Amman — The book Fiqh al-Husn: Islamic Knowledge of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art, by researcher Edham Mohammad Hanash and published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Amman, presents an intellectual project aimed at establishing aesthetics and the philosophy of art from an Islamic perspective, drawing on the objectives of Sharia and the complementary relationship between beauty and ethics.
اضافة اعلان
The book seeks to develop a theoretical and methodological framework for understanding and evaluating Islamic art. It moves beyond a focus on its formal and material characteristics to examine its spiritual, ethical and intellectual dimensions, as well as its role in human and social life and the development of civilization.
The book explores the traditional school’s understanding of Islamic art, which links its aesthetic and symbolic value to spirituality and the expression of absolute truth. It also criticizes Orientalist interpretations that reduce Islamic art to material relics of the past, as well as some contemporary philosophical studies that examine it separately from its religious and legislative foundations.
In the book’s introduction, Hanash emphasizes that understanding Islamic art and evaluating its aesthetic value requires bringing together spirituality, the principles of Sharia, the foundations and objectives of Islamic jurisprudence, and the purposes of Islamic law. This approach, he argues, restores recognition of the distinctive intellectual and methodological foundations of Islamic thought in the study of art.
Hanash presents the “Fiqh al-Husn” project as an intellectual framework for defining the nature of Islamic art and its relationship with the objectives of Sharia. It examines the art’s aesthetic and ethical values, creative methods, levels of beauty and ultimate purposes.
The project aims to offer an independent Islamic vision of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. It begins by critiquing previous studies that, in the author’s view, failed to establish a comprehensive theoretical and methodological framework and were influenced by aesthetic and artistic approaches developed outside the Islamic frame of reference.
The book presents its project across eight short chapters. The first four introduce aesthetics and the philosophy of art and examine their relationship with intellectual unity and cultural diversity. They also address challenges in Arab-Islamic aesthetics and the need to establish a clear scholarly framework, leading to the proposal of “Fiqh al-Husn” as an intellectual project grounded in the objectives and values of Sharia, particularly its aesthetic objectives.
The author discusses the role of Sharia’s objectives in establishing, developing and refining Islamic art, focusing on its visual, sensory and formative dimensions as expressed through painting, calligraphy, imagery, color, texture and other artistic practices.
Hanash divides the objectives of Islamic art into two complementary categories: theoretical aesthetic objectives, including perfection, proportion and grandeur; and practical artistic objectives, reflected in the skills of planning, depiction, precision and craftsmanship.
Chapters five, six and seven examine the complementary relationship between the philosophy of art and the objectives of Sharia through two interconnected dimensions: ethics, which governs intentions, beliefs and conduct, and beauty, which is expressed through artistic methods, practices and skills. The project therefore presents Islamic art as a field in which ethical and aesthetic dimensions meet within the framework of Sharia and its objectives.
The author notes that modern and contemporary studies of beauty and art in Arab culture and Islamic thought have contributed to a range of critical works. However, these efforts have often remained fragmented, linked to individual initiatives and based on diverse sources, including Islamic texts, intellectual and literary works, and artistic heritage.
Calls have emerged for the establishment of an aesthetic discipline grounded in an Arab-Islamic frame of reference, under labels such as “Islamic aesthetics” and “Islamic aesthetic theory.” Hanash argues that some of these calls were influenced by Western aesthetics as it entered modern Arab culture, while others were associated with Orientalist efforts to study Islamic art.
Hanash maintains that these initiatives demonstrate the potential for aesthetics and the philosophy of art from an Islamic perspective to develop intellectually and methodologically. He notes, however, that the field still requires further intellectual publications, critical studies and creative works to complete its development and reach greater maturity.
The author considers aesthetics and the philosophy of art promising fields within contemporary Islamic thought, particularly as interest in them grows in both Arab and non-Arab scholarship. His book, Fiqh al-Husn: Islamic Knowledge of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art, contributes to this ongoing effort and seeks to build an authentic body of knowledge in the field.
The project revolves around two central questions: How can an Islamic science of aesthetics and philosophy of art be developed? And how can it be grounded intellectually and methodologically in a way that ensures its coherence with the humanities and social sciences within Islamic thought?
According to Hanash, the book goes beyond studying beauty and art in Islam. It seeks to establish a scholarly framework and an intellectual foundation for both through the concept of “Fiqh al-Husn,” which brings together two essential terms: fiqh, meaning precise understanding, sound comprehension and considered judgment, and husn, a comprehensive concept encompassing aesthetic and ethical values.
The author presents husn as a value that extends beyond outward appearance to include ethics, knowledge and action within an integrated vision that unites beauty and morality.
The “Fiqh al-Husn” project draws on linguistic, cultural, intellectual and practical dimensions related to beauty and art. It places the objectives of Sharia at the center of establishing Islamic aesthetics and directing aesthetic knowledge and artistic practice toward achieving human perfection in thought, conduct and action.
Hanash explains that the project is built around the relationship between the objectives of Sharia and the values of truth, goodness and beauty, within a vision that unites the inner and outer dimensions, as well as meaning and form. Under this concept, beauty includes an outward dimension perceived by the eye and an inward dimension apprehended through insight, with both forming complementary aspects of human experience.
He also emphasizes the importance of integrating form and content, beauty and ethics, and value and utility in artistic creation, so that the means and methods employed contribute to achieving the work’s intended purposes.
The author argues that husn represents both an aesthetic value and an ethical benefit for individuals and society. He views Islamic art as an intellectual system in which religious knowledge, thought, work and creativity interact, while considerations of form, content and function overlap.
Within this framework, the objectives of Sharia provide an intellectual and methodological reference for both theoretical and applied Islamic aesthetics, while the integration of ethics and beauty forms the basis for understanding and evaluating Islamic art.
The intellectual model of “Fiqh al-Husn” consists of interconnected themes, including religion and ethics, beauty and art, knowledge and craftsmanship, and method, style, form and image. Within this model, ethical and aesthetic objectives work together to explain and evaluate artistic practice.
The theory of aesthetic objectives links husn and beauty in the universe, nature and existence with human awareness, knowledge and creativity. From this perspective, Hanash considers Islamic art an essential component of Islamic aesthetic knowledge and an influential element in the lives of individuals, society, the state and civilization.
The author highlights the role of Islamic art in building civilization through three main foundations. The first is its connection to urban development and the cultivation of the earth. Craftsmanship and creativity, in this sense, are human activities that draw inspiration from the order and laws of nature and embody the values of precision and beauty in artistic works.
The second foundation is the integration of craftsmanship and creativity within inherited traditional practices, achieving a balance between beauty and utility. According to this vision, artistic work helps refine taste and provide aesthetic enjoyment while also meeting the practical and intellectual needs of individuals and society.
The third foundation is the presence of art across different fields of knowledge and work. Art intersects with literature, science and industries, and is reflected in professions, social customs and cultural traditions. Its role therefore extends beyond producing artworks to encompass methods of work, creativity and social practice.
Hanash argues that Islamic art expresses the aesthetic and civilizational identity of Muslim society and serves as a cultural language through which that society presents itself to the world. While the Holy Quran represents the primary religious reference, art, in the author’s view, plays a cultural and expressive role in embodying aspects of Islamic civilization and introducing them to others.
The author calls for a reassessment of how Islamic art is classified within the hierarchy of interests and objectives recognized by Sharia, arguing that it should not be confined to the category of refinements and luxuries.
He maintains that the need for art is not a cultural luxury or a secondary concern, but is connected to human nature, innate disposition and intellectual, aesthetic and social needs. He therefore calls for examining the status of Islamic art through the principles and rules of Islamic jurisprudence, including the legal maxim: “A need may be treated as a necessity, whether it is general or specific.”
On this basis, Hanash argues that Islamic art should be understood as a human and civilizational need that may reach the level of necessity, depending on its nature, function and the consequences of its absence, rather than being regarded merely as a refinement or an expression of luxury.
Source: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Aziza Ali
