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Discovering Spiritual Symbolism in The Alhambra
Discovering Spiritual Symbolism in The Alhambra
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr was raised in Tahiti and California. After
graduating from high school, he studied north Indian music. He later be-
gan studying Persian poetry with Ali Zulanvar and continued studying
with the late renowned Afghan poet, Ustad Khalilullah Khalili, whose
quatrains Darr translated into English and published in 1988. He later
studied poetry and Islamic mysticism with Raz Mohammad Zaray, whose
poetry he also translated into English. In addition, Darr studied Persian
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miniature painting with Ustad Homayon Etemadi, the court painter and royal librarian for
the last king of Afghanistan, Zaher Shah.
Darr frequently speaks about Muslim culture and spirituality. He also serves as the found-
ing director of the Afghan Cultural Assistance Foundation. His recent publications include a
new translation of the Garden of Mystery by Mahmud Shabistari (1998). The Spy of the
Heart, a book describing his travels and spiritual journey in Afghanistan during the 1980s,
will soon be published, God willing. His work in progress, The Islamic Science of Letters
and Numbers, will include a number of essays, including a complete version of this paper.
OPPOSITE PAGE: PHOTOGRAPH BY DAINIS DERICS
37
The fountain is at the center of a rect- ish horseshoe arches are substantial but
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr
tain. Here the main jet’s silver spray falls around the fountain in this courtyard. This
into a massive basin that nurtures twelve palace, now called the Court of Lions, rep-
water-spewing lion statues. The courtyard is resents the epitome of Nasrid architecture
bordered by covered walkways that connect and craftsmanship in Andalusia during the
the royal chambers. These and the cupolas fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It is
of the delicate pavilions are supported by perhaps the grandest artifact from an age
fine marble pillars that appear suspended of splendor that manifested at many levels
from the arches they support. Their Moor- of culture; the finest music, literature, sci-
38
PHOTOGRAPHER : ROBERT ABDUL HAY Y DARR
ence, medicine, and many other arts and rids had somehow survived the endless
crafts came together in Islamic Spain. threats as well as the frequent strife occur-
It is helpful to reflect on this full range ring within their own dynasty. They had
of cultural expression when visiting the also survived an outbreak of plague in the
Alhambra palaces today. The poems on early fourteenth century. Careful alliances
the walls express not only the sensibilities with their Christian neighbors and the sup-
of that time, but remind us of the rich life port of the Marinids in Morocco secured
beyond the responsibilities of government their existence for a time. Perhaps it was
which took place at the royal court: the with this sense of the ephemeral nature of
appreciation of poetry and music, conver- things that the dynasty adopted the slogan,
sations about metaphysics and astronomy, “There is no victor but God” (L¥ gh¥lib ill¥
presentations on religion and mysticism. All¥h). This phrase is repeated throughout
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The Nasrid rulers were well aware the walls of the palace.
both of the splendid refinement of their Even more striking is the invocation of
court and the precariousness of this last the word barakah found in hundreds of
foothold of Islamic power in Spain. Their places throughout the palaces. There are,
own ancestors had been vassals of the in fact, whole walls covered with this word
Christian powers that had, with their help, and its naturalistic emblems: the pinecone,
conquered the Muslim domains of Seville acorn, leaf sprout, and seashell. Barakah
and its surrounding territories. The Nas- means “blessing” or “divine grace.” Scholars
39
and art historians have noted this word in who covered whole surfaces of walls and
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr
the Sala de la Barca, the entry chamber to arches with calligraphic representations of
the Ambassador’s Hall. Yet the word bara- the word barakah along with the pinecone
kah is, in fact, far more ubiquitous in the and other seed and sprout forms emblem-
Court of Lions, where it ornaments arches, atic of it. The word seems not only meant to
capitals, and some of the walls. The word be an invocation of blessing upon the royal
has been carved in many striking forms of inhabitants, but also was and still remains
Kufic and cursive calligraphy. These are a constant reminder of the beauty and joy
invariably accompanied by carvings of the found in God’s manifestations of mercy.
pinecone and acorn, leaves and sprouts, The pinecone, which is the most common
flower buds and seashells. These are all emblem of barakah at the Alhambra, is an
ancient symbols of bounty and fertility as apt symbol of this aspect of God’s merci-
well as good fortune. ful nature and creativity. It is the singular
This word barakah has an interesting bearer of many seeds of life, each of which
range of meaning. It has been used to contains all the potentials of each stage in
indicate the spirituality of certain saints as the growth of a new life. The pinecone rep-
well as of sacred places. This spirituality is resents the principle of multiplicity within
thought to be enlightening, protective, and unity, as well as unity which comprehends
nurturing. Barakah also refers to manifes- multiplicity.
tations of spirit, such as the abundance, Many of the inscriptions1 on the walls of
bounty, and blessings of the good life. We the Alhambra palaces celebrate the rule of
often see this use of the word on Andalu- various sultans of the Nasrid dynasty. But as
sian coins and other artifacts from the peri- James Dickie notes,
od. The Court of Lions was a retreat from
A proper Muslim ruler never styled
| spring 2006 | seasons
to the truth of their origination by Him bols. The fountain represents God’s one-
and their return to Him. The ordinary ness, His essential, unique determination
Muslim believer tends to understand the and divine identity that has no partner. The
garden as a symbol of the afterlife, while word for “essence” in Arabic is ¢ayn. This
the mystic sees the garden as a reflection word ¢ayn also means “spring,” “fountain,”
of the spiritual relationship—while yet the water source that sustains all life. There
alive—with God. The great poets, artists, is, in many cultures, an ancient tradition
and calligraphers of that golden age were about the fountain of eternal life, the fons
41
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr
vitae. It is also described as a fountain of ism in the structures that survive. Some of
eternal freshness or youth. For the Muslim, this symbolism was shared by Jewish and
springs and fountains immediately invoke Christian mystics, whose religious stories
Qur’anic descriptions of paradise where reappear in the Qur’an. It should be noted
underground rivers nourish a fountain that there was a strong connection between
called salsabÏl, which is one of the delights Jewish and Muslim mystical expression dur-
of the dwellers of paradise. ing this period. In fact, it is thought that
The courtyard fountain drains into a Joseph b. Nagrila (d. 425/1034), son of the
basin that provides water to twelve water- Jewish vizier of the Muslim Granadan lords
spewing lion statues that support it. The of the eleventh-century, laid out the origi-
lion statues are thought by some scholars to nal gardens of the Alhambra palaces two
have been brought to the Alhambra from centuries before the creation of the Court
the nearby residence of an eleventh-centu- of Lions.4
ry Jewish vizier. It is certainly true that this As mentioned, the word ¢ayn also means
was not the first fountain with lions. There “essence” in Arabic. The word immediately
is even a poem by Ibn Gabirol (d. 450 evokes the idea of the unlimited Source
AH/1058 CE) extolling a majestic fountain of Existence. It may surprise the reader to
with lions in eleventh-century Cordoba. learn that the word has yet another mean-
| spring 2006 | seasons
Whatever the truth of their provenance, in ing, that of “eye.” Arabic is a remarkable
this mystical exegesis, the lions represent language that is given to multiple entendre.
divine power manifesting in the world of We now see combined in this one word
multiplicity and diversity. The Court of the concepts of essence, the life-source of
Lions, as we now call this place, is evocative being, and perception or awareness. This
of the divine manifestation of the human is the Essence/Fount of Being/Witnessing
heart. It should, therefore, not be surpris- in the nature of God percieved to some
ing to find special language and symbol- degree by the mystic’s heart. Poets and
42
mystics have a long tradition of making
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr
fountain and garden designs from Persian, SYMBOLISM AND ALLUSION HIDDEN
Near Eastern, and Mediterranean ante-
THROUGHOUT THESE PALACES
cedents, these took on special meaning in
imperial Arabian culture, both because of HAS SCARCELY BEEN TAPPED.
in the stunning Hall of the Two Sisters and the Mirador. According to a Sufi doctrine
the Hall of Abencerrajes at the north and quite current at that time, it is actually God
south side of the fountain respectively. It who is the ultimate Seer in all seeing. With
is thought that these spaces were primar- that in mind, it is possible to understand
ily used for musical performances and the the stanza in a different light and to take
recitation of poetry. The ceiling in the the meaning of “lord” quite differently.
Hall of the Two Sisters is the most complex The words used in the line, “ins¥n al-¢ayn”
expression of the Persian architectural the “person in the eye,” meaning the pupil,
44
PHOTOGRAPHER : FANELIE ROSIER
are precisely the words used by the Sufi and the mind becomes clothed in the enti-
gnostics when alluding to seeing through ties of the cosmos, and is revealed in the
the eyes of the “true human,” the vicege- experience of the senses and the mind.
rent of God.7 Throughout Islamic history, mysticism
Ineffable mystical experience cannot has often been opposed by conventional
directly be described, and must be referred religionists, who could neither conceive
to through metaphor and analogy. Much of nor accept the existence of a direct per-
of the literature and art of this period was sonal confirmation of scriptural revelation.
dedicated to this endeavor. This art seeks The Almohad, Marinid, and Nasrid clerics
to communicate, through the senses and were generally opposed to the Sufis and
through the mind, that which is beyond the philosophers. Enigmatic reference to
the senses and the mind. It further commu- mystical experience has a long tradition in
nicates how that which is beyond the senses Islam where mystics were not infrequently
put to death for claiming a direct experien-
tial knowledge of God. It is not surprising
WHAT APPEARS ON THE SURFACE
that special languages would have evolved
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of the Ambassadors. It has been quite cred- magic, numerology was also used by mystics
ibly demonstrated that this ceiling depicts and metaphysicians to communicate the
the cosmological hierarchy of the Throne fundamental realities of existence and cos-
of Allah set above the seven heavens of the mology. We should remember that, at the
created world.8 The impact of the room’s time of the building of the Court of Lions
proportions, lighting, and surface detail during the reign of Mu^ammad V, there
allow one to viscerally experience the mes- existed an unparalleled body of mystical
sage illustrated in the vaulted ceiling. One and cosmological literature replete with
feels at once dwarfed, awed, and protected number symbolism. The impact of Andalu-
under this walled heavenly dome. It is easy sian writers like Ibn al-¢ArabÏ (d. 638/1240)
to imagine some may have felt a sense of and Ibn Rushd (d. 595/1198) in educated
divine authority acting through the sultan circles cannot be overemphasized. In
whose throne once sat under this represen- fact, the impact of the Sufi Ibn al-¢ArabÏ
tation of the cosmic hierarchy. on mysticism was without precedence in
A good deal of debate has taken place the whole of the Islamic world where he
concerning the sym- is still called the
bolism of this and “Greatest Teacher”
concepts with the same number totals can all of the activities at the court. One of his
be identified with each other. The funda- famous books was the Raw\ah al-ta¢rÏf bi
mentals of this system, far from being eso- al-^ubb al-sharÏf (The Garden of Knowing the
teric, are found in Arabic dictionaries and Noble Love). These men had in common
grammar books.9 a love of evocative symbolism that has the
The use of abjad has a long history in power to keep the mind attuned to its fun-
Islamic Spain where it was employed in damental relationship with True Reality. It
literature and art. Although commonly should not then come as a surprise to find
46
that even numerology was employed in the
cupolas within the pavilions at the east and ONESELF TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
west sides of the Court of Lions. These are
wooden arabesques that have survived the of the number one. The aesthetic appeal
centuries with little decay, thanks to the dry of monoformal symmetry, in which a mir-
climate of the region. These semispheri- rored singularity creates multiplicity, is
cal arabesques were designed with a very expressed in many Islamic arts, such as
interesting geometry. Each cupola shelters book cover designs, medallion carpets, and
twelve eleven-pointed stars connected to architecture. In the Court of Lions, we see
each other by minor star polygons. Muslim this symmetry highlighted by the protru-
artists made wide use of star geometry but sion of the mirrored pavilions at the east
rarely of the more difficult eleven-pointed and west ends of the courtyard. These, of
star arabesques. One must wonder why course, contain virtually identical domes
they went to such trouble, especially under with the same unitarian symbolism.
cupolas sheltering fountains and generally The stars are arranged in three levels
out of view. of four stars each. Forty-four, invoked at
Mystically important truths are alluded each level of four eleven-pointed stars, is
to in this geometry. First, there is the most numerically synonymous with the divine
obvious symbolism of each eleven-pointed unity, al-A^ad.13 This divine Oneness of
star. The number eleven, through numeri- Being does not Itself become multiple
cal equivalence, is synonymous with the through the appearance of the particu-
Divine Self or Identity, called Huwa11 in larities of created existence any more than
Arabic. Huwa, or H‰, is the Absolute Exis- light becomes plural in the various colors
tence, whether conceived of as beyond and shadings in which it is manifested. The
the particularities of the created world or unity of God is, of course, a fundamental
as the source and very existence of those belief of Islam and a fundamental experi-
particularities. This double aspect of True ence of the mystics. There also happen to
Reality may be conceived of as the “Unity be forty-four floral shapes decorating each
of the Essence,” and its other aspect may eleven-pointed star, 14 numerologically
be called the “Unity of the Names.”12 The forming the sentence in each of the stars,
Names of God and the multiplicity arising “He is the One” (Huwa al-A^ad)!
seasons | spring 2006 |
from them in the cosmos are only experi- An important aspect to the overall
enced as multiplicity in a consciousness that message of the cupolas is the fact that the
cannot apprehend their fundamental unity totality of the twelve stars (each with eleven
mirrored in the cosmos and only perceives points giving an aggregate of 132 points)
their diversity of meaning as manifested indicates the word qalb,15 an Arabic word
in the forms. A subtlety in the symbolism that has the double meaning of “heart” and
of the divine Identity, Huwa, is that the “transformation.” Heart, as earlier pointed
number eleven results from the mirroring out, might well be translated into contem-
47
porary English as “mind” or “conscious- verse repeated on the walls throughout the
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr
ness.” The particularities of existence, palace reminds us. This meaning of Islam
whether experienced in the world or in the is the origin of the faith’s earthly shadow,
mind, are thought of as divine self-manifes- the Islam of submission to God’s word and
tations conforming to noumenal potentials ordinances, as Islam is more commonly
called “essences,” a¢y¥n. The potentials understood. The abjadist sees clear linkage
remain in a state of non-manifestation while in these concepts in the striking coinci-
Being is thought to manifest according to dence that the word “Islam” itself also has
various characteristics of their latencies. a numerology of 132.18 And if I may strain
These potentials, a¢y¥n,16 also have an abjad the reader’s credulity, 132 is also the abjad
of 132. We can derive from the symbolism equivalent for Mu^ammad,19 the Prophet of
of the cupolas that the mystery of Divine Islam s. In this last instance, it is common-
Unity and the appearance of multiplicity at place among abjadists to count the doubled
their most fundamental level can be expe- “m” in his name, an anomaly that aids in
rienced in the properly attuned heart, or joining all of these concepts together. It is
consciousness, of the mystic. the “Mu^ammadan heart” that embraces
Islamic mysticism is firmly grounded in the double aspects of Unity—God’s tran-
the scripture of the Qur’an as well as in scendental unity—beyond the multiplicity
the divinely inspired sayings (hadith) of of creation, and God’s unity of being within
the Prophet Mu^ammad s. The cupolas the ever-changing diversity occurring at all
artistically express the meaning of one levels of existence.
famous saying where God announces, “My The foregoing is only a partial exegesis
earth and My sky do not contain Me, but of the symbolism of these domes. The
the heart of My faithful servant contains attuned reader could find many more spiri-
Me.” In other words, it is as though God tually evocative and metaphysically useful
says that He is not known—not as the Sin- representations in their geometry, as well
gular and transcendental Divinity nor as as in other areas of the palaces. These over-
the self-manifesting Divinity bestowing exis- lays of numerological and other symbol-
tence upon the limitless potentials of the isms are meant to broaden the impact we
noumena—except in the purified human already receive directly from the aesthetics
heart-mind which is vast enough to com-
prise His vastness.
PHOTOGRAPHER : ROBERT ABDUL HAY Y DARR
48
of this place. Why are we so moved by these the meaning of life. In art and literature,
Spain at the Alhambra. Mystics and think- sacred numerology from the widespread
ers of the Timurid courts of Central Asia use of numerology in the talismanic and
were, in the same period, busy preparing magical arts, as well as in administrative
long commentaries on the writings of the documentation. Sacred numerology has
Andalusian mystic, Shaykh Ibn al-¢ArabÏ. been reserved primarily for the expression,
These individuals, thousands of miles from instruction, and codification of metaphysi-
each other, applied themselves to discover- cal concepts; and for their verification by
ing the capacities of the human spirit and mystics of the great spiritual traditions.
49
In the West, what are now called Arabic inherent danger of obsessive thinking and
Robert Abdul Hayy Darr
numerals were imported from India into inappropriate systematization taking over
Arabia, where alphabetical letters had the minds of aspirants who struggle with
also served as numbers (as was the case in the uncertainties of mystical experience.
other Near Eastern and Mediterranean Many mystics find themselves with an
cultures). Prior to the introduction of enhanced capacity for using puns and
Indian numbers, Arabs automatically made apprehending the connections between
numerological associations between letters concepts and events that had not been
and numbers, and it was inevitable that evident prior to their spiritual transforma-
important concepts and ideas came to have tions. Some of these mystics of the Islamic
number identities. Islamic culture has, world have found the language of abjad
from its inception, made use of numerol- useful for such associative exploration and
ogy. Most educated readers of the great communication. Anyone without such an
poetry in Arabic and Farsi are still aware associative capacity may be unable to sup-
of this, at least to some extent. As a clear port or acknowledge the benefit, or even
and simple example, for many poems the existence, of such communication.
containing numerological expression are The example of numerology employed
deliberately quite obscure, here is a cou- in the cupolas that I have explicated in
plet from one of Hafiz of Shiraz’s ghazals20 this paper is quite straightforward, and I
(d. 791/1389): propose to give a bit more detail to help
There is naught on my heart’s tablet guide anyone interested in pursuing this
but the Friend’s letter “A.” topic. I have pointed out that through the
What can I do, as the Master has use of a set of eleven-pointed stars, one
taught me no other letter. could communicate certain metaphysically
The letter A (alif in Arabic/Farsi) is, fundamental concepts about the nature of
in abjad, equivalent to the number one. unity and multiplicity. I used the simplest
Hafiz indicates that God alone is present abjad form—that of counting just the num-
in his heart, and that he experiences mys- ber of points of the star arabesques and
tical oneness with God because his heart the number of floral forms contained by
(consciousness) has been wiped clean of them. There is often a secondary form of
duality. counting used in geometrical abjad that
Numerology is widely used in the mysti- can be applied to these arabesques, which
cal literature of Islam, as is allegorical and would yield additional metaphysical mean-
metaphorical language. All of these expres- ing. I will introduce just one example of
sions, including the calligraphy itself, this in order not to deny the earnest reader
have a double intention of revealing and a deeper appreciation for this subtle lan-
hiding the communication. This accords guage.
| spring 2006 | seasons
perfectly with the paradoxical reality of The reader will notice that in forming
mystical experience which has been vari- the eleven-pointed stars, hexagons make
ously described as “a bright midnight,” an up the largest polygons of each star. There
“open secret,” an “obscurity hidden by its are other important polygon shapes within
very obviousness,” among others. each star, but let’s just examine the larger
Not all mystics make use of numerology. hexagons that form the actual points of the
Moreover, some of the mystical orders of stars. Each star has eleven of these. Each
Sufism actually barred its use because of the hexagon could be described as having six
50
4 Maria Rosa Menocal, The Ornament of
2 James Dickie, “The Palaces of the normally set to music.” (The New Oxford
Alhambra,” in Al-Andalus, The Art of Islamic American Dictionary, 2nd ed. New York:
Spain, Jerrilynn D. Dodds, ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992), 139. 21 Qur’an 29:69.
3 Although divinity, in itself, is beyond such
concepts of gender, the active aspect of
God is identified in masculine terms in the
Qur’an.
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