INTRODUCTION

In order to understand the essence of Islamic art it is first necessary to realise the different conceptions of art itself. From the European point of view, the criterion of an artistic culture lies in its capacity to represent nature and even more in its capacity to portray man. From the Islamic point of view, on the contrary, the main scope of art is not the imitation or description of nature - the work of man will never equal the art of God - but the shaping of the human ambience. Art has to endow all the objects with which man naturally surrounds himself - a house, a fountain, a drinking vessel, a garment, a carpet - with the perfection each object can posses according to its own nature. Islamic art does not add something alien to the objects that it shapes; it merely brings out their essential qualities.

In traditional art, beauty and use go hand in hand; they are two inseparable aspects of perfection, as envisaged by the Prophetic tradition: 'God has prescribed perfection in all things.' It is connected with the concept of ihsan as set forth in the Hadith of Gabriel, whereby the religion rests on three fundamental principles: Islam (submission to the Divine Will), Iman (faith), and Ihsan. Ihsan may be translated as 'spiritual virtue' or simply virtue, and includes the ideas of beauty and perfection. More exactly it means inward beauty, beauty of the soul or of the heart, which necessarily emanates outwards, transforming every human activity into an art and every art into the remembrance of God.

If we consider inward beauty and outward beauty, we find the latter has its origin in the former. To the extent that human activities are integrated into Islam, they become a support for beauty - a beauty which in fact transcends these activities because it is the beauty of Islam itself. This is particularly true of the fine arts, as it is their role to manifest the hidden qualities of things. The art of Islam receives its beauty not from any ethnic genius but from Islam itself and just as Islamic science has its roots in the Qur'an and hadith, so the typical forms of Islamic art are rooted in the spirit of Islam.

An important lesson that Islamic art provides is in challenging the notion that works of art from earlier centuries need to be studied as historical 'phenomena', which belong to the past and have very little to do with the future. Against this relativistic point of view, for the Muslim, the great mosques of Kairawan, Cordoba, Cairo, Damascus, Isfahan, Herat and so on belong as much to the present as to the past, insofar as it is possible to realise the state of mind of those who created them, and thus what is timeless in the art of our spiritual ancestors is the roots in Islam itself.
(Source: Burckhardt T, Mirror of the Intellect)

• Famous examples of Islamic Architecture

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During the Islamic civilization, around 10th century, the activity of exploring pattern and symmetry truly blossomed. For a period of about 400 years there was vigorous creativity. This resulted in a large number of sophisticated geometrical patterns and two of the most sublime monuments to symmetry that have ever been built- namely, the Nasrid Palace of Alhambra in Granada in Spain and the Taj Mahal in Agra in India. The Alhambra is a walled city and fortress in Granada, Spain. It was built during the last Islamic sultanate on the Iberian peninsula, the Nasrid Dynasty (1238-1492). The palace is lavishly decorated with stone and wood carvings and tile patterns on most of the ceilings, walls, and floors. Islamic art does not use representations of living beings, but heavily uses geometric patterns, especially symmetric (repeating) patterns. As for the Taj Mahal, Western historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed. The Taj is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. It was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal (meaning Crown Palace) is a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal at the lower chamber. It is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of the full moon. It is an "elegy in marble" or some say an expression of a "dream."

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