Voices of Islam (203 page)

The plan on which the Arab-Islamic house is based is inherited from an ancient prototype originating in Mesopotamia. Here people made maximum use of what little water was available and built their houses of mud-brick around enclosures or courtyards with water in the center. This kept the adverse conditions outside, while simultaneously creating a cooler, cleaner, and refreshing refuge within. Under Muslim direction, this architecture also reflected the separation between the public and private domains in traditional Islamic society. This distinction between public and private domains was to become one of the hallmarks of traditional Islamic architecture, and incorporated, by extension, the ‘‘interior’’ courtyard garden. The house opens inward toward the heart rather than outward toward the world. The heart, symbolically represented by the courtyard, represents the interior (
batin
), the contemplative aspect of human nature. By contrast, the modern

villa-type house represents the opposite, the exterior (
zahir
) or worldly attitude.
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The traditional Islamic house may be in the middle of a bustling old city (
madina
)—such as Fez, Tunis, or Damascus—but when the door to the street is shut, the visitor enters a very different world. The contrast is immediate: suddenly peace and quiet descend; the high, thick stone walls keep out the noise and bestow a kind of muffled silence on the interior, not dissimilar to a church. The gentle murmur of a fountain in the center of the house draws the visitor in, contributing to the atmosphere of interiorizing refl At night, these small courtyards (often about six meters square or less) are quite magical. Sitting on a rug or a cushion on the stone fl

one’s gaze is inevitably drawn upward, toward the stars in the sky. It is a beautiful example of how traditional architecture can not only have an impact upon the individual soul and affect a whole society and way of life, but it is also a mirror of that society’s values.
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Titus Burckhardt, the great commentator on Islamic art wrote:

If [a Muslim’s] house has no windows onto the street and is normally built around an inner court from which the rooms receive light and air, this is not simply in response to the frequently torrid climate of Muslim lands; it is clearly symbolic. In conformity with this symbolism, the inner court of a house is an

The Islamic Garden: History, Symbolism, and the Qur’an
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image of paradise; when it contains a fountain and water-courses which gush forth to water trees and fl it does in effect recall the descriptions in the Qur’an of the abode of the blessed.
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THE QUR’AN AND THE GARDEN

There are many references to fountains, flowing waters, and perfect temperate climates in the descriptions of Paradise in the Qur’an, where the blessed shall be shaded by ‘‘thornless lote-trees and serried acacias’’ and ‘‘palms and vines’’ (Qur’an 56:28–34; 2:266). In hot and dry environments, water is understandably viewed as a symbol of God’s mercy; rain is referred to throughout the Qur’an as a mercy and as life-giving. Indeed, there is no doubt that water in whatever form, whether a still pool, a rushing waterfall, a murmuring fountain, or a fast-flowing rill, is a key element in a traditional Islamic garden. To those brought up in countries where rain is frequent and the climate is temperate, it is all too easy to take water for granted and to be unaware of how much a lush garden with flowing water and a green canopy of shade mean to inhabitants of countries with baking-hot desert climates. It is no accident that green is the color of Islam. It is the color used repeatedly in the Qur’an to describe Paradise, where the faithful recline on ‘‘green cushions’’ (Qur’an 55:76) and wear ‘‘green robes’’ (Qur’an 18:31). Not only is green the color of vegetation, appearing young and fresh and symbolizing growth and fertility in the spring, but it is also the antithesis of the monotonous sandy-browns of the stony desert; it offers a longed-for soothing and gentle relief to the eyes.
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A famous English gardener writing at the beginning of the twentieth century gives a very evocative description of the unavoidable heat and longing for coolness and green foliage that he experienced while trekking in Iran:

Imagine you have ridden in summer for four days across a plain; that you have then come to a barrier of snow-mountains and ridden up that pass; that from the top of the pass you have seen a second plain, with a second barrier of moun- tains in the distance, a hundred miles away; that you know that beyond these mountains lies yet another plain, and another; and that for days, even weeks, you must ride with no shade, and the sun overhead, and nothing but the bleached bones of dead animals strewing the track. Then when you come to trees and running water, you will call it a garden. It will not be fl and their garishness that your eyes crave for, but a green cavern full of shadows and pools where goldfish dart, and the sound of a little stream.
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In the approximately 120 references in the Qur’an to the Gardens of Paradise—the
jannat al-fi ws
that are promised for ‘‘those who believe and do deeds of righteousness’’ (Qur’an 18:107)—various epithets are attached to the word
janna
in order to describe the qualities that the

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Voices of Art, Beauty, and Science

Gardens possess. For example, one fi
jannat al-khuld
(singular), the Garden of Immortality or Eternity (Qur’an 25:15);
jannat al-na‘im
(plural), the Gardens of Bliss, Delight, or Felicity (Qur’an 56:12); and
jannat al-ma’wa
(plural), the Gardens of Refuge, Shelter, or Abode (Qur’an 32:19). One also fi
jannat ‘Adnin
(Qur’an 18:30)—the Garden of Eden—which suggests the peace and harmony of humanity’s primordial state. From these descriptive terms attached to the Arabic word
janna,
we see that the Islamic Gardens of Paradise are not only blissful and eternal, but they are also a refuge or sanctuary, a sheltered and secure retreat far from the disquiet of the world. However, the descriptive phrase most often used for the Gardens of Paradise in the Qur’an (it is used over 30 times) is
jannat tajri min tahtiha al-anhar,
‘‘Gardens Underneath which Rivers Flow’’ (for example, Qur’an 61:12). Even in translation, the repetition of this phrase has a soothing rhythm to it. Closing one’s eyes, it is possible to imagine sitting in a garden under dappled shade, listening to the gentle music of flowing water.

Flowing rivers and the coursing of water and fountains are the most powerful and memorable images one retains after reading the portrayals of the Paradise Gardens in the Qur’an. There is no doubt that the reason water is the essential element in an Islamic garden is both because of the lack of water in the desert lands of Arabia and because of the importance placed upon water in the Qur’an. The Almighty knew that in order to tempt His flock back to the ‘‘Straight Path’’ (
al-sirat al-mustaqim
),
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He must promise them rewards in the Afterlife—such as water and shade—that they would understand and desire and that they already revered for their life-giving properties. Islam gave the first Muslims the knowledge and faith that these two elements, together with the rest of the natural world, were not to be worshipped for themselves alone but were to be revered for what they represented. Nature and beauty are the outward symbols of inward grace. Throughout the Qur’an, the faithful are exhorted to meditate upon God’s signs and symbols, since everything in the created world is a sign or symbol of God. ‘‘Thus God makes clear His signs for you so that you may understand’’ (Qur’an 2:242). The Qur’an also refers to the mediocrity and ephemeral nature of this lower life compared to the happiness of the life everlasting and the Gardens of Paradise: ‘‘The present life is naught but a sport and a diversion’’ (Qur’an 47:36).

Human beings would cease to be truly
muslim,
in submission to God, if they were to revere the created world as an end in itself. The world must instead be seen for what it is—an illusion (
maya
in Hinduism) that both veils and reveals the archetypal heavenly world. When a civilization is centered on the sacred, whether it is Islamic, Native American, or medieval Christian, the practical is always inextricably linked to the spiritual. This is the language of symbolism: linking everyday practical activities back to their heavenly archetypes.
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However, human beings are forgetful and need to be reminded

The Islamic Garden: History, Symbolism, and the Qur’an
99

that the things of this world are not ends in themselves. The importance of sacred art lies in this truth. The Islamic garden is best seen as a kind of open-air sacred art: the content, form, and symbolic language of this art all combine to remind one of the eternal invisible realities that lie beneath outward appearances.

The following are some brief excerpts from the Qur’an that give an indication of the sense of rich abundance and blissful delight that is given by a fuller reading of the Qur’anic descriptions of the Gardens of Paradise:

In Paradise there is ‘‘no vain talk or lies’’ (Qur’an 78:35); ‘‘they hear no idle speech’’ (Qur’an 88:11); ‘‘they hear no vain talk or recrimination, but only the saying, ‘Peace, peace’’’ (Qur’an 56:25).

‘‘We shall strip away all rancor that is in their breasts; as brothers they shall be on couches, set face to face’’ (Qur’an 15:47).

There is a perfect temperate climate: ‘‘Reclining therein on couches, they shall see neither [the heat of the] sun nor bitter cold’’ (Qur’an 76:13).

There will be cool pavilions, couches, cushions, carpets, and silk attire, ‘‘green garments of silk and brocade’’ (Qur’an 76:21).
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Weariness is unknown in this Paradise: ‘‘Fatigue will not come unto them there’’ (Qur’an 15:48).

Fruit will be in abundance; produce will be eternal, ‘‘such fruits as they shall choose and such fl of fowl as they desire’’ will be provided (Qur’an 56:20–21).

Gold and silver jewelry will be worn and sweet potions will be drunk from ‘‘vessels of silver’’ and ‘‘goblets of crystal’’ (Qur’an 76:15). The potions are of such purity that there are no after-effects, ‘‘no brows throbbing, no intoxi- cation’’ (Qur’an 56:19).

An essential element of the gardens of paradise is that they are eternal, that the righteous will be there forever, ‘‘therein to dwell for ever; that is indeed the mighty triumph’’ (Qur’an 57:12).

Finally, and movingly, the Lord rewards the faithful for remembering Him on earth: ‘‘And their Lord shall give them to drink a pure draught. Behold this is recompense for you, and your striving is thanked’’ (Qur’an 76:22).

The joys and delights of the Gardens of Paradise as depicted in the Qur’an give the faithful a clear idea of the heavenly reward for their striving. These descriptions transport the reader or listener to heavenly realms, to places of infi ite and surpassing peace and felicity, which only the most dedicated spiritual seekers on earth may reach. This is only achieved through the constant and sincere remembrance of God (
dhikr Allah
), through nurturing the ‘‘garden within,’’ the garden of the heart. This interior garden is the domain of the Sufis, those who concentrate on the inward or mystical aspect of Islam and who understand profoundly that the visible world is a symbol, a transient mirror image of an invisible eternal reality.
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Voices of Art, Beauty, and Science

SYMBOLIC GARDENS IN THE QUR’AN:
SURAT AL-RAHMAN
(55, ‘‘THE ALL-MERCIFUL’’)

In the Qur’an, not only are there four rivers in the Gardens of Paradise but also, in Sura 55, there are four gardens, which are described as two pairs of gardens. Sura 55 contains one of the most detailed references to the Gardens of Paradise in the Qur’an. According to some commentaries, these four gardens are divided into a lower pair, the ‘‘Garden of the Soul’’ and the ‘‘Garden of the Heart,’’ which is reserved for the Righteous (
al-salihun
). The second and higher pair of gardens, the ‘‘Garden of the Spirit’’ and the ‘‘Garden of the Essence,’’ is reserved for the Foremost (
al-sabiqun
), those who are closest to the Divine Presence. The first garden is covered by spreading branches and contains two flowing springs (
‘aynan
), which water ‘‘every kind of fruit in pairs’’ (Qur’an 55:48–52). Its inhabitants recline on couches of silk brocade, with the fruit of both gardens near at hand (Qur’an 55:54). The second pair of gardens is dark green with foliage, and contains two gushing springs that water orchards of date palms and pomegranates (Qur’an 55:64–68).

Fountains in an Islamic garden are not just for coolness and beauty. They are also reminders of the archetypal springs of water that are described in this Sura. In each of these gardens is a fl or gushing spring (
‘ayn,
‘‘source’’), which indicates that Paradise is metaphysically near to the Ultimate Source (
‘ayn
)—to God Himself. Elsewhere in the Qur’an, the springs of the Gardens of Paradise are named
Tasnim
(Exaltation), ‘‘a spring from which Those Brought Near to God (
al-muqarrabun
) drink’’ (Qur’an 83:27–28);
Salsabil
(Ever-Flowing), which gives a water mixed with fragrant ginger (Qur’an 76:18); and
Kauthar
(Abundance), which is said to be fl vored with musk (Qur’an 108:1–2). The complex and profound symbolism that is contained in
Surat al-Rahman
and other passages of the Qur’an that describe the Gardens of Paradise cannot be described fully in an introductory article such as this.
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However, the most important point to emphasize is that the fourfold form of the archetypal Islamic garden is not just a whim of design or an interesting horticultural plan, but is fundamentally a reflection of a higher reality and a universal symbol of Divine Unity.

DESIGN AND SYMBOLISM: THE NUMBER FOUR

Although the symbolism of the fourfold garden is used in other religious traditions, notably in the Christian tradition, where the monastic herb garden and the ‘‘cloister garth’’ spring to mind, there is still no doubt that in most people’s minds the classic
chahar-bagh
layout is quintessentially Islamic. Inherent in the number four is a universal symbolism based on an under- standing of the natural world. The number four encompasses the four