Longing for the Divine - 2012

Longing Divine for the

2012

award-winning calendar andalusian arts

ANDALUSIAN ARTS ANDALUSIAN ARTS presents its “Longing for the Divine” calendar for the 2012 year.

Coupling the words of scholar-saints who lived what they preached with images captured by world-renowned photographers, we have attempted to share expressions of beauty inspired by the Islamic ethos. In a world where change is the norm, these carefully selected word-photo pairings argue quietly but convincingly that the quest for the Divine is timeless. It is our fervent hope that each month's display introduces this sense of the Sacred in every place the calendar is exhibited.

ANDALUSIAN ARTS is a designer and producer of print and gift items for both the Islamic corporate and retail markets. Our product line includes calendars (wall, desktop, or pocket), premium greeting cards, and commissioned prints. We offer customized product designs to embassies, corporations, and non-profits; our products have been successfully used as fundraisers, purchase incentives, patron appreciation for non-profits, corporate giveaways, and as a component of a larger company branding strategy.

Our clientele/partners/retailers include: Borders Bookstores Inc.; Calendars.com; Partners West; TNT; Islamic Relief (Los Angeles, London, and South Africa); Intercontinental Hotel (Middle East); Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism (London); UMMA Community Clinic (Los Angeles); Averroes Academy (Chicago); Marriott Hotel (Middle East); Astrolabe Islamic Media (N. Virginia); Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); and The Unity Center (Greater Michigan).

Cover photo of Dhalkut, Oman © Lucie Debelkova • All photographs are protected by the indicated copyrights • “Longing for the Divine” © 2001–2012 Andalusian Arts, LLC • Produced by Mohamed Marei • Designed by Sohail Nakhooda • Additional design by Maher Yusuf • Preface © Nuh Ha Mim Keller • Special thanks to Hani Samman, Omar Samman, Zeina Shahzada, Nidal Al-Qudairi, Imad Nimer, and Hassan and Laila Marei • Islamic dates used throughout the calendar are based on the Umm-ul-Qura calendar, which has been accepted by the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the European Council for Fatwa & Research (ECFR) • Holidays are based on data provided by Khalid Shaukat’s moonsighting.com • Due to the nature of lunar calendars, actual dates may vary by one and, rarely, two days.

Longing for the Divine

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ew things touch man to the

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core of his being like a sense of the Divine. A voice within each of us tells us that beyond the veil of ordinary perception there is something which if found, would prove greater than the sum of all things. In every revealed religion there have been men and women who focused upon this inner certitude and made it grow through the means vouchsafed them, until a light dawned within them such as few ever see.

11In the history of Islam, 12 those who tread13 the path of highest spiritual possibility were many more than in any previous religion. Revelation must speak to every level of those to whom it is sent, and the personal reality of each human being is not merely a body, or a body 11 12 with a mind; but 13 rather body, mind, and spirit, the subtle entity within each of us that opens onto the Divine. If the cultural imperium of the present age has little to offer these higher possibilities, the peace of body and mind that to highest 13 11 comes by “submission” 12 reality, the fundamental sense of the word Islam, has freed and continues to free the spirit of many to ascend.

The mystical flowering of Islamic orders or tariqas of those dedicated to Allah and a spiritual path was unprecedented in world 11 history.

They were not12mere collectivities 13 of worshippers, but men and women who while living in the world were actively engaged in the sapiential dawning of the Divine Presence in the heart, defined by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) as “to worship God as though you see Him.” Though less in the modern day, in previous Muslim times and lands as

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17 16 many as eighty percent of the people were associated in some way or another with the mystic orders, which had great influence on all levels of society.

The light of finding this subtlety within one and taking it in one’s hands and proceeding to God—the purity of purpose of those who sought, the illumination of those who found—is reflected in almost all traditional expressions of Islamic high culture, from the simplicity and dignity of its clothing, to the warmth of its interiors, 17 16 beauty of its calligraphy, to the to the soaring heights of its mystic love poetry, to the majesty of its mosques and public works. The unity of all, perceptible to even bystanders, is of the Oneness that inspired it, a sea without shores of the divine beauty, 17 of the divine 16 a sea without shores perfection, a sea without shores of the divine largesse.

Everything has a point that it bespeaks and tends to, and in the Islamic vision that point is Allah, the incomparable One through whom all else exists; while 17 16 the beginning of wisdom is realizing that one only is through the One Who Is. If the beauty of the scenes within this calendar—marking the passage of months of our mortal lives—awakens a sense of the Oneness experienced by the sages whose words are translated here, it is surely a glimpse of the light that can never be put out, the light of finding one’s way back through the discordance of the finite to the limitless serenity of the Infinite. This is the spirit of an Islamic art calendar, or to put it more simply, the spirit of Islam.

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MMIV-MMXII © Nuh Ha Mim Keller

Clear your heart as a home for the Beloved There He will unveil His beauty shabistari monday

sunday

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New Year’s Day

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Martin Luther King Day

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Rabi‘ I

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Borneo Island © Lucie Debelkova

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DE C EM B ER 2 0 1 1 S

FE B RUARY S

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JANUARY 2012 safar/Rabi‘ I

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For thirty years I searched for the Divine In the end I discovered that truly It was He who sought me abu yazid bistami monday

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friday

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Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (Milad al-Nabi)

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Presidents Day

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Rabi‘ II

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Dhalkut © Lucie Debelkova

February

Rabi‘ I/Rabi‘ II

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J ANUARY

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If all paths before you close He will show you a hidden way Beyond rumi monday

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A P RI L

FE B RUARY S

Manama© Lucie Debelkova

March

Rabi‘ II/Jumada I

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Try everything Only love will release you from the shackles of yourself jami monday

sunday 9

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Jumada II

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Jeddah Š Lucie Debelkova

April

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Jumada I/Jumada II

A broken heart kindles the best of prayers unknown monday

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Mother’s Day

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Rajab

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Memorial Day

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May

Isfahan © Abbas Rahbar

Jumada II/Rajab

J UNE

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Love is a boundless ocean in which heavens are but foam rumi monday

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Night Journey (Al-Isra’ wal-Mi‘raj)

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Father’s Day

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Sha‘ban

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June

Red Sea Coast © Lucie Debelkova

Rajab/sha‘ban

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The beginning of love is labor it’s end rest jilani monday

sunday 11

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14 Independence Day

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thursday 15

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Night of Salvation (15th of Sha‘ban)

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Ramadan

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July

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Crescent over Tripoli © Sohail Nakhooda

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J UNE S

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sha‘ban/Ramadan

Remembrance is forgetting everything except the Beloved ibn abi al-khayr monday

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Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr)

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Shawwal ‘Eid al-Fitr

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SE P TEM B ER

J U LY Uskudar © Celalettin Güneş

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Ramadan/Shawwal

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August

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The man of true wisdom Sees others as superior saidlani monday

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wednesday

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16 Labor Day

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Dhul Qa‘da

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Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi © Sohail Nakhooda

September

O C TO B ER

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Shawwal/Dhul Qa‘da

Your wealth is only yours once you have given it away abdal hakim murad monday

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Columbus Day

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Dhul Hijja

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Day of ‘Arafat

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‘Eid al-Adha

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Nizwa © Lucie Debelkova

NO V EM B ER

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October

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Dhul Qa‘da/Dhul Hijja

The true sage Eats, sleeps, buys, sells, marries, talks and laughs But never - not for a breath forgets the Divine abu sa‘id monday

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tuesday

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Daylight Savings Time ends

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Veterans Day

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Muharram New Islamic Year 1434 ah

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Thanksgiving

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Wadi Diwan Š Lucie Debelkova

November

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O C TO B ER S

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Gratitude for a trickle of blessings opens the floodgates imam ‘ali monday

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Safar

Hanukkah

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Christmas

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Istanbul © Sohail Nakhooda

New Year’s Eve

December

muharram/safar

J ANUARY 2 0 1 3

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2003-2008 Calendar Marketing Association Awards for “Longing for the Divine” • Gold, Best Subject (Corporate) • Gold, Best Subject (Customized) • Gold (2x), Best Finishing Technical Achievement • Silver, Best Subject (Retail) • Silver, Best Non-Profit (Customized) • Bronze, Best Typography • Bronze, Best Color Separations

“beautifully designed and produced … visually compelling, and the quotes inspiring” — Rochelle Kessler, LA County Museum of Art

january • Borneo Island

february • Dhalkut

march • Manama

“a calendar that will lift your heart and open your mind” — Robert Arndt, Editor, Aramco World “this exquisite and elegant calendar reminds us of the breathtaking beauty and tranquility that typifies traditional Islam” — S. A. Schleifer, Director, Adham Center, American University in Cairo “I am not a Muslim; but as I gaze on these beautiful photographs … peace comes to me” — Pamela Nice, Associate Director, Center for Faculty Development, University of St. Thomas

april • Jeddah

may • Isfahan

june • Red Sea Coast

Following the runaway success of its 2011 calendar, Andalusian Arts proudly presents the 2012 edition: Twelve stunning images captured by world-class photographers of the spiritual tapestry of the Muslim work, coupled with the wisdom-words of scholar-saints such as Imam ‘Ali, Saidlani, and Rumi … a colorful glimpse into the living universe of traditional Islamic spirituality.

Clear your heart as a home for the Beloved There He will unveil His beauty shabistari monday

sunday

1

7

july • Tripoli

augusT • Uskudar

september • Abu Dhabi

8

tuesday

wednesday

2

9

3

9

16

10

23

17

thursday

friday

saturday

4

11

5

12

6

13

7

11

18

12

19

13

20

14

24

18

25

19

26

20

27

2

25

3

4

27

5

9

1

10

New Year’s Day

14

21

8 15

15

22

16

17

21

Martin Luther King Day

28

22

29

23

24

1

26

28

Rabi‘ I

6

29

13

5

7

14

30 6

31

8

UMMA is the first full-time Muslim charitable medical institution in the US, and has served as the model for at least 36 other Muslim-founded health clinics across the country.

10

2

3

11

Borneo Island © Lucie Debelkova

deCemBer 2011 s

m

t

w

t 1

f

s

4

12

feBruary s

m

t

w 1

t

f

s

2

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2

3

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10

5

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12

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31

26

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JANUARY 2012 safar/Rabi‘ I

october • Nizwa

november • Wadi Diwan

Andalusian Arts

december • Istanbul

www.AndalusianArts.com • info@AndalusianArts.com US Tel: 310-694-3762 © “Longing for the Divine” 2002-2012 Andalusian Arts

SAN 257-053X

Printed in Jordan USA $14.95 CAN $14.95 UK £9.95