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Islamic art, Sufi Humanism and Sinan's aesthetics
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Metin Mustafa
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Abstract: Drawing inspiration from Qur'anic verses of God's mystery and esotericism, the influence of Sufi humanism on Islamic arts manifests the spiritual realities (al-haqa'iq) of God's revelation in the scripture. The first half of the essay focuses on how Islamic art provides its audience the means to experience God through theophanies - aesthetic symbolisms - ta'wil, to attain tawhid (Unity of God) and ittihad (Union with God). Sixteenth century Ottoman imperial architect Sinan's masterpiece, the Selimiye (1575) is the epitome of this expression of Sufi humanism and Ottoman Renaissance, which the essay explores in the second half of this study.
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