The Aesthetic of Islamic Calligraphy and Ornamentation in Prophet Mosque Interior of the Calligrapher Abdullah Zuhdi (Al-Masjid An-Nabawi)

Authors

  • Duaa Mohammed Alashari Faculty of Islamic Civilization, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • Abd.Rahman Hamzah Faculty of Islamic Civilization, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • Nurazmallail Marni Faculty of Islamic Civilization, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/umran2020.7n2.374

Keywords:

Islamic architecture, Arabic Calligraphy, Islamic ornamentation, Islamic art, Islamic civilization

Abstract

Islamic Calligraphy and ornamentation are using to decorate mosques as well as other sacred places all over the Islamic world. This paper provides some sources of information for understanding and studying Islamic calligraphy and ornamentation in the Prophet Mosque interior (Al-Masjid An-Nabawi). Indeed, this paper aimed to highlight the formation aesthetics of calligraphy and Islamic decorations in which the aesthetic values. There are many aesthetic values of the Islamic calligraphy and ornamentation that portrayed in the Prophet Mosque interior. The Prophet Mosque has been selected in the present research due to the uniqueness in its calligraphy and ornamentation. Abdullah Zuhdi a calligrapher who was known as the calligrapher of the two holy sanctuaries (katib al-haramayn). The calligraphy and ornamentation in the Prophet Mosques are testifying to the skill of the master calligrapher. The principles of aesthetics in calligraphy and ornamentation based precisely on the principles of the beauty of Islam. After Islam, calligraphy was one of the most important kinds of art in Islamic world as well as one of the essential features of Islamic civilization. This study aims to show the necessity of studying Islamic calligraphy used in the Prophet Mosque interior as well as to display some Quranic verses that been written above the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet Mosque located in Medina city in Saudi Arabia as a model simply because it was one of the first mosques built by Prophet Muhammad and it has the fantastic and historical calligraphy and ornamentation that have a long history. The study has revealed that the calligraphy and ornamentation in the Prophet Muhmmad Mosque considered as an innovative art through its dependence unique Thuluth script and intricate pattern of Islamic motifs, the Muslim artist creativity expressed about the sacred calligraphy and highlighted the global nature of the decoration.

Author Biography

Duaa Mohammed Alashari, Faculty of Islamic Civilization, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Duaa Alashari was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and lived there for many years. Then, she moved to the United States to get her painting MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. She now lives in Savannah. She received her Bachelors of Islamic Art Education from King Abdu Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in May 2007.  Alashari’s work is displayed in King Abdu Aziz University and Arabia Calligraphy Gallery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and in the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.  Alashari’s art, which often combines Islamic calligraphy with representations of the Islamic decorations, addresses the complex composition of show identity from the unique perspective of personal experience. In much of her work, she returns to her Arabic language and culture, looking back on it as an artist caught somewhere between past and present, and as an artist, exploring the language in which to “speak” from this uncertain space. Her paintings often appropriate Arabic calligraphy and Islamic art tradition, thereby inviting viewers to reconsider the beauty of Islamic art. She has worked in numerous media, including painting, glass, metal, and fabric. "In my art, I wish to present myself through multiple images, as artist, as Saudi, as traditionalist, as Muslim. In short, I invite the viewer to experience different art from Middle East, and to show them how to identify, understand and appreciate its varied styles and modes.”

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VOL. 7, NO. 2 JULY 2020

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Published

2020-06-28

How to Cite

Mohammed Alashari, D., Hamzah, A., & Marni, N. (2020). The Aesthetic of Islamic Calligraphy and Ornamentation in Prophet Mosque Interior of the Calligrapher Abdullah Zuhdi (Al-Masjid An-Nabawi). UMRAN - Journal of Islamic and Civilizational Studies, 7(2), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.11113/umran2020.7n2.374

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2020): July 2020

Section

Civilizational Studies

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