Aniconism in Islam

Aniconism in Islam is a proscription against the creation of images of God in Islam . Other forms of aniconism in Islam prohibit the depiction of Muhammad , which is the consensual view among Sunni Muslims , or even, in a more extreme case, other living creatures in artwork .

( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Interior of the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran Aniconism in Islam is a proscription in Islam against the creation of images of sentient beings. The most absolute proscription is of images of God in Islam , followed by depictions of Muhammad , and then Islamic prophets and the relatives of Muhammad , but the depiction of all humans and animals is discouraged in the hadith and by the long tradition of Islamic authorities, especially Sunni ones. This has led to Islamic art being dominated by Islamic geometric patterns , calligraphy and the barely representational foliage patterns of the arabesque ; but figurative art still has a strong tradition, especially on a small scale in private works for the home or palace. The proliferation of photographic and filmed images today has led to controversy, with some religious authorities stating, for example, that all television is un-Islamic; but this is not a widely held position.

Interior of the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran Aniconism is the avoidance of images of sentient beings in some forms of Islamic art . Islamic aniconism stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that creation of living forms is God's prerogative. Although the Quran does not explicitly prohibit visual representation of any living being, it uses the word musawwir (maker of forms, artist) as an epithet of God. The corpus of hadith (sayings attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad ) contains more explicit prohibitions of images of living beings, challenging painters to "breathe life" into their images and threatening them with punishment on the Day of Judgment . Muslims have interpreted these prohibitions in different ways in different times and places. Religious Islamic art has been typically characterized by the absence of figures and extensive use of calligraphic , geometric and abstract floral patterns. However, representations of Muhammad (in some cases, with his face concealed) and other religious figures are found in some manuscripts from lands to the east of Anatolia, such as Persia and India. These pictures were meant to illustrate the story and not to infringe on the Islamic prohibition of idolatry, but many Muslims regard such images as forbidden. In secular art of the Muslim world, representations of human and animal forms historically flourished in nearly all Islamic cultures, although, partly because of opposing religious sentiments, figures in paintings were often stylized, giving rise to a variety of decorative figural designs. There were episodes of iconoclastic destruction of figurative art, such as the decree by the Umayyad caliph Yazid II in 721 CE ordering the destruction of all representational images in his realm. A number of historians have seen an Islamic influence on the Byzantine iconoclastic movement of the 8th century, though others regard this is as a legend that arose in later times in the Byzantine empire. What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam (2nd ed.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art . Representations in Asia, Europe and the Arab World since the Middle Ages . Representations in Asia, Europe and the Arab World since the Middle Ages .

Avoidance of images of sentient beings in some forms of Islamic art Interior of the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran In some forms of Islamic art , aniconism ( the avoidance of images of sentient beings ) stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that the creation of living forms is God 's prerogative. The Quran does not explicitly prohibit visual representation of any living being. The corpus of hadith (sayings attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad ) contains more explicit prohibitions of images of living beings, challenging painters to "breathe life" into their images and threatening them with punishment on the Day of Judgment . Muslims have interpreted these prohibitions in different ways in different times and places. Religious Islamic art has been typically characterized by the absence of figures and extensive use of calligraphic , geometric and abstract floral patterns. However, representations of Muhammad (in some cases, with his face concealed) and other religious figures are found in some manuscripts from lands to the east of Anatolia , such as Persia and India . These pictures were meant to illustrate the story and not to infringe on the Islamic prohibition of idolatry, but many Muslims regard such images as forbidden. In secular art of the Muslim world, representations of human and animal forms historically flourished in nearly all Islamic cultures, although, partly because of opposing religious sentiments, figures in paintings were often stylized, giving rise to a variety of decorative figural designs. There were episodes of iconoclastic destruction of figurative art, such as the temporary decree by the Umayyad caliph Yazid II in 721 CE ordering the destruction of all representational images in his realm. A number of historians have seen an Islamic influence on the Byzantine iconoclastic movement of the 8th century, though others regard this is as a legend that arose in later times in the Byzantine empire. What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam (2nd ed.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art . Representations in Asia, Europe and the Arab World since the Middle Ages . Representations in Asia, Europe and the Arab World since the Middle Ages .