Why God Calls You to Beauty
What was your favorite subject in school?
Mine was art.
My mind thought in pictures. In school, besides drawing I enjoyed making colorful charts and explaining information visually. I would be the first to help friends with their homework and teachers with their visual aids.
I didn't know then that this love for art would later transform my understanding of faith.
Growing up, I thought spirituality and beauty were independent of each other. Something in my interpretation of religious teachings led me to believe that beauty distracted us from our spiritual path. This idea created an internal conflict between my love for art and my desire to stay true to my faith.
Years later, I began creating Sufi Comics. I wanted to delve deeper into this perceived divide between beauty and spirituality. I chose comics because I believed pictures could make complex spiritual ideas more accessible.
As I went deeper into the study of art and religion, I discovered that beauty and spirituality are, in fact, deeply intertwined.
Let me explain further, but first, take a look at this Sufi Comic:
Art by Charbak Dipta
“God loves the beautiful-doers (muĥsinīn)” (Quran 2:195, 3:134, 3:148, 5:13, 5:93).
Through my research, I uncovered important insights about beauty and faith:
God is Beautiful: In Islam, one of God's names is Al-Jamaal, meaning The Beautiful. Just as God is good and wants us to do good, He is also beautiful and wants us to create beauty. This understanding changed my perception of beauty – no longer something trivial, but a divine quality we should embody.
Beauty is Not Luxury: Today, we often associate beauty with excess or luxury. This misconception led many, including my younger self, to believe that focusing on beauty might hinder spiritual growth. However, in Islam, beauty isn't just about appearances; it's a path towards inner perfection.
Spirituality Includes Beauty: I learned that being spiritual doesn't mean rejecting beauty. Instead, it means embracing beauty in its purest form. The Prophet encouraged cleanliness, modesty, and kindness – all contributing to a beautiful life. It's about infusing beauty into our hearts, actions, and creations. The beauty around us serves as a reminder to cultivate our inner beauty.
Beauty in Traditional Societies: In traditional societies, creating art wasn't a special activity. You didn't have to visit a museum to experience beauty; it was part of daily life – in architecture, calligraphy, everyday objects, and even speech. They understood that beauty nourishes the soul.
Inner Beauty Matters Most: Creating beauty isn't just about making pretty things. In Islam, the most important thing to beautify is our souls. Every moment offers an opportunity to create beauty – not for show, but for spiritual growth. Our words, actions, and choices can all reflect this deeper beauty.
This new understanding helped me realize that appreciating beauty and creating beauty in itself is a spiritual practice.
"God is Beautiful and loves Beauty." ~ Prophet Muhammad (‘s)
When we ignore beauty, we're overlooking a divine quality. But when we bring beauty into our lives and actions, we're reflecting God’s divine attribute.
In a way, we're all artists. Not in the sense of creating paintings, but in shaping our own lives. We have free will and make choices every day.
As the artists of our lives, we have the power to create beauty or ugliness in everything we do. This extends to our writing, speech, relationships, and even the most mundane activities like eating, sleeping, and dressing.
However, the key lies not in creating beauty for egoic needs or external approval, but in a higher purpose.
When we approach these aspects of our lives with the intention of reflecting and remembering God's divine qualities, they become truly beautiful.
In this way, we're not merely creating external beauty – we're cultivating beauty within ourselves.
