Painting of A’isha (ra) in Tate Britain. Are you aware?!

[BiLaaL]

Salamullahi ‘Alaykum

 

Brothers and sisters i do not reside in the U.K. but please read the following article. It was posted on a forum that i administered last year, i never again heard from the brother who posted this message, therefore i do not know if this matter was resolved or not. Can the brothers and sisters from Britian in this forum, find out what happened in regards to this case.

 

Dear concerned brothers and sisters,

 

Re: Painting of A’isha (ra) in Tate Britain. Are you aware?!

 

It has come to our knowledge that Tate Britain in Millbank (London SW1)recently put up a painting of A’isha ®, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad ‘alayihi wa sallam and the daughter of Khalif Abu Bakr. A’isha is recorded to have narrated around 12,000 Traditions, of which 174 were accepted by Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Al-Muslim.

 

A painting of this great woman of Islam can be found hanging at a public gallery at the Tate Britain (section 15 of the Victorian Art Collection), painted by artist Valentino Cameron Prinsep (1838-1904). The painting is labelled as ‘Ayesha exhibited 1887 (oil of canvas)’ without any mention of her relationship with the Prophet. It was first displayed in 1887 at the

Royal Academy in 1887, purchased of by president and council of the Royal Academy of Arts.

 

What is our objection to this painting as Muslims and what we ought to do? When volunteers from the East London Mosque and Women’s Relief confronted the Tate management expressing their objections and disgust at the painting, the official response was that:

 

a) the painting and others of the Prophet and his family members are displayed in Iran;

b) that there has not been much objection from the British Muslim community to warrant its removal; and

c) that the Tate was merely to trying to exhibit art from the Islamic civilisations.

 

Our objections:

1. The vast majority of Muslims in Britain and abroad do not approve of paintings or sculptures generally on Islamic grounds, especially members of the Prophet’s family.

 

2. The painting, albeit in good faith, is insensitive and can enrage British Muslims. We must not forget the Satanic verses which inflamed

muslim feelings world-wide.

 

3. Whilst we don’t want to enter into Shi’i-Sunni debate which will only serve to weaken our case, it needs to be noted that 90% of British Muslims are Sunna and that even prominent Shi’i scholars object to paintings and sculptures of life form. According to Ayatullah Al-Uzma Al-Sayyid Ali Al-Husayni Al-Seestani, he said ‘it is not permissible’ to make a statue in

the shape of a human being or an animal or similar things relating to corporal objects of creation that possess souls.

 

4. If Tate Britain sincerely wishes to promote art from the Muslim world and promote better understanding between faiths and communities, it should do so in consultation with the representatives from the Muslim community in

Britain, such as the MCB.

 

What you should do?

 

Please call, fax, email or visit the Tate Britain to politely register your objection to the painting of A’isha ®. When we last spoke to the managers (Fri 17 2003) of the Tate, they said they had only received about four complaints. If more complaints are filled the managers will be obliged to remove the painting.

 

Speak to Roger Miller (Visitor Services’ Training Manager) or Steven Deucher (Director of the gallery).

 

Tel. 020 7887 8725 Fax. 020 7887 8788

www.tate.org.uk

 

Tube: Pimlico; Railway: Vauxhall; Bus: 88, 77A, C10.

 

Brothers and Sisters, we must not forget our duty and reverence for the Prophet and his family. Allah, the Exalted reminds us:

 

"And whosoever honours the Symbols of Allah, then it is truly from the piety of the heart.'' (22:32)

 

Let us also take heed from Yazid bin Haiyan who reported: I went along with Husain bin Sabrah and `Amr bin Muslim to Zaid bin Arqam and as we sat by his side, Husain said to him, "Zaid, you acquired great merits, you saw the Messenger of Allah, listened to him talking, fought by his side in (different) battles, and offered Salat (prayer) behind him. Zaid, you have indeed earned great merits. Could you narrate to us what you heard from the Messenger of Allah?'' …Zaid then said, "One day Messenger of Allah (PBUH) stood up to deliver a Khutbah at a watering place known as Khum between

Makkah and Al-Madinah. He praised Allah, and said, `Amma Ba`d. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I will respond to Allah's

Call, but I am leaving with you two weighty things: the first is the Book of Allah, in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.' …He exhorted (us to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said, `The second is the members of my household, I remind you (to be kind) to the members of my family. I remind you (to be kind) to the members of my family.

[Muslim].

 

The least we can do to show our bond of affection and reverence for the Prophet’s family is to register our complaint from the comfort of our homes and offices. Please tell others. Wa billahi Taufiq.

 

Wassalam

[Warrior of Light]

Bilaal

 

Just visited their website and seems its till exhibited http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=12229.

 

They claim

 

 

...... featured a fictional character Queen Ayesha; it is possible that this is intended as a portrayal of her.

 

 

One of the wives of the prophet Mohammad was also called Ayesha, though there is nothing in the painting to suggest this portrait was associated with her. For Prinsep, the single female figure subject provided a vehicle for his skilled drapery painting and sumptuous use of colour.

(From the display caption February 2004)

Allah YaAllam.

[BiLaaL]

Laa Hawla Wa Laa Quwata Ilaa Billah

 

SiSade i hope they've at least taken it off from physical view in the actual gallery. The above letter and the campaign at the time seemed to have been pretty strong, so perhaps they did take it away from public view. May Allah make it so.

 

Perhaps you guys in london can verify this. (please go to http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/information.htm for visiting info). I believe there is another one at Albert Dock, Liverbool and also at St Ives, Cornwall.

 

This is what our beloved prophet(pbuh) had to say about the mother of the believers Ai'sha (ra): Abu Musa reported Allah's Messenger as saying, "A'isha's superiority over other women is like the superiority of tharid (a food) over other foods." (Bukhari and Muslim).

 

Once, when 'Umar Ibn Al-As returned from Gazwa That As-Salasal, he asked Allah's Messenger, "Who do you love most in this world?" He said, "A'isha." He said, "O Allah's Messenger, the question is about men." He said, "A'isha's father."

 

 

Indeed if we are believers, we should love, honour and respect that which our beloved prophet (pbuh) did and hate that which he did.

[Blessed]

Hmmmmmmmmmm!

 

This work/artist is no longer available.

I’m getting ^^^^ message. Maybe it was moved.... I'm not sure of the reason though. The Tate isn’t exactly famous for its sensitivity is it. I remember a few years back the Tate gallery London - featured a piece of 'art' consisting of a dissected pregnant cow which was preserved in a glass.

 

I had to endure the ordeal of walking through this piece as my art teacher ‘ohhmed’ and ‘aaahed’. Bloody hippies, you’d think they’d be a little more humane.

 

Anyhoot… the animal rights activities went crazy. Despite all the fuss, the Tate awarded that artist with prestigious Turner price that year...

[BiLaaL]

Amaanimeenah

 

The message you're getting is due to the fact that SisSade accidentally added a dot at the end of the link when she provided it, which brings up the subsequent message.

 

The work is still there, try the link again

 

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=12229

[SomeAlien]

considering who painted it, as well as the date and where the artist was situated, not to mention the picture itself, i have to wonder, who made the correlation between aisha (ra) the prophets wife and this painting? is it the name that threw you off or does that in itself offend you?

[BiLaaL]

I suppose people can argue that Aisha is a common name, even at the time of this particular artist. But the fact that there was a correlation made between the painting and the prophets wife is what troubles me. Whether this correlation was made by the artist himself at the time of the painting or made afterwards is what we have no knowledge of.

 

One thing is for sure though, the correlation was not made in error, whoever did so, must have had some knowledge of Islam and the Muslims. Therefore, one can also assume that they must have had some knowledge of the sensitivities associated with it.