This painting by Frithjof Schuon is reproduced on page 184 of Images of Primordial and Mystic Beauty (Abodes, 1992). The original painting is from 1934 and measures 5 by 20 inches. The image reproduced here is only the top half of the painting. Schuon spent some months in Algeria near the great Algerian shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi, and no doubt the images in the painting were influenced by this pivotal period in Schuon’s life. The title we have given to this reproduction, “Laylat al-Qadr,” means “the night of Power,” referring to the Muslim holy day upon which the revelation of the Quran commenced. This occurred during the month of Ramadan, the month of fasting and recollection. The calligraphy at the top of the painting is from the first three verses of the Quranic chapter “Power,” which says that Laylat al-Qadr is “better than a thousand months.”
To Have a Center: A New Translation with Selected Letters
In this new edition of his powerfully original work, Schuon covers an array of metaphysical, cosmological, and anthropological subjects.