List of portraits of the Prophet (p) by Muslim artists
mr. snerdly
an absolute principle of Islam is ... refuted by history. Many
portraits of Muhammad have been drawn by Muslim artists, often
commissioned by Muslim rulers. There is no space here to provide an
exhaustive list, but these are some of the most famous:
A miniature by Sultan Muhammad-Nur Bokharai, showing Muhammad riding
Buraq, a horse with the face of a beautiful woman, on his way to
Jerusalem for his M'eraj or nocturnal journey to Heavens (16th
century); a painting showing Archangel Gabriel guiding Muhammad into
Medina, the prophet's capital after he fled from Mecca (16th c.); a
portrait of Muhammad, his face covered with a mask, on a pulpit in
Medina (16th c.); an Isfahan miniature depicting the prophet with his
favorite kitten, Hurairah (17th c.); Kamaleddin Behzad's miniature
showing Muhammad contemplating a rose produced by a drop of sweat that
fell from his face (19th c.); a painting, "Massacre of the Family of
the Prophet," showing Muhammad watching as his grandson Hussain is put
to death by the Umayyads in Karbala (19th c.); a painting showing
Muhammad and seven of his first followers (18th c.); and Kamal
ul-Mulk's portrait of Muhammad showing the prophet holding the Quran in
one hand while with the index finger of the other hand he points to the
Oneness of God (19th c.).
Some of these can be seen in museums within the Muslim world, including
the Topkapi in Istanbul, and in Bokhara, Samarkand and Haroun-Walat (a
suburb of Isfahan). Visitors to other museums, including some in
Europe, would find miniatures and book illuminations depicting
Muhammad, at times wearing his Meccan burqa (cover) or his Medinan
niqab (mask). There have been few statues of Muhammad, although several
Iranian and Arab contemporary sculptors have produced busts of the
prophet. One statue of Muhammad can be seen at the building of the U.S.
Supreme Court, where the prophet is honored as one of the great
"lawgivers" of mankind.
There has been other imagery: the Janissaries -- the elite of the
Ottoman army -- carried a medallion stamped with the prophet's head
(sabz qaba). Their Persian Qizilbash rivals had their own icon,
depicting the head of Ali, the prophet's son-in-law and the first Imam
of Shiism. As for images of other prophets, they run into millions.
Perhaps the most popular is Joseph, who is presented by the Quran as
the most beautiful human being created by God.
....`
from: BONFIRE OF THE PIETIES by Amir Taheri
Wall Street Journal February 8, 2006
mr. snerdly
the Prophet (p) have a long tradition in Islam (if not in traditional
mainstream Sunni Islam).