Islamic art and architecture: the cards as text
History. Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review.
- Card 1
No faces in the mosque. So the artists turned to words and patterns.
- Card 2
Why there are no faces
Mosques and Qur'ans are decorated without images of living beings. That follows hadith that discourage making such images. Views differ on how far this goes: Persian and Mughal court art painted people freely.
- Card 3
Lesson: Islamic worship spaces have words and patterns, not faces.
- Card 4
Words as the highest art
If not faces, then what? Because the Qur'an is God's word, writing it beautifully became the highest art. Styles range from angular Kufic to flowing Naskh and Thuluth. Verses run around domes, doors and tiles.
- Card 5
Qur'an 96:4
ٱلَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِٱلۡقَلَمِ ٤
4 Who taught by the pen,
- Card 6
Lesson: In Islamic art, writing God's word beautifully became the highest art.
- Card 7
Patterns without end, and filtered light
Then there is geometry. Patterns built from circles and stars repeat without end; many see in them the infinite. Mosques use domes, arches, courtyards, water and filtered light. Famous examples: the Dome of the Rock, Cordoba, the Alhambra, the Suleymaniye.
- Card 8
Lesson: Islamic geometric patterns could repeat forever.
- Card 9
Reflect: Which art became the most honoured in Islam?
Answer: Calligraphy. Calligraphy, because the Qur'an is treated as God's own words.
- Card 10
The end of Islamic art and architecture.