Islamic Art and Architecture

Aniconic, with no sacred, representational projections ofdivinity through paintings, plastic arts, etc., as in certain Western and Eastern arts, Islamic art, rooted in Tawhid, the inimitable concept of God's unity that entails His sublime attributes called Asma¿u Husna, is a manifestation of beauty, refinement, harmony, moderation, equilibrium and authenticity. In other words, Islamic art is a civilizational reflection of Ihsan, a comprehensive term that combines all the above mentioned qualities. Muslim artists and architects, throughout the centuries, have been aware of the Prophet's saying, "God, certainly, has prescribed Ihsan in everything. And God, according to another Hadith, is beautiful. And He loves the beauty.

It is this story of beauty, refinement, harmony, etc., that the present volume, Islamic Art and Architecture: An Introduction, Edited by Dr Sabrina Lei, one of the insightful contemporary European Muslim philosophers, presents before the readers interested in the history, the basic principles of Islamic art and architecture. Apart from Dr Sabrina's introductory article on the philosophy of Islamic art and architecture, this volume,Tawasul's first segment in a three-volume series on Islamic art and architecture, contains the authentic studies of some of the preeminent experts in the field like Sir Thomas Arnold,   Stanley Lane Poole and Martin S. Briggs.