Hilya
A hilya (Arabic حِلْيَة, plural ḥilan, ḥulan, meaning "adornment") or hilye (Turkish, plural hilyeler) is a calligraphically rendered text describing the physical appearance and character attributes of the Prophet Muhammad.[1][2] In 17th-century Ottoman Turkey, they developed into an art form with a standard layout, often framed and used as a wall decoration.
Texts
There are a small number of accepted early descriptions of Muhammad's physical appearance in the hadith, the best known of which is attributed to his son-in-law and cousin Ali; another well-known one was provided by a woman named Umm Ma'bad.[3] Calligraphic renderings of such texts are said to have been in circulation since the 9th century;[4] written in very small naskh script, they were sometimes carried in a breast pocket.[2] These descriptions were later combined and elaborated on in poems, of which the Turkish Hilye-i Şerif ("The Noble Description", 1598–1599) by Mehmet Hakani (d. 1606–07), comprising over 700 verses, is one of the best known.[5][6][7]
Art form
In Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century a calligraphic art form for presenting these texts was developed by the leading calligrapher Hâfiz Osman (1642–1698), for which hilye, the Turkish version of the term, is also used.[2] These calligraphic panels were often framed and came to be used as wall decorations in houses, mosques and shrines, fulfilling an equivalent role to that played by images of Jesus in the Christian tradition.[8][9] As symbolic art, they provided an aesthetically pleasing reminder of the Prophet's presence without involving the type of "graven image" unacceptable to most Muslims' sensitivities.[10]
A characteristic feature of the texts shown at the centre of hilyeler is their praise for the beauty of Muhammad's physical appearance and character.[11] While containing a verbal description of what Muhammad looked like, a hilye leaves picturing the prophet's appearance to the reader's imagination, in line with the mainly aniconic nature of Islamic art.[8] According to Christiane Gruber, "the hilye's form was conceived in a corporealizing manner so as to recall semantically the Prophet's presence via a graphic construct", reflected in some of the names for the different sections.[5] In Iran, hilyeler occasionally also featured a portrait of Muhammad or Ali.[1]
Standard layout
Hâfiz Osman developed a standard layout for the Ottoman hilye panel with the following elements:[5]
- The baş makam ("head station"), a top panel containing a bismallah or blessing[2]
- The göbek ("navel"), a round shape containing the first part of the main text in naskh script[2][12]
- The hilâl ("crescent"), an optional section with no text, which is often gilded. A crescent encircling the göbek, with its thick middle part at the bottom. Together, the göbek and hilal also evoke the image of the sun and the moon[2][12]
- The kösheler ("corners"), usually four rounded compartments surrounding the navel, typically containing the names of the four Rashidun or "rightly-guided" Caliphs according to Sunnis, or in some cases other titles of the Prophet, names of his companions, or some of the names of Allah[2][12]
- The ayet ("verse") section below the göbek and crescent, containing a verse from the Quran, usually 21:107 ("And We [God] did not send you [Muhammad] except to be a mercy to the universe"), or sometimes 68:4 ("Truly, you [Muhammad] are of a tremendous nature") or 48:28–29 ("And God is significant witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God")[2][12]
- The etek ("skirt" or lower part) containing the conclusion of the text begun in the göbek, a short prayer, and the signature of the artist[2]
- The koltuklar ("armpits"), two alleys or side panels either side of the etek that typically contain ornamentation – sometimes illuminated – but no text, although occasionally the names of some of the ten companions of the Prophet are found there[2][12]
- The iç and dış pervaz ("inner and outer frame"), an ornamental border in correct proportion to the text[12]
The remainder of the space is taken up with decorative Ottoman illumination, of the type usual for the period, often with a border framing the whole in a contrasting design to the main central field that is the background of the text sections. The "verse" and "corners" normally use a larger thuluth script, while the "head" section with the bismallah is written in muhaqqaq.[13] These are the general elements, but deviations from the standard model do occur.[2] Since Osman's time, every Turkish calligrapher has been expected to produce at least one hilya, using the three muhaqqaq, thuluth and naskh scripts.[13]
Occurrence
As an art form, hilye calligraphy has mostly been restricted to Turkey, southeastern Europe and countries around the eastern Mediterranean, although there are contemporary exponents of the art outside this region, such as the Pakistani calligrapher Rasheed Butt and the American calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya.[10]
Function
The purpose of the hilya is to help visualise the Prophet as a mediator between the sacred and human worlds, to connect with him by using the viewing of the hilya as an opportunity to send a traditional blessing upon him, and to establish an intimacy with him.[14][5][11] Mehmet Hakani's Hilye-i Şerif quoted a possibly spurious 9th-century hadith[15] (attributed to Tirmidhi by Schimmel and Falaturi[16]), in which Muhammad reportedly said:[5][10][17]
For him who sees my hilya after my death, it is as if he had seen me myself, and he who sees it, longing for me, for him God will make Hellfire prohibited, and he will not be resurrected naked at Doomsday.
This hadith was thought to be genuine, but according to Mohamed Zakariya, its status is now questionable.[14] The hilya, as a vehicle for the Prophet's presence after his death, was believed to have a talismanic effect, capable of protecting a house, a child, a traveller, or a person in difficulty.[5]
Gallery
Notes
- ^ a b Bakker, 209
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Derman et al., 36
- ^ Brockopp, 130
- ^ Soucek, 106
- ^ a b c d e f Gruber, 131–133
- ^ Digitalisat of the 1898 edition at archive.org
- ^ Cf. Poyraz, Yakup: "Hâkim Seyyid Mehmed Efendi’nin “Nazire-i Hilye-i Hâkanî” Adlı Eseri". In: Turkish Studies 2/3 (2007), pp. 449–484.
- ^ a b Peters, 160–161
- ^ Safi, 276
- ^ a b c Ernst, 76–79
- ^ a b Safi, 273–274
- ^ a b c d e f Osborn, 236–239
- ^ a b Ali, 8
- ^ a b Zakariya, 21
- ^ Halman, 82
- ^ Schimmel & Falaturi, 45.
- ^ Taşkale & Gündüz, 35
References
- Ali, Wijdan: "From the Literal to the Spiritual: The Development of the Prophet Muhammad's Portrayal from 13th Century Ilkhanid Miniatures to 17th Century Ottoman Art", EJOS (Electronic Journal of Oriental Studies), IV (2001), No. 7, pp. 1–24, ISSN 0928-6802 (= M. Kiel, N. Landman & H. Theunissen [eds.]: Proceedings of the 11th International Congress of Turkish Art, Utrecht, The Netherlands, August 23–28, 1999).
- Bakker, Freek L., The challenge of the silver screen: an analysis of the cinematic portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad, 2009, BRILL, ISBN 978-90-04-16861-9, Google Books
- Brockopp, Jonathan E., The Cambridge companion to Muḥammad, 2010, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-71372-6, Google Books
- Derman, M. Uğur; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Letters in gold: Ottoman calligraphy from the Sakıp Sabancı collection, Istanbul, 1998, Metropolitian Museum of Art, ISBN 978-0-87099-873-7, Google Books
- Ernst, Carl W., Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World, 2004, UNC Press Books, ISBN 978-0-8078-5577-5, Google Books
- Gruber, Christiane J., The Islamic manuscript tradition: ten centuries of book arts in Indiana University collections, 2010, Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253353777, 9780253353771, Google Books
- Halman, Talat, Yunus Emre and His Mystical Poetry. Volume 2 of Indiana University Turkish studies, 1991, Indiana University Turkish Studies, ISBN 9781878318015, Google Books
- Osborn, J. R. (Wayne), The type of calligraphy: Writing, print, and technologies of the Arabic alphabet, 2008, ProQuest, ISBN 9780549517696, Google Books
- Peters, F. E., Jesus and Muhammad: Parallel Tracks, Parallel Lives, 2010, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-974746-7, Google Books
- Safi, Omid, Memories of Muhammad: why the Prophet matters, 2009, HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-06-123134-6, Google Books
- Schimmel, Annemarie; Falaturi, Abdoldjavad, We believe in one god: the experience of God in Christianity and Islam, 1979, Seabury Press, ISBN 978-0-816-40451-3 (Google Books).
- Soucek, Priscilla, "The Theory and Practice of Portraiture in the Persian Tradition". In: Muqarnas, Vol. 17, 2000, pp. 97–108.
- Taşkale, Faruk; Gündüz, Hüseyin, Hat sanatında hilye-i şerife: Hz. Muhammed'in özellikleri, 2006, Antik A.Ş. Kültür yayınları, ISBN 9789757843078 (Turkish) / (English), copy on author's website (English)
- Zakariya, Mohamed, "The Hilye of the Prophet Muhammad", Seasons, Autumn–Winter 2003–4, Zaytuna Institute
External links