Original Islamic Painting

From “The Kitab Series” – Solo Exhibition by Award-Winning Artist Mariam Rajput
Exhibited at BSB Gallery, New Jersey | August–September 2019

Hand-painted with acrylic, textured gel mediums, 24k gold ink, and silver leaf, this piece is a visual symphony of tradition and turbulence. Inspired by the elegant illumination styles of 15th and 16th-century Middle Eastern manuscripts, it features a finely detailed Persian border reminiscent of classical Qur’anic artistry—set against the raw, emotional backdrop of an abstract sea.

At the heart of this painting lies the deeply moving story of Prophet Yunus (as). Encircled in hand-laid 24k gold ink is the Ayah Karima—the powerful supplication revealed to him from the depths of his isolation, when he was swallowed by darkness: the darkness of the sea, of the night, and of deep reflection.

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
“There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”
— Surah Al-Anbiya (21:87)

As someone who spent much of her life by the Atlantic Ocean, the artist draws on a personal relationship with the sea—its beauty and chaos, its rhythm and resistance. In this work, the sea becomes a metaphor for hardship and surrender, for the vast inner world where faith must rise when everything else falls away.

This painting is not only an homage to a prophetic moment—it is a reminder of the resilience found in true tawakkul (trust in God), and the power of du‘a when the world grows dark. A call to remember that even in the deepest depths, we are never beyond the reach of divine mercy.