CIISR

On rare occasions, a single manuscript page tells the story of two civilizations at once.This luminous blue folio comes from an 18th‑century Chinese Qur’an, written in the Sini style of Arabic calligraphy developed by Hui Muslim communities in China.
Sini (from the Arabic word for “China”) reimagines Arabic script through a Chinese visual lens: round, flowing letters, tapered brush strokes and carefully balanced negative space echo the aesthetics of classical Chinese calligraphy and painting.
Unlike most Islamic manuscripts written with a reed qalam, Sini calligraphers often used soft brushes, allowing thick horizontal strokes, fine verticals and sinuous curves that feel very close to running Chinese script.
The surrounding borders on this page—with interlacing scrollwork, floral motifs and geometric panels—mirror decorative programs seen in Chinese mosques, carved wooden panels and even ceramic tiles, turning Qur’anic verses into architecture on paper.
Historically, this hybrid style matured between the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods, when Muslim scholars in cities like Xi’an and Nanjing localized Islamic learning while navigating imperial policies of Sinicization.
Sini manuscripts, mosque inscriptions and gravestones from 14th–18th centuries now stand as visual evidence of cultural coexistence: Islam articulated in Arabic, but designed with the rhythm, symmetry and brush culture of China.
For today’s designers, artists and historians, Sini calligraphy is more than a beautiful script; it is a design system born from lived hybridity—proof that identity can be simultaneously rooted and adaptive.
In an era of polarized narratives, these pages quietly model another possibility: faithful to tradition, yet open to dialogue, translation and creative transformation.
‪@CIISR‬
#ChineseIslamicArt #SiniCalligraphy #QuranManuscript #IslamicArtHistory #HuiMuslims #MingQing #CulturalFusion #VisualHeritage #CalligraphyDesign #ArtOfTheQuran #InterculturalDialogue

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 5

CIISR

A rare thirteenth-century Andalusian masterpiece, the so‑called Pink Qur’an, offers a remarkable window into the sophistication of Islamic book arts in medieval Spain and the cultural ecosystem that sustained them. More than a devotional text, this manuscript is a story of innovation, royal patronage, and early papermaking technology.

What makes the Pink Qur’an unique

Each folio of the Pink Qur’an is written on rose‑tinted paper, giving the manuscript its modern name and an immediately recognizable visual identity.

The pages carry five monumental lines of maghribi script in dark brown ink, with vocalization and diacritical marks picked out in gold, blue, green, and other opaque pigments, creating a highly legible yet luxurious layout.

Verse numbers for passages from Sura 7 (parts of 46–50) sit inside gold roundels, where blue abjad letters stand in for numerals, reflecting the sophisticated use of alphanumeric notation in Qur’anic manuscripts.

Signs of patronage and piety

The consistency of the calligraphy, the lavish use of gold and silver, and the refined illumination strongly suggest that this Qur’an was produced for a royal or noble patron, likely connected to the Nasrid courts of Granada or Valencia.

A teardrop‑shaped sajada (prostration) marker in gold signals moments of heightened devotional emphasis, guiding reciters through the rhythm of the text.

The word hubus (“pious foundation”), pricked discreetly into the upper corners, indicates that the manuscript was legally endowed as a charitable or religious trust, tying it directly to the waqf culture that funded learning, mosques, and libraries across Al‑Andalus.

Design innovations in medieval Spain

Unlike many square Qur’ans from Spain and North Africa, the Pink Qur’an adopts a rectangular format, allowing each page to breathe visually and giving the towering script a striking vertical presence.

The decision to use paper, rather than the parchment that remained standard for Qur’ans in the western Islamic world well into the fourteenth century, marks this manuscript as technically and aesthetically forward‑looking.

Scholars link its paper to the town of Játiva/Jativa (Xàtiva), near Valencia, home to one of Europe’s earliest paper mills, renowned since at least the twelfth century for exceptionally fine paper exported “to the East and to the West.”
‪@CIISR‬

#IslamicArt #AndalusianHeritage #PinkQuran #QuranicManuscripts #MaghribiScript #Calligraphy #ArtHistory #MuseumStudies #CulturalHeritage #ManuscriptStudies #DesignInspiration #HistoryOfPaper #Valencia #Granada #NasridDynasty

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 7

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The Blue Qur’an is one of the most breathtaking Qur’anic manuscripts ever produced—a rare convergence of devotion, design innovation, and global trade more than 1,000 years ago. Copied in North Africa, probably in Kairouan (Tunisia) in the 9th–10th century, this multivolume Qur’an originally contained around 600 sheepskin folios, each sheet painstakingly prepared, dyed, and inscribed.

The parchment is saturated with deep indigo—likely imported through emerging trade routes from Egypt or India—while the Qur’anic verses appear in monumental Kufic script written in gold, with silver rosettes marking the ends of verses.

This visual concept did not emerge in isolation. The decision to write sacred text in gold on richly colored parchment consciously echoes late antique and Byzantine imperial codices, where emperors commissioned purple‑dyed, gilded Gospel books as symbols of power and piety.

In the Blue Qur’an, the midnight‑blue ground has been read as a cosmic sky, and the gold letters as divine light—transforming the act of reading into an immersive, almost architectural experience. From a technical perspective, the manuscript is a masterclass in calligraphic problem‑solving.

The scribe manipulated the length of letters to create perfectly justified lines, yet, in keeping with early Qur’anic practice, omitted most diacritical dots and vowels, prioritising graphic rhythm and spiritual presence over ease of reading.

Scientific studies show that the letters were formed with an adhesive such as egg white or gum Arabic, then overlaid with gold leaf, resulting in the raised, slightly cracked surfaces visible today. Although the original codex no longer survives intact, its pages now span continents.

The largest group remains in the Museum of Islamic Art in Raqqada, Tunisia, while individual folios are housed at institutions such as The Met, the MFA Boston, LACMA, the Louvre Abu Dhabi—and here in Doha at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). At MIA, a Blue Qur’an folio greets visitors at the start of the Islamic art galleries, inviting us to rethink how material, color, and script can embody the sacred.

For curators, historians, designers, and calligraphers, the Blue Qur’an is more than a rare object; it is a case study in cross‑cultural aesthetics, supply chains of luxury materials, and the ways political authority and spiritual texts were visually staged in the medieval Islamic world.

Grateful to have encountered this masterpiece at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha—an object that continues to inspire conversations on heritage, design, and the future of Islamic visual culture.

‪@CIISR‬
#BlueQuran #IslamicArt #QuranicManuscripts #Calligraphy #Heritage #Archaeology #ArtHistory #NorthAfrica #Kairouan #Qatar #Doha #MuseumOfIslamicArt #QatarMuseums #ByzantineArt #ManuscriptStudies #CulturalDiplomacy #VisualCulture #DesignInspiration

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 7

CIISR

In the age of glass towers, one quietly brilliant Islamic design solution deserves more attention: the mashrabiya.
These intricate wooden lattice screens, found on traditional houses from Cairo to Baghdad, were early examples of sustainable design—controlling heat and light, allowing ventilation, and preserving privacy without sacrificing beauty.

The mashrabiya’s geometry is not just decorative; it diffuses harsh sunlight into a soft glow, reduces energy needs, and frames the outside world like a living artwork. Today, many contemporary architects are reinterpreting this centuries-old idea with metal, glass, and smart facades, proving that heritage can drive innovation in climate-responsive design.

Revisiting concepts like the mashrabiya can open powerful pathways to culturally rooted, climate-smart buildings.
‪@CIISR‬
#IslamicArchitecture #IslamicArt #Mashrabiya #SustainableDesign #ArchitecturalHeritage #GeometryInDesign #MiddleEastArchitecture #CulturalDesign #UrbanDesign #ArchitectureLovers #ArtAndArchitecture

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1 month ago | [YT] | 4

CIISR

Muqarnas in Islamic Art & Architecture


Muqarnas, also known as stalactite vaulting or honeycomb vaulting, is one of the most distinctive three-dimensional decorative elements in Islamic architecture. These intricate structures, consisting of tiers of niche-like cells stacked upon one another, transform structural transitions into breathtaking visual poetry. When light plays across their faceted surfaces, they create a mesmerizing interplay of shadow and illumination that brings stone, plaster, or wood to life.
Developed around the mid-tenth century in northeastern Iran and central North Africa, muqarnas quickly became a signature feature of Islamic buildings—from the grand mosques of Isfahan to the palaces of Andalusia. More than mere decoration, these structures embody Islamic theological principles of fluidity and replication while solving the elegant architectural challenge of transitioning from a square room to a circular dome.

Technical DetailsGeometric Foundation

Muqarnas evolved from the squinch—a simple corner support used to bridge square chambers and round domes. The system breaks down this transition into small, precisely calculated units called "cells," each built from combinations of right angles, half right angles, or their multiples. Cells sharing the same horizontal plane form a "tier," and multiple tiers stack vertically to create the complete composition. The geometric basis relies on tessellated patterns of hexagons, squares, triangles, and other polygons, requiring sophisticated spatial mathematics and fractal geometry.

Regional Variations

The Maghreb tradition (Spain, Morocco) developed a standardized set of 7-8 fixed cell shapes, creating uniform but elaborate patterns. In contrast, the Mashriq regions (Iran, Central Asia, Egypt) favored more diverse, tier-based forms with greater variability in depth and profile. Persian muqarnas often feature "pole table" configurations that fill entire domes, while Andalusian examples appear more frequently in entrance portals and iwans.Construction & Materials
Muqarnas are constructed from plaster (stucco), stone, brick, terracotta, or wood—sometimes combining materials in a single structure. The fabrication process begins with geometric drafting on paper, followed by creation of templates for each cell type. Individual units are cast, carved, or molded, then assembled on-site like a three-dimensional puzzle, often with hidden wooden supports for plaster cells. The structural core is then enriched with surface decoration: colorful tilework, floral arabesques, calligraphy, or paint in gold, turquoise, and navy blue.

Architectural Applications

While their primary use is in dome transitions and vaults, muqarnas appear in numerous architectural locations: under pendentives, across cornices, within mihrabs (prayer niches), framing iwans (vaulted halls), and adorning entrance portals. They can cover entire ceilings or serve as decorative bands along walls. The Qutb Minar in Delhi, for instance, uses stalactite muqarnas to support projecting balconies between each story of the tower.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 6

CIISR

This plate is an authentic example of Islamic pottery from the Samanid dynasty, dating back to around the 10th century in Nishapur, Iran. It features glazed and slip-painted earthenware and prominently displays Kufic script, one of the earliest and most geometric forms of Arabic calligraphy. The inscription often carries a moral lesson such as "Planning before work protects you from regret," which reflects the Islamic tradition of embedding wisdom and virtue in daily objects. The plate also showcases intricate geometric patterns, reflecting the mathematical and spiritual depth characteristic of Islamic visual art.

History and Origin:

Originates from Nishapur, Khorasan province in Iran, during the Samanid dynasty (819–1005 CE).

The use of a white slip body for such ceramics was inspired by Chinese porcelain, signifying cross-cultural influences in early Islamic trade and artistry.

Kufic calligraphy was chosen for its bold, angular style, making it a central decorative element in early Islamic ceramics.

Artistic Significance

Kufic script not only served as decoration but often communicated proverbs and moral guidance to users.

Geometric patterns seen in the plate are a hallmark of Islamic art, embodying the unity, infinite nature, and spirituality that math and religion brought to artists in the Islamic world.

Early Islamic decorative arts minimized figurative elements in favor of abstract and calligraphic designs. ‪@CIISR‬

1 month ago | [YT] | 7

CIISR

Experience the stunning fusion of history and architecture in Seville’s iconic Giralda—the bell tower of the city’s grand cathedral! Formerly the minaret of the Great Mosque under the Almohad dynasty, its base dates back to Roman times. The tower reaches a height of 105 meters and ingeniously features 35 ramps instead of stairs, allowing access on horseback—a marvel from the 12th century.

Architectural Wonders

The Giralda’s structure blends Moorish craftsmanship (elegant latticework, horseshoe arches, and intricate geometric patterns) with Renaissance additions from the 16th century.

Its crowning glory is “El Giraldillo,” a massive bronze weather vane representing faith and triumph above Seville’s skyline.

The cathedral itself is the world’s largest Gothic church, spanning 135 meters in length and 42 meters at its highest point.

Archaeological Heritage

Beneath Seville, remnants of Roman aqueducts and pillars speak to millennia of civilization, with ancient features preserved next to the cathedral.

Legend traces Seville’s founding to Hercules, but archaeology supports a Bronze Age settlement, with layers of Phoenician, Carthaginian, Roman, and Islamic influence woven into the city’s stones.

Did you know? The Giralda is even taller than London’s Big Ben, and climbing its ramps rewards you with breathtaking views of Seville’s old town. Whether you’re a history buff or architecture lover, Seville is a living museum where cultures meet and magic happens.What stuns you most—ancient civilizations, multi-faith ingenuity, or panoramic city views? ‪@CIISR‬

Let’s chat below! #Seville #Andalusia #Giralda #Archaeology #Architecture

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2 months ago | [YT] | 5

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‪@CIISR‬
🌟 Here is the timeless wonder of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus – a jaw-dropping fusion of history, art, and architecture that’s stood for over 1,300 years! Built between 705-715 CE by Caliph al-Walid I it’s a living testament to layered civilizations.

Here are some mind-blowing facts on its artistry and design:

Epic Mosaic Masterpiece:
Boasting the world's largest ancient mosaic program at 4,000 sq m, these gold-flecked wonders cover walls with lush paradisiacal scenes – think vibrant trees, rivers, and golden cities in greens, blues, and shimmering golds, all aniconic (no human figures) to evoke Islamic heaven or even the local Barada River landscape. Crafted possibly by Byzantine or Egyptian artisans, they're a stunning nod to Roman and Mediterranean styles!

Architectural Genius Blend:
Modeled after Byzantine basilicas but reimagined for Islam, it features a vast courtyard (122m x 50m) with ablution fountain, a prayer hall with a soaring central Dome of the Eagle over the mihrab (the world's second concave prayer niche), and arcades of recycled marble columns from older sites – including a cheeky ancient sphinx relief! This monumental 157m x 97m layout innovated early Islamic design, influencing mosques for centuries.

Iconic Minarets with Stories: Climb the three legendary towers – the elegant Minaret of the Bride (Qubbat al-Nuss, with Abbasid roots), the towering 77m Minaret of Isa (said to be where Jesus will descend at the end times), and the Mamluk-era Minaret of Qaytbay. Plus, bonus: It houses a shrine for Husayn ibn Ali!

This gem has survived fires, wars, and time ! #UmayyadMosque #IslamicArchitecture #DamascusMagic

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2 months ago | [YT] | 5

CIISR

The Cordoba Mosque is a dazzling monument where design, art, and philosophy blend with archaeological marvels from diverse civilizations.

Key Facts:

-Built in 785–786 as a mosque, converted to a cathedral in 1236, and still functions as a place of worship.

-Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

-Third largest mosque in the world, with over 850 marble and granite columns.

-Architectural influence spanned the Islamic West and sparked 19th-century neo-Moorish styles.

-Mosaics were created by Byzantine artists commissioned by Caliph Al-Hakam II.

The mosque’s interior is famed for its forest of columns and bold double-tiered arches in red and white, ingeniously crafted from recycled Roman and Visigothic materials. This system supports unusually high ceilings and creates a sense of infinite space, magnifying the visual effect of repetition. The architecture combines stone, brick, marble, and granite, with horseshoe arches, ribbed vaults, and a sequence of symmetrical naves contributing to both stability and elegance. Art within the mosque radiates from the mihrab—the ornate niche indicating the direction of prayer. It dazzles with gold tesserae mosaics in blues, reds, and gold, forming intricate vegetal and calligraphic motifs influenced by Byzantine masters. The courtyard and domes showcase lush ornamentation and geometry, while later Christian additions include Renaissance and Baroque flourishes, creating a unique fusion of faiths. Marble floors, carved wooden ceilings, and lively color harmonies reveal centuries of artistry.

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CIISR

🌿 The Court of the Lions, Alhambra — A Masterpiece of Islamic Art & Wonder 

"And the garden will be brought near to the righteous... a fountain therein named Salsabil." — Qur’an 76:17–18

In the heart of Granada, the Court of the Lions (1354–1391 CE) stands as a poem carved in marble — where geometry, poetry, and water unite to reflect the divine.

💧 Twelve unique marble lions guard the fountain — symbolizing paradise’s rivers and the cosmic order.
Arabic calligraphy adorns the walls: “There is no conqueror but Allah.”
The honeycomb muqarnas domes mirror the heavens above — 5,000 hand-carved cells of light and shadow.
Beneath it all lies a hidden hydraulic system that once made water rise and flow in perfect balance.

More than architecture, it is a vision of paradise on earth — a theological poem in stone, a reflection of faith through art.

📖 “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth... are signs for people of understanding.” — Qur’an 3:190

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