under the jasmine trees

[underthejasminetrees]

SYRIA IS FREE!!!! Assad is overthrown by the Syrian people!!!! Lelelelelelelele! We can finally return to our beautiful homes. Seeing Syrians liberated from prisons after so many years, reuniting with their families, celebrating in the streets, crying in each other’s arms, my heart bursts. A day I dreamt of as a child since our revolution began. This is for all the martyrs and revolutionaries, I am thinking of you all and I know you are watching over us now. I love my Syrians and our freedom and I am basking in our joy today with many tears. I cannot wait to go home. Thinking of the 100,000+ disappeared people in Syria whose families and loved ones are still waiting for answers. They deserve an answer to their years of searching, they deserve accountability, they deserve justice. Our joy is incomplete until then.

[communicants]

The Dove’s Lost Necklace (Nacer Khemir, 1991)

[juniper-girl]

The Dove’s Lost Necklace طوق الحمامة المفقود (Nacer Khemir, 1991)

[communicants]

Bab’Aziz (Nacer Khemir, 2005)

[sacredwhores]

Nacer Khemir - Wanderers of the Desert (1984)

[juniper-girl]

The Dove’s Lost Necklace طوق الحمامة المفقود (Nacer Khemir, 1991)

[sacredwhores]

Nacer Khemir - Wanderers of the Desert (1984)

[sacredwhores]

Nacer Khemir - Wanderers of the Desert (1984)

[touba]

The Bismillah (artist unknown; India, between 1875-1900)

[touba]

Brass qibla compasses, used to establish the direction one should turn towards during prayers (i.e. towards Mecca),  Iran, c.1800-1875 (source)

[touba]

Haji Noor deen Mi Guangjiang, Bismillah (In the Name of God), 2003 (source)

[touba]

Detail from the illustration “Formation of the Crescent of the Moon”, from the Turkish version of The Wonders of Creation by al-Qazwini, artist unknown, c. 1717 (source)

[touba]

The Buraq, the creature that transported the Prophet Muhammad (s) in his “night journey,”  in a detail from a folio in the Turkish version of al-Qazwini's The Wonders of Creation, artist unknown, c. 1717 (source). 

“The wise and learned have this to say about the Buraq: his body is smaller than that of a mule, but larger than that of a donkey […]  His hooves are made of corals; his feet are of gold. His chest is of red ruby stone, while his back is made pearls. The wings at his side are of ruby red. His tail resembles the tail of a camel. According to a different narration, his tail resembles that of a peacock and is of extreme comeliness. His mane was that of a horse while his feet resembled those of a camel. He was saddled with a saddle from Paradise, and his stirrups were of red ruby, beset with,jewels.”– Hajjah Amina Adil, from Muhammad: the Messenger of Islam: His Life and Prophecy

[touba]

Islamic talismans from the British Museum collection*, as featured in a color plate in Stranger Magic: Charmed States and The Arabian Nights by Marina Warner. The objects in this image, clockwise from the top left, are made from carnelian, chalcedony, garnet, rock crystal, carnelian, and lapis lazuli. Such talismans may be inscribed with prayers, the 99 names of God, or verses from the Qur'an.

*Refer to Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum by Venetia Porter

[touba]

Hilya in the form of a two-sided amulet, naskh script on chalcedony, c. 18th or 19th century, Turkey or India, from the Khalili collection. 

Object description from The Art of the Pen: Calligraphy of the 14th to 20th Centuries by Nabil F. Safwat:

“Occasionally, we find the Hilya inscribed on an amulet. This example was probably made in the 18th or 19th century. The text reads ‘The Messenger of God had a rosy complexion. [He had] dark eyes, large in shape and shining, with long lashes. He had beautifully arched eyebrows. His nose was curved. [His] teeth were slightly separated. He exuded radiance. His face was full. His forehead was wide. His chest was broad. His figure was perfect. He was of medium stature.’

The lines are engraved in naskh within an inverted crescent, inside which are the names of the Companions of the Cave[…]

The other side of the amulet is engraved with Qur'anic verses, from the surahs al-Anbiya (parts of verse 87), as-Saff (parts of verse 13), al-Ikhlas*, and the 'Throne Verse’ from the surah al-Baqarah (verse 255).”

[touba]

Lapis lazuli talisman, c. 9th century, Iran (source)

The octagonal pendant features the Qur'anic Surah Al-Ikhlas, which was held to protect the bearer of the talisman from a wide range of evils and dangers.

[touba]

Plaque for printing a pilgrimage certificate, c. 18th century, possibly of Egyptian or Syrian origin. 

“The entire surface of this unusual object is engraved with Qur'anic verses, prayers, and invocations to God, the prophet Muhammad, and other religious leaders. It also contains representations of the Great Mosque at Mecca and the Mosque of Medina, the two holiest sites visited by Muslims during the great hajj, or pilgrimage. Both the writing and images are engraved in reverse, indicating that the plaque was used for printing. The printed sheet would have been a souvenir of a pilgrim’s visit.” (source)