A Look at Decorative Elements in Islamic Architecture of Afghanistan

Abstract

With the emergence of the Islamic religion in Arabia, the foundations of a new civilization were laid, in whose essence the spirit, faith, spirituality, and moral values ​​found a special place. The prohibition of figurative painting at the beginning of Islam led to the stagnation of painting, and therefore the decorations and patterns were transformed into linear, geometric, and abstract forms. Islamic art in Afghanistan has a long history, and the aesthetic taste of artists has led to the creation of immortal works in this field. In this study, the decorative elements of Islamic architecture in Afghanistan, including geometric, plant, animal, linear, and muqarnas decorations, have been identified and analyzed. The findings showed that Islamic art is a completely abstract and symbolic art that directs attention from plurality to unity (tawhid). Geometric decorations are based on the circle and regular geometric shapes and represent divine perfection. Linear decorations using Kufic, Naskh, Thuluth, and Nastaliq scripts have formed the most sacred Islamic art, which has played a fundamental role in embodying the Word of Revelation. Muqarnas, as a decorative element of a building, have spread light in architectural spaces by creating concave and convex surfaces and have doubled the spirituality of the space. The results of the research showed that, unlike Christian churches or Jewish places of worship, the Islamic architecture of Afghanistan is decorated with tiles, linear, geometric, plant, stucco, and gold and silver lanterns due to the prohibition of images of living beings in Islam. In this architecture, order and harmony are used in decorative elements in the form of repetitive and unlimited patterns, and abstract and plant motifs are abundant in arabesque patterns. In general, Islamic art in Afghanistan is an art that originates from wisdom and preserves elements that are of immense importance for different times and eras.