Epigraph:
“Ask them [O God’s Messenger]: Who has forbidden you
the adornments of the Almighty which He had created for His servants, and who
has forbidden the wholesome among the edibles? Tell them: They are for the
believers also even in this world [but God has also given the disbelievers a
share in them]; and on the Day of Judgement, they shall be theirs alone.
[The disbelievers shall have no share in them.] Thus, do We explain Our
revelations for those who want to know.
Say: My Lord has only forbidden lewd acts, whether
open or hidden and usurping rights and wrongful oppression and that you
associate with God that for which He did not send down any sanction and
that you fabricate something about God that you know not.”
Reply to the Article: Anthropomorphic
Imagery in the Sistine Chapel – A Theological and Historical Analysis by
Dr. Zia H Shah.
[Dr. Zia
H Shah is a physician practicing in Upstate New York. He is the Chief Editor of
the Muslim Times, which has more than 36,000 followers on Twitter. He has
authored more than 400 articles on Islam, Christianity, Secularism, and
Religion & Science. Follow in Twitter: @The_MuslimTimes]
Exodus
(20:4-5): “Exodus 20:4–5, states: “You shall not make for yourself a
graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath…; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.”
relates to worshipping idols. The article also quotes 1 Kings 6:23-29 as Solomon’s
Temple adorned with carved figures. The Qur’an is consistent with these
Biblical Verses. It mentions Prophet Solomon’s kingdom (34:12-13):
“In
a similar way, We subdued the wind for Solomon. The going of the wind
[taking along his ships] would be of one month also and the return too would be
of one month. And We made a spring of molten brass to flow for him and
had also subdued the jinn who would work in front of him at the behest of his
Lord and had said: “He among them who shows disobedience to Our
directive, We shall make him taste the flavour of Fire.”
They would make for him whatever he wanted from
among arches, statues, basins as large as watering-troughs, and
gigantic cauldrons stationed on hearths – “Continue to be grateful
[to your Lord]! Family of David.” In reality, few among My servants are
grateful.”
I believe the Verse in Genesis 1:27 which says:
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them." does not mean in the literal
sense. It relates to the attributes of God that we too are bestowed with to a
certain degree. If God is compassionate and gracious, we too, exhibit being
compassionate and gracious to a certain degree. God is forgiving. We, too, are
forgiving to a certain degree. The attributes of God are in absolute terms. In
Arabic, these attributes when preceded by the article ‘Al’ (like ‘The’ in the
English language) specify the attribute. So, if we are compassionate and
gracious, God is the most compassionate and the most gracious.
That is
why, when I mean we exhibit these attributes too, to a certain degree, I imply
these attributes are in absolute terms when we relate to God.
God is
most sensitive to monotheism. He says He shall forgive every sin under the sun
except polytheism, Qur’an (4:48):
“[They think that whatever their beliefs and deeds,
they will necessarily go to Paradise; they should know that] God shall not
forgive that associates be [deliberately] ascribed to Him; however, lesser
than this, He shall forgive [according to His law] any sin for whomsoever He
wants, and [there is no doubt that] he who associates partners with God is
guilty of inventing a great sin.”
Allowing
images or idols to be venerated only and not worshipped is treading dangerous
waters. As the followers of Divine religion and believers of One God, one must
remain aware and cognizant of the challenge of Satan to God, mentioned in the Qur’an
(7:11-18):
“[Your tale is that] We had created you, then had
given you form. Then We had said to the angels: “Prostrate before
Adam.” So, except Satan all prostrated. He was not among those who
prostrated.
God said: “What stopped you from prostrating when
I had ordered you?” He replied: “I am better than him. You have created me
from fire and created him from clay.”
He said: “Get you down from here because you do not
have the right to show arrogance here. So, away with you! Surely, you are
disgraceful.”
He replied: “Give me respite until the Day people
are raised up.”
God said: “You have this respite.”
He replied: “Then because you have led me astray, I
too shall surely lie in ambush at Your straight path for the progeny of Adam.
Then I shall certainly pounce upon them from
their front and behind, from their right and left – from all sides. And
You will find most of them to be ungrateful to You.”
God said: “Go away from here, disgraced and accursed.
[Remember that] those of them who follow you, I also shall definitely fill Hell
with you all.”
”Believers! These Idolaters are absolutely impure. So,
they must not even come near the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs
and if [as a consequence] you fear poverty, [rest assured,] if God wills, He
shall soon make you rich through His grace. Undoubtedly, God is All-Knowing and
All-Wise.”
The verse
has a context but the implication is that because of the filth in faith which
the idolaters are afflicted with, they cannot enter the limits of the House of
God even for ḥajj and ‘umrah. This House of Kaa’ba
is the center for monotheism.
At one
place in the Qur’an God states (72:18):
“And also, that mosques are only for God; so,
invoke not anyone in them besides God.”
A Hadith
attributed to the Prophet stresses practicing monotheism. Narrated Mu'adh ibn
Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him): “I was riding behind the Prophet (peace
be upon him) on a donkey called 'Ufayr. He said to me, ‘O Mu'adh, do you know
what is the right of Allah upon His servants, and what is the right of the
servants upon Allah?’ I said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said,
‘The right of Allah upon His servants is that they should worship Him and not
associate anything with Him, and the right of the servants upon Allah is that
He will not punish the one who does not associate anything with Him.’ I said,
‘O Messenger of Allah, should I not give this glad tidings to the people?’ He
said, ‘Do not tell them, for they might rely on it (and not strive to do good
deeds).’” — Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2856 & Sahih Muslim, Hadith 30 (in
some editions Hadith 135)
In this
light, Michelangelo’s portrayal of God may seem problematic because it is
placed in a sacred space (a chapel) where people gather to worship and such
images or statues could be used to invoke God’s devotion.
The Qur’an, however, comments on Fine Arts. It says these are God’s blessings for His servants to be used and enjoyed. These verses of the Qur’an are explicit in guiding us for all times to come, Qur’an (7:32-33):
“Ask them [O God’s Messenger]: Who has forbidden you
the adornments of the Almighty which He had created for His servants, and who
has forbidden the wholesome among the edibles? Tell them: They are for the
believers also even in this world [but God has also given the disbelievers a
share in them]; and on the Day of Judgement, they shall be theirs alone.
[The disbelievers shall have no share in them.] Thus, do We explain Our
revelations for those who want to know.
Say: My Lord has only forbidden lewd acts, whether
open or hidden and usurping rights and wrongful oppression and that you
associate with God that for which He did not send down any sanction and
that you fabricate something about God that you know not.”
These Qur’an
verses suggest God has no issues with Fine Arts. The term "fine art"
is defined by several reputable dictionaries as follows:
- Oxford Reference: "Art
created primarily for aesthetic reasons and not for functional use.
Examples of the fine arts are painting, drawing, sculpture, and
music."
- Collins English Dictionary: "Painting
and sculpture, in which objects are produced that are beautiful rather
than useful, can be referred to as fine art or as the fine arts."
- Cambridge English Dictionary: "A
type of art that is admired for its beauty, for example, painting,
sculpture, music, and dance."
These
definitions collectively highlight that fine art encompasses creative works
valued primarily for their aesthetic appeal and beauty. God points out the
prohibitions in the next verse (7:33). This verse offers a profound and
multilayered ethical framework for understanding divine prohibitions. God,
through this verse, ‘reminds’ along with personal purity, and social ethics through
the Qur’an (God declares His Qur’an as a Reminder) to adhere to pure monotheism
and sanctioned belief and not attribute lies to God.
In
conclusion, it is important to remain knowledgeable regarding God’s
expectations of us. The sole source of the Divine expectations is His prophets who
received His revelations. The Bible – Old and New Testaments are in sync with
the Qur’an regarding issues of morality and monotheism. These can neither be
tinkered with or misinterpreted for any reason.
God while commenting
on the Jews who tinkered with the verses of the Torah or hid them from the common
public in the times of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says (3:77):
“[You expect from them that in the matter of your
prophet, they will act justly] and on the contrary, the situation is that among
the People of the Book there are those also who, if you trust them with a heap
of wealth, will return it to you intact; and there are others among them also
who, if you entrust them with a single dīnār, will not hand it back unless
you forcefully demand it from them. This is because they have said: “We shall
not be held blameworthy in the matter of these unlettered.” And it is a
fact that they deliberately say of God what is untrue.
Indeed, why not? [The way of God only is that] he
who keeps his covenant with Him and remains pious is liked by Him because God
loves the pious.
On the other hand, those who sell the covenant of God and
their own oaths for a trivial price have no share in the world to come.
And God shall neither speak to them nor look at them with favour, nor purify them
[from their sins] on the Day of Judgement. In fact, a grievous punishment
awaits them there”.
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