Tajammul

Condition: This work is in good condition. Due to the nature of the medium, the work has a surface with a unique rusting effect.
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inscription:

Qur'an, surah al-kahf (XVIII), verse 109

'Were the sea to become ink for the words of my Lord, surely the sea would be used up before the Words of my Lord were exhausted, even if we added another ocean like it, thereof to aid.'

inscription:

Qur'an, surah al-kahf (XVIII), verse 109

'Were the sea to become ink for the words of my Lord, surely the sea would be used up before the Words of my Lord were exhausted, even if we added another ocean like it, thereof to aid.'

When the Quran says "Were the sea to become Ink for the Words of my Lord, the sea would be used up before the Words of my Lord were used up" it is saying that the symbol is not to be compared with that which it symbolizes, namely the Mother of the Book, the Sea which is in fact vast enough to contain the Words of God. None the less, by choosing the material seas rather than any other earthly thing for this demonstration, the Quran affirms that they are, for the Infinitude of the Divine Wisdom, the symbol of symbols.

Far from being a concrete image arbitrarily chosen by man to illustrate some abstract idea: a symbol is, as we have seen, the manifestation, in some lower mode, of the higher reality which it symbolises and which stands in as a close relationship to it as the root of tree to leaf. Thus water is Mercy and it would be true to say that even without any understanding of symbolism and even without belief in the Transcendent, immersion in water has an inevitable effect upon the soul in addition to its purification of the water. In the absence of any ritual intention, this effect may be altogether momentary and superficial; it is none the less visible on the face of almost any bather emerging from a lake or a river or even the sea, however, quickly it may be effaced by the resumption of " ordinary life".

To perform the rite of ablution is to identify oneself in the world of matter, with this wave of Mercy, and to return with it as it ebbs back towards the Principle, for purification is a return to our origins.

The Origin and end of this wave lies in the Treasuries (khazain) of the water which are "With Us "(Surah al furqan : v. 21). The Treasuries of Mercy are also spoken of in just the same terms and it is clear that these Treasuries are no less than the Supreme Source of Mercy Himself, Ar Rahman, the Infinitely Good. The Quran also speaks of its own Archetype, the Mother of the Book, which is also the Divine Omniscience, nor can this Treasury be apart from those of Mercy, for it likewise belongs to Ar Rahman who is the Source of the Book. The Infinitely Good taught the Quran (Surah Rahman - the opening). We have already seen the connection between Mercy and comprehension; and the Treasuries of Water comprise both these aspects of Ar Rahman for water is the symbol of Knowledge as well as of Mercy. Al Ghazali remarks with regard to the verse "He sent down water from heaven, so that the valleys are in flood with it, each according to its capacity (Surah Ar Raad – v. 17). The commentaries tell us that the Water is Gnosis and that the valleys are Hearts.

Aesthetically, the painting is inspired by the Japanese Zen paintings of the Edo period of Korin Ogata and Sakai Hoitsu (1761 - 1828). Wave paintings were a favourite subject in the Edo period and were done in different styles by the Kano, Maruyama and Rimpa schools. Hokusai 's famous "Great Wave" print is in part a summing of this tradition.

Tajammul Hussain.