Ayat 6: Shubbak -al Nabati
Size: 24” x 50” // Medium: Acrylics on Canvas
A window with a biomorphic pattern in Al Jami’ al Anwar in Cairo.
Shubbak -al Mulk : The revelation of a Fatemi Shubbak
Size: 24” x 32” Medium: Acrylics on Canvas
A Fatimi shubbak: a stucco grille with floral patterns from the original masjid was revealed. This grille had long been hidden behind another grille from the Mamluk period, and it was only upon close inspection of the Mamluk grille that the original Fatemi grille was revealed after a period of 698 years.
Another grille found in al Anwar has inscribed upon it, in mirrored form, the words For Allah TA is the Kingdom, which can also be read as (almulko lillah) The Kingdom is of Allah TA, indicating that Allah TA domain extends over both the spiritual and temporal realms.
Amirul Mumineen Maulana Ali b. Abi Talib AS has stated that ‘𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦’. Those who have mastered crafts are better placed to convert them into a steady and sustainable source of income. Generation of income only enhances the unbridled contentment and sense of achievement felt by people who have such skills sets; contentment being a treasure that keeps on giving.
Expounding upon Amirul Mumineen’s statement, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS explained that a craft is truly held complete when it imbibes three elements:
1️⃣ When the craft itself has 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐧 (intrinsic beauty) and its products depict this virtue
2️⃣ When craftspeople display the quality of 𝐢𝐭𝐪𝐚𝐧 (precision and proficiency) in their work, and
3️⃣ When artisans are pious, and their methods, approaches and products exhibit the quality of 𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐭 (virtuousness and integrity).
The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity state that the greater the number of steps undertaken in making a product, the better its results will be. The example of a loaf of bread 🥖 is given to illustrate this point. Bread is only obtained after the processes of seeding, tending to the crop 👩🏽🌾, harvesting the wheat grain 🌾, making flour, kneading the dough and baking bread are completed 🍞. A loaf of bread has to undergo such extensive processes for it to be fit for human consumption. Similarly, the more the number of steps, the level of detail, and the extent of skill required for a craft, the greater the appreciation for that craft and the people associated with it will be.