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GenEd 1134

Omar Shareef

During the course, I was particularly interested in the different characteristics of God especially as they are expressed through the 99 names of God. One of the names of God which particularly stood out to me was Al-Khaaliq (The Creator). In verse 7, line 54, the Qur’an says, "Allah created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days”. This line reminded me that, under the Islamic perspective, it is God who is the underlying creator and facilitator of all things.

To me, nature is a stark example of the beauty and the complexity of God’s creation. A tree, which starts as a simple seed, can grow to be of massive size. However, in order to grow, a tree must be rooted into the ground. It is these roots which anchor the tree in the soil, keeping it straight and stable, and absorbing nutrients from the surroundings that allow it to grow. In a similar vein, it is Allah, The Creator who is the anchor which provides the platform for all things to be created and facilitates growth. Without Allah, as without the roots, there is no way for things to grow or for creation to subsist.

As such, the picture above depicts a tree, and the roots of the tree are meant to spell out Allah in Arabic. This is meant to demonstrate how God (Allah) is the root of life for all things. The Qur’an repeatedly emphasizes Allah's role as the Creator (Al-Khaaliq), describing how He brought everything into being and sustains it through His divine power, and the calligram above is meant to represent that. The tree above is supposed to represent all of creation, and Allah is the foundation for its occurrence.

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47. Willie Lowry For this project I chose the word “Tawhid”. For “scenery” I used the main symbols associated with all 3 Abrahamic religions and then had Tawhid written into the starry night sky. This night sky could resemble a number of stories associated with all the books. Such as the Isra and Mi’raj which are a part of the night journey where Muhammed ascended to heaven and spoke with God. From the Torah, Jacob, or Yaqub, as known in Islam, wrestled with God under the night sky and that is where he received the name Israel. And in the Bible Jesus, or Isa, was taken away to be crucified late at night. Tawhid is a term that relates to the oneness of God. This idea can be taken literally as God being one entity, and that there are no gods other than God. This phrase can also be related to the unity of God. Unity, as characteristic of God, being uncompromisable and acting as a single being. God as the joining force between all things and people. The idea of God being supreme is, of course, a common trait shared between the Abrahamic religions. Beyond that fact, I chose these symbols along with this word as a representation of the “oneness” of these religions. Despite different ways of practice, different main figures, language barriers, and many other differences, these religions all pray and aim to serve, the same God. I wanted to highlight how they are distinct and yet together by replacing the star associated with the moon with the star of David. Despite the separation there is still an undividable unity between these groups, even if it does not always seem that way.

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Omar_Shareef_Calligram