Surat Al-Ikhlas – Fatimid Kufic – Basma Farag

Text: «قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (1) ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ (2) لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ (3) وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدُۢ (4)» (Say, "He is God, the One. God, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.")

Framed size: 73×53 cm

Script: Fatimid Kufic

Materials: Gouache colors on Canson paper

Nature of work: Handmade

Symbolism and meaning: Surat Al-Ikhlas (verses 1–4): it sums up the essence of the Islamic creed in affirming God's oneness and His transcendence above any likeness or equal. The text symbolizes purity of belief and a profound simplicity that distils the whole meaning of faith into a few words, becoming in the artwork an embodiment of pure light and absolute certainty.

Artist: Basma Farag