An islamic view of Art (1)
Altway 2
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Part 1
All discussions in Islam must start with Allah because Islam is submission to
Allah and He is the origin of all things, the Supreme Creator and Ruler. The
Universe He has created has a purpose. Man is part of it and has a function in
its maintenance, construction and administration, at least of this planet. He
is a Vicegerent (2:30). As a vicegerent with the spirit of Allah within him, he
is a subordinate creator, though he can only re-arrange what has already been
created. In its broadest sense the word "Art" may be used to refer to all man's
products - his activities, ideas, sciences, organizations, institutions,
inventions, technologies, customs, etiquette and way of life.
The purpose and function of Art, from the Islamic point of view, must,
therefore, be understood in relation to man's vicegerency, his function with
respect to the Creator and the Cosmos, particularly man and his environment. It
is to make us aware, to stimulate and expand consciousness (about the cosmos,
life and the things an events in it), conscience (a sense of values and
responsibilities, empathy, sympathy, correct motives) and will (self-control,
coordination, skills); to create unity and harmony, a sense of well being and
peace within man, in the society and in the environment, between man and
society and between man and his physical surroundings; to facilitate learning;
to explore potentialities and possibilities both in man and things, and to
actualize and create what is appropriate; to enhance the usage and utility of
things; to hymn the praises of the creator, that is, to celebrate life and
existence, and the joys of living; to remove tensions and promote relaxation.
Human activities, especially in Colleges, are usually divided into the Arts and
Sciences. But human beings have three faculties, those for thinking, feeling an
action. Broadly speaking the Arts deal in feeling, Science in thought and what
we might call Normatics in action. This last can also be called Economics,
provided the word is used to cover all human actions and interactions. This
includes organization, administration, law, politics, industry, and the social,
health and educational services. It consists of techniques by which facts are
used to achieve values, normally established through Art. The word technology
should be used for all this, but it is normally understood in a much narrower
sense, for the application of science without reference to values. Of course,
all three faculties are engaged to different degrees in all fields.
Here the word "Art" will be used in the wider sense to cover all human
activities which are not instinctive but derive from his voluntary mind and
are, or are not, done deliberately and consciously. These will have an affect
on the psyche of the individual, on the society and on the environment.
Religion should be regarded as a synthesis of all three when they are
objective, that is, when they are consciously and deliberately carried out and
conform to reality. It will be regarded as having three aspects:- Ethics,
Science and Economics. Here Ethics provides values, Science facts, and
Economics provides the method of getting from facts to values, thus creating
new facts. We get our idea of beauty from nature, and Beauty can be defined as
the harmony in nature. Man is part of nature and should fit harmoniously into
it for his own welfare. He has a built-in need for it. Harmony is a state of
Being. The study of the overall harmony between human pursuits that deal with
facts, meanings and values, and of these with nature, is the proper field of
Aesthetics. The practice of this is Art.
It is assumed, particularly in the West, that Art has "value in itself".
Indeed, in a secular society where there is no belief in God or a universal
purpose, Art is regarded as the highest achievement of man and something that
gives life meaning and value. The implication is that Art must be held
sacrosanct and above criticism. Since it is the expression of the creativity of
an artist (regarded as a divine quality though God is denied) only subjective
judgments are possible and everyone's judgment is as good as anyone else's. The
artist is, therefore, thought to be some kind of superior being who cannot be
criticized or held responsible for his actions. As a result of idolization or
his creativity he tends to become arrogant and socially irresponsible. And all
his depravities are excused though they are widely imitated. There is
sentimentality and superstition attached to the notion of Art.
The Islamic attitude is different. The fact is that artists are part of the
world and of the community, formed by them and affecting them. Apart from food
and air, impressions are also necessities of life with much more profound
effects, and can be nutritious, catalytic or poisonous. Human health and
development requires nutrition and the avoidance of poisons. A good piece of
Art is something firmly rooted in the objective truth about the World but which
reaches out towards the objective sublime Cosmic goal.
"Dost thou not see how Allah strikes out a parable? A goodly Saying is like a
goodly tree whose root is set firm, and whose branches reach into the heavens;
It gives its fruit at every season by the permission of its Lord - Allah
strikes out parables for men that haply they may reflect (or be mindful). And
the similitude of a bad saying is as a bad tree, which is felled from above the
earth, possessing no stability." 14:24-26
Objective judgments are certainly possible and necessary. It is also perfectly
possible, and requires an even greater skill, to produce objective art. This is
art based on knowledge about how things, shapes, sounds, colours, patterns etc.
affect people and which effects are beneficial and how these can be produced.
Purposeless art must be regarded as something primitive, a form of hypnosis by
things which glitter or a kind of idolatry. Intelligence itself demands that
objective art should replace subjective art and that the artist as everyone
should be held accountable for what he does. This does not, however, imply that
Art must necessarily be an intellectual activity. Feelings and action also
provide information and guide further action. The difference between artists
lies in their sensitivity, their awareness, conscience and subtleness of
control and skill.
A great amount of art is meant to draw attention, excite or shock and arouse
the baser passions, to produce emotionalism, to dull sensitivity or to create
attachment or addictions to something, or to create fantasies and mislead. This
is done in order to make profit or to manipulate people. Much of it is really
quite frivolous. This includes such things as certain kinds of fashions,
cosmetics, jewelry, paintings, sculpture etc. Some of it is sheer
exhibitionism, simply meant to impress people with the artist's prowess or to
draw attention to them. Much traps people into a vicious circle of illusions:-
A piece of Art, say a painting is bought as an investment and locked up. It is
sold for profit when its value increases. But the value increases only because
there is demand for it. And the demand is based on its value as an investment.
Other similar paintings by a less famous artist might be just as good or
better, but are ignored. Things made out of precious metals such as gold or
precious stones, which have no use themselves are valued because people want
them, and people want them because the want itself has given them value. A lot
of art is simply boasting and self-advertisement. Whereas these things may be
tolerated as not harmful, they are a waste of time, effort, energy, materials,
attention, and mental space which could have been better used.
The development and progress of mankind depends on recognition of what is
beneficial and harmful, the promotion of the former and the progressive removal
of the latter. It is, however, true that there is to be no compulsion in
religion (2:256) and that Allah has given man freedom to sin so that he may
learn self-control and self-determination. But He also punishes sinners.
Indeed, suffering is meant to repel from the harmful and development takes
place by overcoming evil. Those protected from difficulties or evil must
necessarily remain weak and vulnerable. It is necessary also to know evil in
order to avoid it. It may, therefore, be argued that there is to be no
censorship. But the artist must be held responsible for his actions and can be
prosecuted.
What can "value in itself" possibly mean? Value is judged with respect to
something that is itself taken as an absolute. If Art is regarded as something
which exists independently of Allah then this is impossible. If it is valued as
something besides Allah, then it is certainly an Idol. If it is "purposeless"
then it is just that, purposeless and valueless. If it has a purpose then it
must have purpose ultimately with respect to Allah - that is:- (a) either as a
means for human welfare and development, or (b) for social welfare and
integration or (c) for the welfare and development of the environment - it must
have a cosmic function.
It can also be argued that Art has its own value, aesthetic value (positive or
negative). Beauty is an attribute of Allah, just as Goodness, Truth and Power
are and can be sought independently. But ultimately all attributes are one and
derive from the notion of Unity - i.e. consistency, conformity, harmony,
usefulness. Or more correctly, Beauty is an aspect of all the attributes (or
Names) of Allah:-
"We have created for hell many of the Jinn and of Mankind; they have hearts and
they discern not therewith; they have eyes and they see not therewith; they
have ears and they hear not therewith; they are like cattle, nay, more
misguided, for they are heedless. But to Allah belong the most beautiful names;
call on Him then thereby, and leave those who blaspheme His names. They shall
be requited for what they do." 7:179-180
One could appreciate such beauty as one does in Nature. The Quran points to the
beauty and harmony of nature created by Allah many times. The Quran is itself a
thing of beauty which thrills and elevates the soul. One could appreciate the
beauty in the product or the talents that Allah has placed in the hands of the
artist and so on. The appreciation of things is clearly an aspect of
consciousness and facilitates its develops. It is a good thing to seek and
establish truth, or goodness or powers such as talents, abilities, self-control
and things that are useful such as instruments and machines. And it is also a
good thing to seek and establish beauty and harmony in oneself, the society and
the environment.
In Islam things have value only when they lead closer to Allah or conform to
His will and purposes. Thus the doing of crafts and arts may well be valuable
as a means of developing abilities, patience, concentration, coordination etc.,
but the end product may have no value at all. To preserve or revere it would be
idolatry. It is like a by-product or like excreta. We eat food to extract
nutrition out of it. The rest is discarded, though it may be valued by worms
and other lower forms of life. The same is the case with the materials of Art.
In one Sufi circle where arts were practiced, the master destroyed the works
after completion. The pupils who clung to these products were thrown out of the
school because clearly the means had become the ends for them. There is some
evidence to show that story telling, drama, painting, music and other forms of
art were originally invented in religious circles for spiritual purposes but
degenerated from this purpose over the centuries and have now become
meaningless means of titillation and self-indulgence. Occasionally, however,
these are still used to uplift, inspire, stimulate or educate. But it is used
more often for mental conditioning, propaganda, brain-washing, and other
methods of disabling and controlling, by those in power for their own profit or
other supposed advantages.
Part 2 follows
H.S.Aziz