Aniconism in Islamic Art

The teachings of Islam discourage the illustrations and possessions of living beings. This is why one will find that there is very little to no representation of living beings that can be found in Islamic art. There are a few reasons for this which I will explain briefly.

1. The first reason is related to Islam being a Monotheistic religion (Belief that there is only one God). This message was spread by every prophet since Prophet Adam (AS). Previous generations of Muslims (before the coming of Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]) had created sculptures and illustrations of Allah and the Prophets/ Messengers that they eventually started worshipping, instead of Allah. Idol worship is completely prohibited.

2. The second reason is related to Allah being the only creator of life. There are many Ahadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]) that mention the prohibiting of creating any form of a living being, for which, the punishment from Allah will be tormented in the afterlife. It is also mentioned that prayers will be accepted from the person who adorns their body or area of prayer with images of living being.

3. The third reason deals with the association of magic and talismans with the creation of figures. Illustrations of humans and animals were used to assist the process of mediation with Jinn (evil spirits) to perform acts of magic and used for various talismanic purposes. Mediation of Jinn is extremely prohibited regardless of the reason (help with protection, harming others, cursing other...).

The world of Islam

Figure 3 - Ziech, M., (2016). World Muslim population

Above is a map of the current Islamic world. The countries with high Muslim populations may not necessarily be governed by Islamic law but Islamic culture would exist strongly in them. These are the regions that Islamic art would traditionally be found in.

In order to understand Islamic art, I think it's important to have some background information on Islam. Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God and that Muhammad (PBUH) is the last messenger of God. The word "Islam" means to submit (to the will of God). My understanding of Islam is that it preaches peace and forbids evil.

Islam came about in Saudi Arabia approximately 1400 to 1500 years ago. The religion spread overtime mainly to surrounding countries, and at one point, stretched from Spain to western China. The religion spread into countries that are very different and distant from each other and in doing so, merged religious values with the current traditions and cultures of the places. This has resulted in the different forms of art sharing similarities in purpose but manifesting uniquely in each locale, for example, Masjids share a purpose as a place of prayer however their designs are unique to the locale that they are found in.