From words to canvas: Dhikr and Muharram in a visual narrative

Hyderabad-based artist uses contemporary Islamic art to convey his message

Artist Younus Mohammed Hafiz working on a painting that depicts the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hazrat Imam Hussain and its effects on Muslim community.

For the devout, the month of Muharram is a time for mourning, a sombre introspection. It’s the time for remembering the martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hazrat Imam Hussain and his family in Karbala in the present-day Iraq.

And a city-based painter is using his palette to narrate the incident on canvas during meetings to recount the martyrdom, its aftermath and its effects on Muslim community.

Inspired by Koran

Younus Mohammed Hafiz says he uses contemporary Islamic art to convey his message. With most of his work based on and inspired by verses from the Koran and also the Hadith (the tradition of Prophet Muhammad), his brush strokes are its visual interpretation and depiction.

“I call it ‘Visual

Dhikr’ . Dhikr means remembrance of the Almighty,” he says.

His latest work, which he completed on Monday, is based on Muharram and the

youm-e-ashura (the 10th of Muharram). The painting has two letters of the Urdu alphabet:

ghain and

meem . Conjoined, they become

gham or sorrow. To add context, the dot as a diacritic is painted in crimson.

“It’s the sorrow that many experience on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain. The message is direct. The red slashes in the background symbolise hands performing the maatam (self-flagellation),” the artist explains.

Mr. Hafiz says he presented his work, also ashura -themed, to the Consulate-General of The Islamic Republic of Iran earlier this month.

Multiple elements

Explaining his style, Mr. Hafiz says it’s a blend of elements of dhikr , calligraphy and images. “It was in 2012 that I was listening to a sermon at Masjid-e-Azizia in Saudi Arabia when I stumbled upon this idea. If dhikr can be verbal, it can be visual too. I consulted an aalim-e-deen (Islamic scholar) on the issue and he said ‘of course’, so I went ahead,” he recalls.

The artist has showcased his work at Aligarh Muslim University, Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata and Nesma Art Gallery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.