After a wait of an hour or so on a hot summer afternoon outside the Galleria dell’ Academia in Florence, and then several corridors later, we finally reached David. The larger than life sculpture by Michelangelo has enticed so many from all over the world. Considered to be one of the greatest Renaissance Sculptures, its craftsmanship is chiseled in each line and screw. Such careful study of detail – indeed, incredible!
Yet, standing before it, it struck me odd that though each creator of art takes his or her inspiration from Nature, Allah Subhan-ul-Talha, the Supreme Creator of Nature is merely reflected in the West. He is perceived only by those who ponder. David, to me, stood as mocking symbol of man’s self delusion.
Thou wilt see them Looking At thee, but They see not.
(Surat Al-Araf Verse 198.)
A lifeless imitation of the great miracle - each mere of us gasping at it in admiration of Michelangelo.
Slightly less excited now, I moved on to see some paintings along the walls. The Immaculate Conception by Carlo Portelli (1566) is not as famous as David but it turned out to be the most significant to my purpose. The note below the painting read:
‘The concept of immaculate conception of Mary was introduced into iconography and into catholic practice in the 2nd half of the fifteenth century.
Controversial for many, becoming official dogma, only in 1854, at the decision of Pope Puis IV. Above, God (an image of an old man with a flowing white beard hovering over the others), the father points to the Redeemer (Jesus Christ) symbolized by sacrificial lamb which bears an inscription in Greek taken from Apocalypse of John (13,8) immolated since the foundation of the world. Beside this image the virgin, surrounded by angels, is crushing the serpent coiled around the tree of good and evil. At the sides, seated in the foreground, David and Soloman who had prophesized the coming of the Virgin bear inscriptions in Hebrew from the Psalms and the Song of Songs.
The postscript continued:
‘Here the artist emphasizes the contrasting nature of the two women, the lascivious Eve who incarnates original sin and then the Virgin, born without sin, who has come to redeem the sins of the first parents. Thanks to restoration we can again admire the splendid nude Eve, until now wrapped in a fun robe added to hide her nakedness a few years after the painting was completed. The contrast between the two women is heightened by their perfectly opposing forms, as if one image were the reverse of the other.
Based on historical documents of the time describing the original paintings with a nude Eve, it was decided to remove repainting not only for pictorial quality but to emphasize also the contrast between Mary, the woman who redeems mankind and Eve, the woman who induces man into sin, a theme cherished by the church of the counter reformation.
I was carefully noting down each and every word, instinctively realizing that this was very important. A gentleman approached me (American by his accent) and wanted to know if I was catholic.
‘No’ I replied.
‘Then do you mind if I ask you why you are taking down notes?’
‘I am studying religion and found this very interesting’, I replied.
Pointing to the part where it said, ‘Mary, born without sin, he asked me what I thought of it.
‘Certainly’, I commented, “Mary and Jesus were the only two children who were untouched by Satan at the time of their birth in answer to the prayer of Mary’s mother.
‘So you would agree that she was born without sin’.
‘I don’t know what ‘born without sin’ means exactly, so I cannot say’.
May I know what your knowledge is based on; he persisted.
‘The Holy Quran’, I answered.
‘And what do you make of this’, he pointed to the disparaging description of Eve.
According to the Quran, Eve and Adam both sinned and they were both forgiven. They were sent to earth not for punishment but because it had been created for them.
‘This is interesting’, he commented. ‘So you are interpreting all this work in the light of what the Quran has told you’.
The stranger had summed up for me my Italian experience. Biblical text was the inspiration for all great works of art. My interest and perception was heightened because for every I saw I had the Quranic reference. Somewhere someone had drawn on hearsay and imagination to make the first impressions of the chosen. The images become tradition, having little, if any similarity to reality. This perhaps, was the result of Greek influence on Christianity.
Pondering over the painting of the ‘immaculate conception’. I though of the injustices recorded in history, dealt out to the Christian women. It explained to me the need of the western woman to assent their personality and equality. The fundamental grounding of the Christian belief that woman induces man to sin is perhaps, the main impetus behind the feminist movement.
Had I known at the time, I would have told my curious stranger that Islam, on the other hand, has no prejudice again women. The verses of Surat Taha, very clearly inform us that it was Adam who was corrupted by Satan in the first instance. Eve suffered because she blindly followed her husband, never questioning his disregard of Allah’s will and allowed himself to be seduced.
But Satan whispered evil
To him: he said, “O Adam! Shall I lead thee to
The Tree of Eternity
And to a Kingdom
That never decays?”
Surat Taha, Verse 120/121.
In the result, they both
Ate of the tree and so
Their nakedness appeared
To them: they began to sew
Together, for their covering,
Leaves from the garden:
Thus did Adam disobey
His Lord, and allow himself
To be seduced.
It is only as recent as------- that the western woman was allowed a share in inheritance. And it was only after the World War I, when a drastic shortage of man power, forced women to come to work. Emancipation came with stepping in to man’s world. Then somewhere along the way, it became synonymous with taking off clothes.
Today, the nude Eve is the popular image, as suggested by Carlo Portelli.
Surat Al- Araf verse 27
O ye children of Adam!
Let not Satan seduce you,
In the same manner as
He got your parents out
Of the Garden, stripping them
Of their raiment, to expose
Their shame: for he
And his tribe watch you
From a position where ye
Cannot see them.
However, the standards of morality are obviously known. Inside St. Peter’s cathedral in Rome lies the masterpiece of Michelangelo’s youth – The Pieta (the pity). The sculpture of the grief stricken Madonna, holding a martyred Jesus in her arms. As in all representation Hazrat Marium, is fully draped in a heavy robe, her head covered, eyes downcast exuding a distinct impression of Haya, befitting her exact description in the Quran (Surat Imran Verse. 42-43).
Behold! The angels said:
O’Mary! God hath chosen thee
And purified thee – chosen thee
Above the women of all nations.
O Mary! Worship
Thy Lord devoutly:
Prostrate thyself,
And bow down (in prayer)
With those who bow down.”
‘Mary is being the most excellent among the women of all times is the standard for each of us, modeling the three qualities Allah expects of the female gender –
……….. desire Chastity, not lewdness, nor secret intrigues, Surat Al Maidah verse 6
Interestingly, there was a strict dress code on the tours of the Basilica and the Cathedrals. Shorts and bare shoulders were totally unacceptable. And the visitors conformed without demur.
In the light of all this learning, one wonders what instigates today’s debate over Muslim head scares. The scarf is simply a symbol of a woman’s submission to her creator’s vision of her. Is this mis-spelt plea for liberation, a disguise for a growing sense of vulnerability – possibly, a threat. According to a source, there is a conscious effort to revive Christian practices, particularly in Germany. The main reason is to counteract growing Islamization, which is provoked in the first instance by the attention arresting muslim head scarves.
PART TWO
As I stood before Pieta, another thought niggled me. The cause of the grief suggested was the crucification of Christ. Allah Subhan-u-Tala is again very explicit on this conjecture. (Surat Al-Nisa 157-150)
That they said (in boast),
‘We killed Christ Jesus
The son of Mary
The Apostle of God” –
But they killed him not,
Nor crucified him,
But so it was made
To appear to them,
And those who differ
Therein are full of doubts, With no (certain) knowledge,
But only conjecture to follow,
For a surety
They killed him not: -
Interestingly, Karen Armstrong, the nun who left her vocation because the Catholic Church failed to satisfy her spiritual and intellectual quest for truth, relates a most revealing incident.
She writes in her book, ‘Though the Narrow Gate ’(page 154-155).
‘One day it all came to a head……. I had been set an essay: ‘Assess the quality of the evidence for the Resurrection”.
………….. I had researched the essay carefully, reading all the relevant books of apologetics (a course that sets out to explain the mysteries of faith by means of reason) that seemed to argue that the stone that was rolled away from the tomb was sufficient evidence for any sane person to believe that God had become man, was publicly executed outside Jerusalem and rose from the dead after three days. It can’t be proved, I worried; this essay is a sham. However, since I was working for an examination, I reproduced the mental gymnastics that were expected of me, feeling all the while a sinking loss of integrity …….. My essay proved clearly, by mental slights of hand, that anyone who looked at this evidence and failed to believe in the Resurrection was an imbecile. Wearily I laid down my pen and handed in my essay.
The following Tuesday I sat with Mother Greta in a tutorial……
“Yes, sister”, she beamed at me”. This is an excellent essay…”
I looked back at her. Beneath that frail, bird like body I knew there was an honest mind. I trusted her. I had to ask her about my dilemma.
“But Mother” I said quietly, staring at her intently. “It just isn’t true, what I have written, is it?’
There was silence. She sighed, and, thrusting her hand under her wimple in a characteristic gesture, she rubbed her forehead hard. Her voice, when she spoke, was tired.
‘No, sister”, she said flatly, “No, it is not true, but please don’t tell the other novices’.
I guess one needs to add no more.
PART THREE
Man’s preoccupation – his curiosity to understand the infinite – his anxiety to discover the truth – is the central theme of most of the paintings, especially the Last Judgment by Michelangelo. An estimated 800 tourists visit the Vatican Museums daily to see the famous fresco. It adorns the Sistine Chapel which is intended for the most important ceremonies. Here the cardinals sit in conclave to elect the New pope. The Vatican City stands atop a hill where vates revealed omens. It has been the Principal seat of the popes for 600 years.
Michelangelo began work on the Last judgment in 1534 and completed it in Seven years. He was in his sixties and most ironically, a bitter old man full of doubts and anxiety. His insertion in the painting of a self portrait on the skin of St. Bartholomew, the saint who was skinned alive speaks volumes for any who may care to listen. Seeing his reverential work all over the country, and now at the Vatican, I was amazed to discover that it had brought him little inner solace.
The scene that has enticed so many from all parts of the world portrays a gigantic Christ, “the inexorable judge” and the Virgin Mary surrounded by martyrs showing the symbols of their martyrdom. Angels raise the elect to Heaven. Michelangelo painted almost 300 figures which were entirely naked. His unconventional representation aroused violent criticism. He retorted by painting the cardinal’s portrait in Hell, depicting him as Minos. The lower bottom of the picture is taken directly from Dante’s Inferno. It was interesting to know that the medieval culture was composed of the knowledge of the Bible and Dante’s Divine Comedy. The Renaissance in the 15th century was still looking back to these sources.
As I stood before the painting, I was in haste to gather impressions. It was nearing closing time. I perceived that there was something wrong. The suggestion that Christ alone was dominating the stage of the Last judgment bothered me. In Quran, Allah alone is “The Lord/master of the day of Judgment.” Suddenly, the verses of surat Al. maida 116-123, rang aloud in my ears:
And behold! God will say:
“O! Jesus the son of Mary!
Didst thou say unto men,
Worship me and my mother
As gods in derogation of God”?
He will say:”Glory To Thee!
Never could I say
What I had no right
(To say). Had I said
Such a thing, Thou wouldst
Indeed have known it.
Thou knowest what is
In my heart, though I
Know not what is
In Thine. For Thou
Knowest in Full
All that is hidden.
“Never said I to them
aught except what Thou
Didst command me
To say, to wit,” Worship
God, my Lord and your Lord”;
And I was witness
Over them, whilst I dwelt
Amongst them; when thou
Didst take me up
Thou wast the Watcher
Over them, and Thou
Art a witness to all things.
If Thou dost Punish them,
They areThy servants:
If Thou dost forgive them,
Thou art the Exalted in power,
The Wise.’
God will say: “This is
A day on which
The truthful will profit
From their truth: theirs
Are Gardens, with rivers?
Flowing beneath,-their eternal
Home: God well pleased
With them, and they with God:
That is the great Salvation.
To God doth belong the dominion
Of the heavens and the earth,
And all that is therein,
And it is He who hath power
Over all things.
I was disappointed. I had hoped to gain so much more. I wondered how the others felt. As though on cue, my husband, Bilal, nudged me – the final call had come. Silently, I followed him back to the Lobby. I knew what Karen Armstrong had meant. There were no answers here.
