Hamza Yusuf – Islam – A Legacy Of Beauty

			Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim
		

			we come into this world as testimonies to our own creativeness, but also as witnesses to the exalted
beauty of God's creation.
		

			Even the death and decay of the natural world has a beauty of its own. Unlike humans, whose waste
repels nature adorns the Earth with the beauty of growth and decay. Our Prophet peace be upon him
said that Islam, the final natural religion of humanity DNL Fatra, revolves around three
transcendentals truth of belief, Eman, goodness of practice, Islam, and the beauty of conduct and
product. So, we know that the religion of Islam itself cannot be beautified by mere mortals for God
revealed it and adorned it with its own divine beauty. Indeed, God is beautiful and loves beauty.
But here on Earth, Islam presents itself through human beings and through what human beings make, in
		

			other words, through these earthly vessels that embody or exhibit Islam. For instance, we know that
God's revelation, the inimitable Quran, cannot be enhanced, nor its radiant beauty be embellished.
We can, however, enhance and beautify the reciters voice, so that we might deepen and enrich our
experience of receiving the words of God. The Muslims of the past, committed to the visual adornment
of the written revelation mastered the arts of calligraphy, to exalt the written Quran, and crafted
magnificent manuscripts that now grace the world's Museum, the Prophet Muhammad, God's peace and
blessings be upon him, called his community to rectify your homes and adorn your clothes in order
		

			that you might be like a beauty mark among humanity so that when others look upon Muslims in their
work, they might see God's beauty reflected in them. The early Muslims took their prophets words to
heart, they maintained welcoming homes, and embellish their clothes to reflect the dignity conferred
by God on all human beings. So even the peasant or popper resembled a prince. muslims also built the
most stunning architectural masterpieces that still strike all and astonishment in onlookers from
the Alhambra Palace in Spain, to the Blue Mosque in Turkey, to the charm dinar and the Taj Mahal in
India. They enhance their works with a son, that intangible beauty making quality of Islam that
		

			cannot be seen, touched or heard, but only experienced through sight, sense and sound. Due to its
immateriality that evokes otherworldly dimensions. They inspired other civilizations to compete in
bestowing the world with beautiful monuments that reflected their own traditions. The Christians,
for example, learned of stained glass from Egyptian Muslims, and illuminated their churches with the
techniques that Muslims had been using to ornament their mosques. When the Prophet peace and God's
blessings be upon him said, I was sent only to teach. He reminded us that intellect alone
distinguishes humanity from the rest of creation, and then it must be nurtured through deliberate
		

			and lifelong learning. Seek knowledge even unto China became a rallying call of a civilization that
the historian Franz Rosenthal proclaimed as unique in human history, because of its core mandate to
seek advance and preserve knowledge in the entire Quran. God commands the Prophet, peace and
blessings be upon him to ask for increase for only one attribute knowledge. And that Quranic verse
adorns the zaytuna College seal, my Lord, Increase me in knowledge. This thirst for knowledge and
wisdom sparked an intellectual tradition unparalleled in prior human history. Muslims plumb the
depths of the arts and sciences, and penned some of the first major works of grammar known to man,
		

			as well as the first scientific dictionaries. They invented new literary art forms such as the
Ahmed, blending rhymed prose and poetry. They gave the gift of Arabic numerals to the west, they
developed algebra and trigonometry, paving the way for calculus, and many of the great modern
achievements in mathematics and the sciences. They immerse themselves in the great works of
literature in history from such faraway places as India and Persia, infusing them with new life in
work, such as Candela and Demna. At the dunya with Dean, and 1001 Nights, they translated the
classics of Greek logic, philosophy, mathematics and science into Arabic. In fact, it was the great
		

			translation movements in the Muslim world that helped launch a renaissance of learning and
fertilization that awakened Europe from its long intellectual slumber and led to some of the most
important advances in the West. early Muslims centers of learning became the envy of the world and
inspired
		

			of great Christian universities in France, Italy and England during the Middle Ages, which taught
the sciences that they had learned from the Muslims, humanity's great teaching institutions were
built by Muslims for a reason. They knew that structured learning provided the best means to prepare
students for the challenge of cultivating this world for its own success, but more importantly, for
success in another, more perfect, more excellent more beautiful world. Hence, Muslims built their
schools to remind students of Paradise and the higher purpose of education they inculcated a love of
beauty and Ehsaan in their students, which was mirrored even in the notebooks they left behind in
		

			the stunning illuminations of their manuscripts, and in the dignified clothes they wore that
exemplified the nobility of their pursuit of sacred knowledge. Inspired by the Quran is vivid
descriptions of a verdant paradise, Muslims cultivated landscapes, with the four gardens theme
memorialized by the Indo Persian civilization as child above, they enriched and ennoble their
schools and Moss was such gardens that featured octagonal fountains to call to mind the eight throne
carriers upon water mentioned in the Quran. The architecture was often graced with geometrical
patterns and tessellations theoretically capable of infinite repetition to evoke the infinite one
		

			hidden behind the dazzling multiplicity of creation. In all these ways, Muslims and what they built
served as the vessels of Islam, reflecting the beauty of God's last revelation. Today, however, the
beauty of the vessel has receded, veiling many from the beauty of its content. The Prophet, God's
peace and blessings be upon him, warned us to be mindful of how others perceived Islam saying, give
glad tidings, and do not dissuade people or cause a version in their hearts of Islam. He knew that
all people naturally inclined towards the beautiful and that their souls recognize beauty when they
see it. He peace be upon him, desire the vessels to be noble, and edifying so that happily the
		

			hearts might awaken and turn to the truth within. Today, when Muslims are sadly witnessing the
destruction and neglect of much of Islam is rich inheritance. We aim to transform the zaytuna
college campus God willing, so that it becomes renowned both for its ethereal beauty, as well as its
devotion to learning. We hope it becomes a place that attracts from far and wide students and others
so they might witness and experience the beautiful vessel that encases and emanates from the beauty
of Islam. About 100 years ago, Thomas Church, a world renowned American landscape architect, who had
studied the Islamic Moorish and Andalusi in gardens, while in Europe, created the blueprints for the
		

			gardens of the property that currently houses a tuna colleges upper campus. He chose us His theme,
Islamic gardens based upon the chat about design, not knowing that one day Muslim students would
walk among his designs and contemplate the very Quran which inspired his vision, we want to restore
his glorious designs to their original splendor, as a testimony to the beauty of our faith. Our
vision for this college remains firm, to educate and prepare future generations of students in a
beautiful setting conducive to the pursuit of knowledge, so that they might go into the world as
intellectual and spiritual ambassadors, armed with the power of permanent truth, a precious gift
		

			bestowed upon us by our Creator. Our Prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon him, was a
transformer of worlds because of his embodiment of God's beauty. Today, millions of mosques call the
faithful five times a day to the simple beauty of submission to God, our Prophet, God's peace and
blessings be upon him, gifted us a vision of how we might embody and exhibit that beauty. So we ask
that you join us as we endeavor to artfully and attentively transform our campus into a timeless
vessel that will God willing, remind all who come to study or to visit of that otherworldly garden
awaiting? Please support us as we strive to remind a parched humanity in the barren desert of
		

			modernity, that Muslims who wants help transform the world can God willing, be once again that
beauty mark, that the prophets Allah likes him called us to be