Islamic gardens have a spiritual message
Doha, 2009 Mar 4, IQNA/The Peninsula
The Islamic garden is a contemplation of nature where all the elements of nature have a role to play and are important, according to experts addressing the First International Forum on the Quranic Garden in Doha.
The three-day event, attended by more than 20 scientists and experts from different countries, will conclude Wednesday.
“The Islamic community throughout history has created bases for environmental architecture,” said Dr Safei El Din Hamed, Professor of Environmental Planning, Texas Tech University, USA. “From prairies of Spain in the West to Islamic capitals in the East such as Samarkand, Isfahan, Shiraz and Agra, the Arab-Islamic heritage provides lessons to humanity in the love of natural environment, and in skilled ability to mix the same elements of rock, water and plants in multitudes of ways which are distinct from one another. They have always been sources of enjoyment and inspiration to many and have lasted till today,” he said.
Historical Islamic gardens are products of an age of reason based on faith that stresses an absolute belief in the unity of God, the unity of humanity and the continuity of the revealed message. “They reflect a belief in the unseen that includes a symphony of everything in nature. Any attempt to remove the roots of Islamic tradition from future developments of new Islamic gardens will be an empty initiative and will be against the true expression of human value. This is perhaps the basis of the subtle notion of unity observed in Islamic gardens around the world,” he said.
Often the misunderstanding or lack of knowledge about the Arab-Islamic culture deters experts from knowing the metaphysical, philosophical and poetic dimensions of an Islamic garden. Although many researchers have dwelt on the art of Islamic gardens, no comprehensive work on the subject has yet examined the interaction between the physical and metaphysical aspects that inspired the designers of these gardens.
“The fundamental difference between an Islamic garden and the others is that though they were spread in different hemispheres in various countries, they always had a unity. Any practical eye can see similarities in the artistic works of gardens in the Taj Mahal in India and at the Alhambra palace in Spain,” Dr Hamed said.
Islamic gardens can be keys to promoting knowledge about Islam and Islamic culture and also bridges to foster cultural relations.
“In our multicultural world, the art of an Islamic garden may not only serve as an ambassador for beauty and truth of the religion of Islam but also as an effective bridge between cultures,” said Emma Clark, Senior Tutor, The Prince’s School of Tradition Arts, London.
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