Abstract:
The proscription of illustration and painting in Islam is a topic often
discussed by researchers and artists. Most orientalists have suggested that
Islam generally opposed art, especially painting and illustration, thus
resulting in a number of limitations. A survey of different prophetic sayings on
this subject (hadith singular, hadis plural), verses of the Qur'an, and artworks
in the era of the caliphs has been perused in this article. It seems that a core
factor for the restriction was the possible reversion of newly converted Muslims
to polytheism and idolatry. This was a genuine concern in early Islam. Today it
is generally unknown, unheard of or simply ignored in the world of Islam. Islam
has not prohibited painting rather it does emphasize beauty and aesthetics.
Machine summary:
"Yet it is undeniable that before Islam, Arabs worked in a limited sphere of painting and sculpture, as at the very least they fashioned figures from wood to create their gods.
Herein we look briefly to the Qur'an, prophetic sayings (hadith) and the works of art created in the era of the caliphate.
Dr. Zaki Mohammad Hassan says, … Since drawing living beings is unlawful from the Islamic point of view, Muslims didn’t draw any human or animal figures and they neglected it” (Zaki, 1993, p.
Thus, Islamic art is distinct from other art, as it tries to develop spiritually based inspiration in the world without resonting to the image of God. The Prophet (PBUH) apparently did not object to depictions of men or animals on the woven stuffs that decorated his house in Medina.
One is to maintain the eternal dignity of man, created in God's likeness, not to be designed as a work of art which is necessarily limited and may be even relatively and temporarily standing between man and God. What is immutable among all views is what Islam says, "There is no God except Allah" and this sentence cancels all other views on human depiction.
During that time, painters and artists presented and developed valuable works of art as illustrated pages in manuscripts, painting and mural.
In fact, the painters in this era paid little attention to laws and religious prohibitions and in addition to traditional motifs, there was a tendency to retelling and showing emotion in the form of pictures, even sometimes including sexual affairs."