Islamic art traditionally comprises of arabesque, calligraphy and geometry. This artwork aligns these three elements using silver paint on indigo blue huun paper
Huun paper is created by artisans throughout the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico using 3000 year old ancient Mayan techniques
For perspective, the method for creating this delicate paper dates from a time when the Prophets David and Solomon walked upon the Earth (~1000 years before the birth of Jesus and ~1600 years before the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
The generational cycles of life and death are symbolized by the vegetal patterns in the arabesques within the columns, and the awe-inspiring passage of time as a rotating celestial dance between the sun and the moon
“Hilal”, the sliver of a crescent moon here represents the dawn of each new month surrounded by an interlaced star with 12 points to symbolize the months within the Islamic Lunar calendar
The silvery-white sun as a “shamsa” biomorphic pattern, its hue authentic as seen by astronauts from outside the Earth’s orbit
Did you know, the sun is essentially all the colors of the rainbow mixed together, which looks white to our eyes? It only appears yellow to us because the Earth’s thick atmosphere scatters the green, blue and violet hues allowing only the longer wavelength colors through
The first verse of the Quran is “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” [Quran (1:1)] and it is mentioned within it that the Quran itself was sent as a mercy (Quran (17:82)]. We know the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent as a mercy for all the worlds [Quran (21:107)] and Allah swt tells us Himself “My Mercy encompasses all things” [Quran (7:156)]
The simplicity of the prayer yet the depth, breadth and enormity of all that it entails is thus overwhelming and reverberates to the very core. Imagine being granted this prayer and its impact upon every single facet of life, when we don’t limit what we pray and ask of the Infinite One who Created it all but instead beseech Him:
اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ
“O Allah, open for me the doors of Your Mercy”