Arts
and Crafts

You know,

humans have to make different things to help them live their lives,

from the homes where they live,

to the furniture they use,

their pots and plates and knives.

And of course those things have to be practical,

they have to do the job they are made for as well as it can be done,

but people don't usually find that enough.

They want their things to be beautiful as well.

In fact they like beautiful things so much

that often they don't have to have any other use at all,

other than just being beautiful,

and muslims like beautiful things in the same way.

But before you can make something beautiful,

first you have to have the skill to make it.

If it is made out of clay,

you have to know how to shape it and bake it.

If it is made out of stone or wood,

you have to know how to carve it and shape it.

If it is made out of metal

you have to know how to melt it

and cast it and bend it.

If it is made out of glass

you have to know how to blow it into different shapes,

or stretch it and colour it.

And if it is made out of cotton or wool,

you have to know how to dye it

and spin it and weave it.

And muslims have always done all these things

to give beauty to what they make,

from wonderful carvings on their buildings,

to coloured tiles to make patterns on their walls.

From fancy metal lamps for peoples houses,

to great coloured glass lamps used in mosques.

And from beautiful patterned fabrics used for clothes,

to the thousands of different designs woven and knotted into carpets.

And, of course best of all, the beautiful ways of writing

that were used to write the words of the Qur'an.

From the grandest of palaces to the poorest of homes,

and even their lorries and buses,

muslims have always done their best to make things beautiful.

It is a part of the muslim way of life,

because “God is Beautiful and Loves Beauty” said the Messenger.