Fraz Javed
My design is meant to represent Sufi conceptions of God being the sole reality of the world. This claim stems from the following mystical claims: reality is explained and contained in the Quran; the Quran itself is contained in its opening chapter, the Fatiha; and the Fatiha itself can be said to be contained in the first line of the chapter, the bismillah. Taking this a step further, some explain that the bismillah is contained in the ba, the first letter of the statement. In the last step of the claim, it is explained that the ba itself is contained in the dot below the letter.
Thus, the dot on the ba metaphorically contains all that is in existence. It is through that dot that the infinite tapestry of the universe is woven, with each thread representing a unique aspect of existence. The Shams al Ma’arif, Perhaps one of the most controversial and nebulous works in the Islamic tradation focused on occult practices, references this tradition. This is to demonstrate how concepts of the unity of God are comprehensively applied to all facets of reality, to the point where God is the only reality.
In my design, I write the bismillah. This is the phrase that starts the Fatiha, which also represents reality. While it may be difficult to see in the picture, the dot below the ba – the very first letter on the right – is filled with Allah in Arabic. This is to demonstrate the dot being reality and God being that very reality. All of this is in the backdrop of a galaxy as a reminder that the universe is constructed through this very dot. The idea is to represent how this world – in all its entirety, beauty, and grandeur – is but a single drop in the ocean of reality.