Text as Art
For Islamic Tradition
1. Phrases
Islamic texts use several honorific expressions such as ʿalayhi s-salām (peace be upon him) for prophets and angels, and ṣallā llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam specifically after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Each variant reflects reverence and is often stylized in calligraphic art.
2. The Quran
The Qur’an itself commands believers to invoke blessings upon the Prophet (Qur’an 33:56). This verse serves as the foundation for using the phrase, embedding it as both devotion and an artistic element in manuscripts.
3. Tafsir
Exegesis emphasizes that invoking peace and blessings through these emblems is not only respectful but a form of worship. Scholars highlight the spiritual merit and symbolic weight of inscribing or reciting the phrase.
4. Hadith
Authentic hadiths strongly encourage Muslims to send prayers and peace upon the Prophet whenever his name is mentioned. The visual shorthand, such as ﷺ, evolved as a textual emblem to preserve this practice in writing.
5. Abbreviation Rules
Some scholars discourage using short cuts of “PBUH”, “SAW” and so on. They view it as lowering the form of respect compared to writing the full Arabic invocation.
They like ﷺ (peace be upon him) and it became widely accepted emblem, balancing respect and shortness.
_________________
* * * * *
* * * * *
Salam alaykum. We turned on "Comments" again.
Just sign-in & Leave your thoughts!
