Islam and the arts
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Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic people. The early forms of
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
culture, from the
Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate ( ar, اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ, al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah) was the first caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his ...
to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predominantly Arab, Byzantine, Persian and Levantine. With the rapid expansion of the Islamic empires, Muslim culture has influenced and assimilated much from the Persian,
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
, North Caucasian,
Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...
, Mongol, Indian,
Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
, Pakistani,
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
, Somali,
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
, Indonesian, and Moro cultures. Islamic culture generally includes all of the practices which have developed around the religion of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. There are variations in the application of Islamic beliefs in different cultures and traditions.


Language and literature


Arabic

Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-'Arabī'') is the writing, both prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''" Adab"'', which is derived from a meaning of
etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...
, and which implies politeness, culture and enrichment. Arabic literature emerged in the 5th century with only fragments of the written language appearing before then. The Qur'an,(the holy book of Islam) widely regarded by people as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language, would have the greatest lasting effect on
Arabic culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...
and its literature. Arabic literature flourished during the Islamic Golden Age, but has remained vibrant to the present day, with poets and prose-writers across the Arab world, as well as rest of the world, achieving increasing success.


Persian

Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and it is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within
Greater Iran Greater Iran ( fa, ایران بزرگ, translit=Irān-e Bozorg) refers to a region covering parts of Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Xinjiang, and the Caucasus, where both Culture of Iran, Iranian culture and Iranian langua ...
including present-day Iran, Iraq,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, and Turkey, regions of Central Asia (such as Tajikistan) and South Asia where the Persian language has historically been either the native or official language. For instance,
Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
, one of best-loved Persian poets born in
Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
(in what is now the modern-day Afghanistan) or Vakhsh (in what is now the modern-day Tajikistan), wrote in Persian and lived in Konya, then the capital of the Seljuks in Anatolia. The
Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
conquered large territories in Central and South Asia and adopted Persian as their court language. There is thus Persian literature from Iran, Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan, the wider Caucasus, Turkey, western parts of Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Tajikistan and other parts of Central Asia. Not all Persian literature is written in Persian, as some consider works written by ethnic Persians in other languages, such as Greek and Arabic, to be included. At the same time, not all literature written in Persian is written by ethnic Persians or Iranians, as Turkic, Caucasian, and Indic poets and writers have also used the Persian language in the environment of Persianate cultures. Described as one of the great literatures of humanity, including Goethe's assessment of it as one of the four main bodies of world literature, Persian literature has its roots in surviving works of Middle Persian and
Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
, the latter of which date back as far as 522 BCE, the date of the earliest surviving Achaemenid inscription, the Behistun Inscription. The bulk of surviving Persian literature, however, comes from the times following the Arab conquest of Persia c. 650 CE. After the Abbasids came to power (750 CE), the Iranians became the scribes and bureaucrats of the Arab empire and, increasingly, also its writers and poets. The New Persian language literature arose and flourished in
Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
and Transoxiana because of political reasons, early Iranian dynasties such as the
Tahirids The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in Ab ...
and Samanids being based in Khorasan. Persian poets such as
Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...
, Sa'di, Hafiz,
Attar Attar or Attoor ( ar, عطار, ) may refer to: People *Attar (name) *Fariduddin Attar, 12th-century Persian poet Places *Attar (Madhya Pradesh), the location of Attar railway station, Madhya Pradesh, India *Attar, Iran, a village in Razavi Kho ...
, Nezami,
Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
and Omar Khayyam are also known in the West and have influenced the literature of many countries.


Indic

For a thousand years, since the invasion of India by the
Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
, the Persian-Islamic culture of the eastern half of the Islamic world started to influence the Indian culture. Persian was the official language of most Indian empires such as the
Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
, the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
, the
Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
, the
Deccan Sultanates The Deccan sultanates were five Islamic late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. Th ...
(such as the
Qutb Shahi dynasty The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the coll ...
) and the Mughal Empire. Persian artistic forms in literature and poetry such as ghazals have come to significantly affect Urdu and other Indian literature. More Persian literature was produced in India than in the Iranian world. As late as the 20th century, Allama Iqbal chose Persian for some of his major poetic works. The first Persian language newspaper was also published in India, given that printing machines were first implemented in India. In Bengal, Muslim writers were exploring different themes through Islamic narratives and epics such as culture, cosmology, love and history. Starting from
Shah Muhammad Saghir Shah Muhammad Sagir ( bn, শাহ মুহম্মদ সগীর) was one of the earliest Bengali Muslim poets, if not the first. Life Shah Muhammad Sagir was a poet of the 14/15th century, during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal Ghiyasuddi ...
in the 14th century, Muslim writers began to enrich the Bengali language for over 600 years, often being actively supported and promoted by the rulers themselves. The early 20th century brought a new era for Bengali Islamic literature, with its most notable poet Kazi Nazrul Islam espousing intense rebellion against colonialism and oppression, in addition to writing a highly acclaimed collection of Bengali
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
s.
Sultana's Dream ''Sultana's Dream'' is a 1905 Bengali feminist utopian story in English, written by Begum Rokeya, also known as Rokeya Sahkawat Hossain, a Muslim feminist, writer and social reformer from Bengal. It was published in the same year in Madras-bas ...
by
Begum Rokeya Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain") is the commonly used spelling of Rokeya's full married name, Rokeya herself is never seen to use her full married name in this English spelling. In much of her correspondence in English, she used just her initials: ...
, an
Islamic feminist Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and soci ...
, is one earliest works of feminist science fiction.


Turkish

From the 11th century, there was a growing body of Islamic literature in the Turkic languages. However, for centuries to come the official language in Turkish-speaking areas would remain Persian. In Anatolia, with the advent of the Seljuks, the practise and usage of Persian in the region would be strongly revived. A branch of the Seljuks, the
Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...
, took Persian language, art and letters to Anatolia. They adopted Persian language as the official language of the empire. The
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
, which can "roughly" be seen as their eventual successors, took this tradition over. Persian was the official court language of the empire, and for some time, the official language of the empire, though the lingua franca amongst common people from the 15th/16th century would become Turkish as well as having laid an active "foundation" for the Turkic language as early as the 4th century (see Turkification). After a period of several centuries,
Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
had developed towards a fully accepted language of literature, which was even able to satisfy the demands of a scientific presentation.Bertold Spuler
''Persian Historiography & Geography''
Pustaka Nasional Pte Ltd p 69
However, the number of Persian and Arabic loanwords contained in those works increased at times up to 88%. However, Turkish was proclaimed the official language of the
Karamanids The Karamanids ( tr, Karamanoğulları or ), also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman ( tr, Karamanoğulları Beyliği), was one of the Anatolian beyliks, centered in South-Central Anatolia around the present-day Karaman Pro ...
in the 17th century, though it didn't manage to become the official language in a wider area or larger empire until the advent of the Ottomans. With the establishment of the Ottoman Empire,
Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
grew in importance in both poetry and prose becoming, by the beginning of the 18th century, the official language of the Empire. Unlike India, where Persian remained the official and principal literary language of both Muslim and Hindu states until the 19th century.


Art

Public Islamic art is traditionally non-representational, except for the widespread use of plant forms, usually in varieties of the spiralling arabesque. These are often combined with Islamic calligraphy,
geometric patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
in styles that are typically found in a wide variety of media, from small objects in ceramic or metalwork to large decorative schemes in tiling on the outside and inside of large buildings, including
mosques A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, i ...
. However, there is a long tradition in Islamic art of the depiction of human and animal figures, especially in painting and small anonymous relief figures as part of a decorative scheme. Almost all Persian miniatures (as opposed to decorative illuminations) include figures, often in large numbers, as do their equivalents in Arab, Mughal and Ottoman miniatures. But miniatures in books or muraqqa albums were private works owned by the elite. Larger figures in
monumental sculpture The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used for ...
are exceptionally rare until recent times, and portraiture showing realistic representations of individuals (and animals) did not develop until the late 16th century in miniature painting, especially Mughal miniatures. Manuscripts of the Qur'an and other sacred texts have always been strictly kept free of such figures, but there is a long tradition of the
depiction of Muhammad The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad in Islam has been a contentious issue. Oral and written descriptions of Muhammad are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions. The Quran does not ...
and other religious figures in books of history and poetry; since the 20th century Muhammad has mostly been shown as though wearing a veil hiding his face, and many earlier miniatures were overpainted to use this convention.


Depiction of animate beings

Some interpretations of Islam include a ban of depiction of animate beings, also known as aniconism. Islamic aniconism stems in part from the prohibition of idolatry and in part from the belief that creation of living forms is God's prerogative. Although the Quran does not explicitly prohibit visual representation of any living being, it uses the word ''musawwir'' (maker of forms, artist) as an epithet of God. The corpus of hadith (sayings attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad) contains more explicit prohibitions of images of living beings, challenging painters to "breathe life" into their images and threatening them with punishment on the Day of Judgment. Muslims have interpreted these prohibitions in different ways in different times and places. Religious Islamic art has been typically characterized by the absence of figures and extensive use of calligraphic,
geometric Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...
and abstract floral patterns. However, representations of Muhammad (in some cases, with his face concealed) and other religious figures are found in some manuscripts from lands to the east of Anatolia, such as Persia and India. These pictures were meant to illustrate the story and not to infringe on the Islamic prohibition of idolatry, but many Muslims regard such images as forbidden. In secular art of the Muslim world, representations of human and animal forms historically flourished in nearly all Islamic cultures, although, partly because of opposing religious sentiments, figures in paintings were often stylized, giving rise to a variety of decorative figural designs.


Calligraphy

Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of
handwriting Handwriting is the writing done with a writing instrument, such as a pen or pencil, in the hand. Handwriting includes both printing and cursive styles and is separate from formal calligraphy or typeface A typeface (or font family) is ...
and
calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
, based upon the alphabet in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. It includes Arabic Calligraphy, Ottoman, and
Persian calligraphy Persian calligraphy or Iranian calligraphy ( fa, ), is the calligraphy of the Persian language. It is one of the most revered arts throughout the history of Iran. History History of Nasta'liq After the Muslim conquest of Persia, introduction ...
.Chapman, Caroline (2012). ''Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture'', It is known in Arabic as ''khatt Islami'' (), meaning Islamic line, design, or construction. The development of Islamic calligraphy is strongly tied to the Qur'an; chapters and excerpts from the Qur'an are a common and almost universal text upon which Islamic calligraphy is based. However, Islamic calligraphy is not limited to strictly religious subjects, objects, or spaces. Like all Islamic art, it encompasses a diverse array of works created in a wide variety of contexts. The prevalence of calligraphy in Islamic art is not directly related to its non-figural tradition; rather, it reflects the centrality of the notion of writing and written text in Islam. It is noteworthy, for instance, that the Prophet Muhammad is related to have said: "The first thing God created was the pen."Roxburgh, David J. (2008). ""The Eye is Favored for Seeing the Writing's Form": On the Sensual and the Sensuous in Islamic Calligraphy". ''Muqarnas''. 25: 275–298 – via JSTOR. Islamic calligraphy developed from two major styles: Kufic and Naskh. There are several variations of each, as well as regionally specific styles. Islamic calligraphy has also been incorporated into modern art beginning with the post-colonial period in the Middle East, as well as the more recent style of calligraffiti.


Architecture

Islamic architecture is the range of architectural styles of buildings associated with
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. Early Islamic architecture was influenced by Roman, Byzantine, Persian and all other lands which the Muslims conquered in the 7th and 8th centuries.Krautheimer, Richard
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture
Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, Penguin Books Ltd., 1965, p. 285.
Further east, it was also influenced by
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
and Indian architecture as Islam spread to the Southeast Asia. Later it developed distinct characteristics in the form of buildings, and the decoration of surfaces with Islamic calligraphy and geometric and interlace patterned ornament. The principal Islamic architectural types for large or public buildings are: the Mosque, the Tomb, the
Palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
and the Fort. From these four types, the vocabulary of Islamic architecture is derived and used for other buildings such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.Copplestone, p.149 File:OldMosqueStepss.jpg, Northeast entrance to Delhi, India's Jama Masjid. File:Kairouan Mosque Courtyard.jpg, The Great Mosque of Kairouan also called the Mosque of Uqba is at the same time the oldest mosque in North Africa (founded in 670 and still used as a place of worship) and one of the most important monuments of Islamic civilisation, situated in Kairouan, Tunisia. File:Patio de los Arrayanes Alhambra 03 2014.jpg, The fortress-palace of
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
, built in the 11th century, is a large monument and a popular tourist attraction. File:Sultan Ahmed Mosque Istanbul Turkey retouched.jpg, Istanbul's Sultan Ahmed Mosque was completed in 1616. File:Sixty Dome Mosque,Bagerhat.jpg, The 15th-century Sixty Dome Mosque of Khalifatabad in Bangladesh is an example of the
Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
architecture.


Elements of Islamic style

Islamic architecture may be identified with the following design elements, which were inherited from the first mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, as well as from other pre-Islamic features adapted from churches and synagogues. *Large courtyards often merged with a central prayer hall (originally a feature of the
Masjid al-Nabawi Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (), known in English as the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia. It was the second mosque built by Muhammad in Medina, after Qub ...
). *
Minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
s or towers (which were originally used as torch-lit watchtowers for example in the
Great Mosque of Damascus The Umayyad Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأموي, al-Jāmiʿ al-Umawī), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus ( ar, الجامع الدمشق, al-Jāmiʿ al-Damishq), located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the ...
; hence the derivation of the word from the Arabic ''nur'', meaning "light"). The oldest standing minaret in the world is the minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (in Tunisia); erected between the 2nd and the 3rd century, it is a majestic square tower consisting of three superimposed tiers of gradual size and decor. *A
mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
or niche on an inside wall indicating the direction to Mecca. This may have been derived from previous uses of niches for the setting of the torah scrolls in Jewish synagogues or ''Mehrab'' ( Persian: مِهراب) of Persian
Mitraism Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...
culture or the :wikt:haikal of
Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...
churches. *Domes (the earliest Islamic use of which was in the 8th-century mosque of Medina). *Use of
iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
s to intermediate between different sections. *Use of geometric shapes and repetitive art ( arabesque). *Use of decorative Arabic calligraphy. *Use of symmetry. *Ablution fountains. *Use of bright colour. *Focus on the interior space of a building rather than the exterior.


Theatre

Whilst theatre is permitted by Islam, Islam does not allow for any performances to depict God, Muhammad, his companions, the angels or matters detailed in the religion that are unseen. The most popular forms of theatre in the
medieval Islamic world The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
were
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
theatre (which included hand puppets, shadow plays and marionette productions) and live passion plays known as ''ta'ziya'', where actors re-enact episodes from
Muslim history Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
. In particular, Shia Islamic plays revolved around the '' shaheed'' (martyrdom) of Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali and
Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
. Live secular plays were known as ''akhraja'', recorded in medieval '' adab'' literature, though they were less common than puppetry and '' ta'zieh'' theatre. One of the oldest, and most enduring, forms of puppet theatre is the
Wayang , also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...
of Indonesia. Although it narrates primarily pre-Islamic legends, it is also an important stage for Islamic epics such as the adventures of Amir Hamzah (pictured). Islamic Wayang is known as ''Wayang Sadat'' or ''Wayang Menak''. Karagoz, the Turkish Shadow Theatre has influenced puppetry widely in the region. It is thought to have passed from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
by way of India. Later it was taken by the Mongols from the Chinese and transmitted to the Turkish peoples of Central Russia. Thus the art of Shadow Theatre was brought to Anatolia by the Turkish people emigrating from Central Asia. Other scholars claim that shadow theatre came to Anatolia in the 16th century from Egypt. The advocates of this view claim that when Yavuz Sultan Selim conquered Egypt in 1517, he saw shadow theatre performed during an extacy party put on in his honour. Yavuz Sultan Selim was so impressed with it that he took the puppeteer back to his palace in Istanbul. There his 47-year-old son, later Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, developed an interest in the plays and watched them a great deal. Thus shadow theatre found its way into the Ottoman palaces. In other areas the style of shadow puppetry known as ''khayal al-zill'' – an intentionally metaphorical term whose meaning is best translated as 'shadows of the imagination' or 'shadow of fancy' survives. This is a shadow play with live music .."the accompaniment of drums, tambourines and flutes...also..."special effects" – smoke, fire, thunder, rattles, squeaks, thumps, and whatever else might elicit a laugh or a shudder from his audience" In Iran puppets are known to have existed much earlier than 1000, but initially only glove and string puppets were popular in Iran. Other genres of puppetry emerged during the Qajar era (18th–19th century) as influences from Turkey spread to the region. ''Kheimeh Shab-Bazi'' is a Persian traditional puppet show which is performed in a small chamber by a musical performer and a storyteller called a ''morshed'' or ''naghal''. These shows often take place alongside storytelling in traditional tea and coffee-houses (''Ghahve-Khave''). The dialogue takes place between the morshed and the puppets. Puppetry remains very popular in Iran, the touring opera Rostam and Sohrab puppet opera being a recent example. The Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman. It is considered to be the first opera house linking Islamic culture with classical music. Following the
independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...
in 1947, religion-based nationalism was strong and affected the theatre in both wings of the country. In East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh), playwrights emerged such as Ibrahim Khan (1894-1978), Ibrahim Khalil (b. 1916), Akbar ad-Din (1895-1978) and others. These playwrights would create plays related to the Islamic history of the subcontinent and Middle East, glorifying past Muslim rulers as well as the history of the Pakistan Movement.


Dance

Many forms of dancing arts are practised in Muslim cultures, both in religious and secular contexts (such as folk and tribal dances, court dances, dances of celebration during weddings and festivals, belly dancing, ''etc.''). Some scholars of Islamic '' fiqh'' pronounced gender based rulings on dance, making it permissible for women within a female only environment, as is often performed at celebrations, but discouraging men to engage in it. Other classical authorities including
Al-Ghazzali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
and Al-Nawawi allow it without this distinction, but criticised dancing which is "languid" or excites carnal lusts. Most of the religious orders ('' tariqa'') which dominate traditional Muslim religious life practice ritualised forms of dance in the context of '' dhikr'' ceremonies. ''Dhikr'', "recollection" (of God) is a meditative form of worship different from ritual prayer where the seeker focuses all of his senses and thoughts on God in the hope of attaining ''maarifat'' (experiential knowledge of God) and triggering mystic states within him- or herself. ''Dhikr'' can be performed individually or with like-minded followers under the direction of a
sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
, and can involve silent meditation or repetition and visualisation of sacred words such as the 99 names of God or Quranic phrases, and may be done at rest or with rhythmic movements and controlling one's breath. Traditional Islamic orders have developed varied ''dhikr'' exercises including sometimes highly elaborate ritual dances accompanied by Sufi poetry and classical music.
Al-Ghazzali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
discussed the use of music and dancing in ''dhikr'' and the mystical states it induces in worshippers, as well as regulating the etiquette attached to these ceremonies, in his short treatise on Islamic spirituality ''
The Alchemy of Happiness ) , translator = Muhammad Mustafa an-Nawali, Claud Field, Jay Crook , image = Alchemy of Happiness.png , caption = Cover of a 1308 Persian copy held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France , author = Al-G ...
'' and in his highly influential work '' The Revival of the Religious Sciences''. Al-Ghazzali emphasized how the practices of music and dance are beneficial to religious seekers, as long as their hearts are pure before engaging in these practices. Notable examples include the Mevlevi Order founded by Jalaluddin Rumi, which was the main Sunni order of the Ottoman Empire, and its ''
sama Sama or SAMA may refer to: Places * Sama, Burkina Faso, a town in the Kouka Department, Banwa Province, Burkina Faso * Sama, China (Sanya), a city in Hainan, China * Sama, Chalus, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Sama, Nowshahr, a vil ...
'' ritual (known in the West as "the whirling dervishes"). The Mevlevi order, its rituals and Ottoman classical music has been banned in Turkey through much of the 20th century as part of the country's drive towards secular "modernisation", and the order's properties have been expropriated and the country's mosques put out of its control, which has radically diminished its influence in modern Turkey. In 2008, UNESCO confirmed the "
Mevlevi The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded by the followers of Jalal ...
Sama Ceremony" of Turkey as one of the
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and t ...
, and the practice is now regaining interest. In Egypt and the Levant, the Mevlevi form of ''sama'' is known as tannoura and has been adopted (with some modifications) by other Sufi orders as well. The Chishti order, traditionally the dominant Islamic institution in Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent and the most ancient of the major Sufi orders, also practices forms of ''sama'' similar to the Mevlevis, as well as other forms of devotional dance. The order is strongly associated with the development of Hindustani classical music and semi-classical devotional genres such as '' qawwali'' through famed pioneer figures such as Amir Khusrow. The Chishti order remains one of the largest and strongest Muslim religious orders in the world by far, retaining a vast influence on the spirituality and culture of around 500 million Muslims living in the Indian subcontinent. Other examples of devotional dance are found in the Maghreb where it is associated with gnawa music, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia. The
Naqshbandi The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نه‌قشه‌به‌ندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
order, predominant among Iran's Sunni minority, is a notable exception in that they do not use music and dancing in the context of ''dhikr''. In addition to these strictly religious forms of dance, colourful dancing processions traditionally take place in Muslim communities during weddings and public celebrations such as ''
Mawlid Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi ash-Sharif or Eid Milad un Nabi ( ar, المولد النبوي, translit=mawlid an-nabawī, lit=Birth of the Prophet, sometimes simply called in colloquial Arabic , , among other vernacular pronunciations; sometimes , ) ...
'', ''
Eid el-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's comm ...
'', and so on. Many Islamic cultures have also developed classical forms of dance in the context for instance of
Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...
, Ottoman, Persian and Javanese court cultures, as well as innumerable local folk and tribal dances (for instance amongst
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
, Tuareg and Pashto peoples), and other forms of dance used for entertainment or sometimes healing such as belly dancing (principally associated with Egyptian culture). Although ''tariqas'' and their rituals have been an omnipresent part of Muslim life for most of Islam's history and were largely responsible for the spread of Islam throughout the world, their following and influence has sharply declined since the late 19th century, having been vigorously opposed and combated in turns by the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and British colonial administrations and by Muslim modernists and secularists like Kemal Atatürk, and in recent decades have been the target of vocal opposition by the fundamentalist Wahhabi sect promoted by Saudi Arabia (where most of the heritage associated with
Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
and ''tariqa'' was physically destroyed by the state in the 1930s). Wahhabi militant groups such as ISIS and the Taliban are repeatedly targeting ''dhikr'' ceremonies in terrorist attacks, notably in Egypt and Pakistan.


Music

Many Muslims are very familiar to listening to music. The classic heartland of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
is Arabia as well as other parts of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Because
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
is a multicultural religion, the musical expression of its adherents is diverse. *
Arab classical music Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...
*
Religious music in Iran Religious music in Iran is rich in melodies and genres. Iran is a multi cultural land, where various faiths exist. Each faith has its own associated music and ritual. Iranian religious music is defined as the music that has been used in streets, mo ...
* Hindustani classical music * Qawwali music The Seljuk Turks, a nomadic tribe that converted to Islam, conquered Anatolia (now Turkey), and held the Caliphate as the Ottoman Empire, also had a strong influence on Islamic music. See
Turkish classical music Ottoman music ( tr, Osmanlı müziği) or Turkish classical music ( tr, Türk sanat müziği) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally ...
. Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and the
Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...
also have large Muslim populations, but these areas have had less influence than the heartland on the various traditions of Islamic music. For South India, see: Mappila Songs, Duff Muttu. All these regions were connected by trade long before the Islamic conquests of the 7th century and later, and it is likely that musical styles travelled the same routes as trade goods. However, lacking recordings, we can only speculate as to the pre-Islamic music of these areas. Islam must have had a great influence on music, as it united vast areas under the first caliphs, and facilitated trade between distant lands. Certainly the
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
s, brotherhoods of Muslim
mystics A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts * ...
, spread their music far and wide. See articles on
Eid ul-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...
,
Eid ul-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's comm ...
,
Ashurah Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the ...
(see also Hosay and
Tabuik A Tabuik is the local manifestation of the Remembrance of Muharram among the Minangkabau people in the coastal regions of West Sumatra, Indonesia, particularly in the city of Pariaman. History A "''tabuik''" also refers to the towering funeral b ...
),
Mawlid Mawlid, Mawlid an-Nabi ash-Sharif or Eid Milad un Nabi ( ar, المولد النبوي, translit=mawlid an-nabawī, lit=Birth of the Prophet, sometimes simply called in colloquial Arabic , , among other vernacular pronunciations; sometimes , ) ...
,
Lailat al Miraj The Israʾ and Miʿraj ( ar, الإسراء والمعراج, ') are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632) took during a single night around the year 621 (1 BH – 0 BH). With ...
and
Shab-e-baraat Mid-Sha'ban ( ar-at, نصف شعبان, niṣf šaʿbān or ''laylat niṣf min šaʿbān'' "night on the half of Sha'ban") is a Muslim holiday observed by Shia and Sunni Sufi Muslim communities on the eve of 15th of Sha'ban (i.e., the nigh ...
.


Family life

In a Muslim family, the birth of a child is attended with some religious ceremonies. Immediately after the birth, the words of
Adhan Adhan ( ar, أَذَان ; also variously transliterated as athan, adhane (in French), azan/azaan (in South Asia), adzan (in Southeast Asia), and ezan (in Turkish), among other languages) is the Islamic call to public prayer (salah) in a mos ...
is pronounced in the right ear of the child. In the seventh day, the aquiqa ceremony is performed, in which an animal is slaughtered and its meat is distributed among the poor. The head of the child is also shaved, and an amount of money equaling the weight of the child's hair is donated to the poor. Apart from fulfilling the basic needs of food, shelter, and education, the parents or the elderly members of family also undertake the task of teaching moral qualities, religious knowledge, and religious practices to the children. Marriage, which serves as the foundation of a Muslim family, is a civil contract which consists of an offer and acceptance between two qualified parties in the presence of two witnesses. The groom is required to pay a bridal gift ('' mahr'') to the bride, as stipulated in the contract. With Muslims coming from diverse backgrounds including 49 Muslim-majority countries, plus a strong presence as large minorities throughout the world there are many variations on Muslim weddings. Generally in a Muslim family, a woman's sphere of operation is the home and a man's corresponding sphere is the outside world. However, in practice, this separation is not as rigid as it appears. Certain religious rites are performed during and after the death of a Muslim. Those near a dying man encourage him to pronounce the Shahada as Muslims want their last word to be their profession of faith. After the death, the body is appropriately bathed by the members of the same gender and then enshrouded in a threefold white garment called ''kafan''. Placing the body on a
bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, ...
, it is first taken to a mosque where funeral prayer is offered for the dead person, and then to the graveyard for burial.


Etiquette and diet

Many practices fall in the category of ''adab'', or Islamic etiquette. This includes greeting others with "'' as-salamu 'alaykum''" ("peace be unto you"), saying ''
bismillah ''Bismillah'' ( ar, بسم الله, link=no) is a phrase in Arabic meaning "in the name of Allah". It is also the first word in the Qur'an, and refers to the Qur'an's opening phrase, the Basmala. It may also refer to: People * Bismillah Khan (1 ...
'' ("in the name of God") before meals, and using only the right hand for eating and drinking. Islamic hygienic practices mainly fall into the category of personal cleanliness and health. Circumcision of male offspring is also practiced in Islam. Islamic burial rituals include saying the '' Salat al-Janazah'' ("funeral prayer") over the bathed and enshrouded dead body, and burying it in a grave. Muslims are restricted in their diet. Prohibited foods include pork products, blood,
carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures, c ...
, and
alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
. All meat must come from a herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of God by a Muslim, Jew, or Christian, with the exception of game that one has hunted or fished for oneself. Food permissible for Muslims is known as halal food. In verses of Quran, there goes these lines about meat that a Muslim can eat: " O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it...But fear Allah. For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful." (Sura al-Hucurat, 12) "He has only forbidden you ˹to eat˺ carrion, blood, swine, and what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Sura al-Nahl, 115) "Tell them (O Muhammad!): 'I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden for anyone who wants to eat unless it is carrion, outpoured blood and the flesh of swine, all of which is unclean; or that which is profane having been slaughtered in a name other than that of Allah.121 But whosoever is constrained to it by necessity - neither desiring to disobey nor exceeding the limit of necessity - your Lord is surely AllForgiving, All-Compassionate." (Sura al-An'am, 145) "Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, and the strangled (animal) and that beaten to death, and that killed by a fall and that killed by being smitten with the horn, and that which wild beasts have eaten, except what you slaughter, and what is sacrificed on stones set up (for idols) and that you divide by the arrows; that is a transgression. This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion; but whoever is compelled by hunger, not inclining willfully to sin, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Sura al-Maidah, 3) These verses clearly show that Islam forbids to eat flesh, drink blood and certain meats. * * * * Ghamidi (2001)
Customs and Behavioral Laws
* Ghamidi (2001)

* Ghamidi (2001)

* * https://quran.com/16/115 * https://quran.com/49 * https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=6&verse=145&to=150 * http://islamicstudies.info/reference.php?sura=5&verse=3


Martial arts in Muslim countries/cultures

*
Pahlavani Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni ( fa, آیین پهلوانی و زورخانه‌ای, "heroic sport") or varzesh-e bāstāni (; , "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics a ...
Iran *
Yağlı güreş Oil wrestling ( tr, Yağlı güreş), also called grease wrestling, is a traditional Turkish sport, where participants, called ''pehlivan'' (wrestlers) or ''baspehlivan'' (master wrestlers), wrestle while covered in oil. Competitions are held in ...
Turkey * KurashCentral Asia * IstunkaSomalia * Nuba fighting
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
*
Tahtib Tahtib ( arz, تحطيب, taḥṭīb) is the term for a traditional stick-fighting martial art originally named ''fan a'nazaha wa-tahtib'' ("the art of being straight and honest through the use of stick"). The original martial version of tahtib ...
Egypt *
Laamb Wrestling Senegalese wrestling (''Njom'' in Serer, ''Lutte sénégalaise'' or simply ''Lutte avec frappe'' in French, ''Laamb'' in Wolof, ''Siɲɛta'' in Bambara) is a type of folk wrestling traditionally performed by the Serer people and now a natio ...
Senegal * DambeNigeria * Boli KhelaBangladesh *
Lathi Khela Lathi khela ( bn, লাঠি খেলা) is a traditional Bengali martial art – a kind of stick fighting practised India and Bangladesh. A practitioner is known as a ''lathial''. Etymology The word ''lathi'' is the Bengali word meaning s ...
Bangladesh * SqayIndia * Pencak silatIndonesia *
Bakti Negara Bakti Negara is a style of pencak silat from Bali. It is firmly rooted in old Balinese Hinduism and philosophies of Indonesia. The name means "national devotion", from the Sanskrit words ''bhakti'' (devotion) and ''nagara'' (country). It is the m ...
Indonesia * Perisai Diri – Indonesia * KuntaoIndonesia *
Tarung Derajat Tarung Derajat is a full body contact hybrid martial art from Indonesia, created by Haji Achmad Dradjat. He developed the techniques through his experience as a street fighter during the 1960s in Bandung. Tarung Derajat is officially recognized as ...
Indonesia * SilatIndonesia * Silat MelayuMalaysia *
Seni Gayung Fatani Seni Gayung Fatani is a martial art, specifically a style of ''silat'' from Malaysia based on the art of war, the combination punch and kick striking, joint-locking and grappling techniques, and various type of melee weapon. In Malay, the word '' ...
Malaysia *
Seni Gayong Seni Gayong is a style of silat from Malaysia. It was the first martial arts association to be registered in the country, and is now the biggest and most internationally known Malaysian silat discipline. Gayong is overseen by the ''Pertubuhan Sila ...
Malaysia * TomoiMalaysia *
Lian padukan Lian Padukan is an offensive martial art that specialises in close-range striking. It is one of Malaysia's biggest silat schools and also the most well-known variant of lian or buah pukul. Because of their shared Yunnan origin, lian padukan is ve ...
Malaysia * Furusiyya
West Asian Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes An ...


See also

*
Cultural Muslim Cultural Muslims are religiously non-practicing individuals who still identify with Islam due to family backgrounds, personal experiences, or the social and cultural environment in which they grew up. Definition In Central Asia and in former co ...
* Islamicate * Islam in South Asia * Islamic advice literature * Islamic literature


References


Further reading

* Rosenthal, Franz (1977). ''The Classical Heritage in Islam'', in series, ''Arabic Thought and Culture''. Trans. from the German by Emilie and Jenny Marmorstein.
bk. ed. BK is the common abbreviation for the Burger King chain of fast food restaurants. BK or Bk may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * The Bank of New York Mellon, the New York Stock Exchange symbol for The Bank of New York Mellon Corpora ...
London: Routledge, 1992. xx, 298 p., sparsely ill. ''N.B.'': "First published in English in 1975 by Routledge & Kegan, Paul" in the hardcover ed.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Islamic Culture