

[shaimaafekry]

Beautiful morning 🌿

Cairo, Egypt 🌻

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Emerald Spectacles from India, c. 1620-1660 CE: the lenses of these spectacles were cut from a single 300-carat emerald, and it was believed that they possessed mystical properties

These eyeglasses are also known by the name "Astaneh-e ferdaws," meaning "Gate of Paradise," based on the symbolic associations between the color green and the concept of spiritual salvation/Paradise. That symbolism (which is rooted in Islamic tradition) was especially popular in Mughal-era India, where the spectacles were made.

The lenses were crafted from two thin slices of the same emerald. Together, the lenses have a combined weight of about 27 carats, but given the precision, size, and shape of each lens, experts believe that the original emerald likely weighed in excess of 300 carats (more than sixty grams) before it was cleaved down in order to produce the lenses. The emerald was sourced from a mine in Muzo, Colombia, and it was then transported across the Atlantic by Spanish or Portuguese merchants.

Each lens is encircled by a series of rose-cut diamonds, which run along an ornate frame made of gold and silver. The diamond-studded frame was added in the 1890s, when the original prince-nez design was fitted with more modern frames.

The emerald eyeglasses have long been paired with a second set of spectacles, and they were almost certainly commissioned by the same patron. This second pair is known as "Halqeh-e nur," or the "Halo of Light."

The Halo of Light features lenses that were made from slices of diamond. The diamond lenses were cleaved from a single stone, just like the emerald lenses, with the diamond itself being sourced from a mine in Southern India. It's estimated that the original, uncut diamond would have weighed about 200-300 carats, which would make it one of the largest uncut diamonds ever found.

The lenses are so clear and so smoothly cut that it sometimes looks like they're not even there.

Both sets of spectacles date back to the mid-1600s, and it's generally believed that they were commissioned by a Mughal emperor or prince. The identity of that person is still a bit of a mystery, but it has been widely speculated that the patron was Shah Jahan -- the Mughal ruler who famously commissioned the Taj Mahal after the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan did rule as the Mughal emperor from about 1628 to 1658.

The emerald and diamond lenses may have been chosen for symbolic, sentimental, and/or cultural reasons, or they may have been chosen simply because they're pretty and extravagant; the original meaning and purpose behind the design is still unclear. Experts do believe that the eyeglasses were designed to be worn by someone, though.

At times, it was believed that the spectacles had spiritual properties, like the ability to promote healing, to ward off evil, to impart wisdom, and to bring the wearer closer to enlightenment. Those beliefs are largely based on the spiritual significance that emeralds and diamonds can have within certain Indic and Islamic traditions -- emeralds may be viewed as an emblem of Paradise, salvation, healing, cleansing, and eternal life, while diamonds are similarly associated with enlightenment, wisdom, celestial light, and mysticism.

The Gate of Paradise and the Halo of Light were both kept in the collections of a wealthy Indian family until 1980, when they were sold to private collectors, and they were then put up for auction once again in 2021. They were most recently valued at about $2 million to $3.4 million per pair.

Sources & More Info:

Sotheby's: Mughal Spectacles

Architectural Digest of India: At Sotheby's auction, Mughal-era eyeglasses made of diamond and emerald create a stir

Only Natural Diamonds: Auspicious Sight & the Halqeh-e Nur Spectacles

The Royal Society Publishing: Cleaving the Halqeh-Ye Nur Diamonds

Gemological Institution of America: Two Antique Mughal Spectacles with Gemstone Lenses

Manuscript: From Satan's Crown to the Holy Grail: emeralds in myth, magic, and history

CNN: The $3.5 million Spectacles Said to Ward off Evil

BBC: Rare Mughal Era Spectacles to be Auctioned by Sotheby's

[zegalba]

Azerbaijani artist Tunzala Mamedzadeh's Hand-Painted Quran in Gold on 164 Feet of Black Silk

[cavalierzee]

Hunger Or Bombs

Palestinians in Gaza are given a stark choice.

“I’ll Give You 2 Options: Hinger Or Bombs!”

Artist: Carlos Latuff

[al-islam]

Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.