“The Garden of ancient tradition, like the Garden here today, is a place where – whatever difficult moments may come our way – we can always find, in the flow of refreshing water, a reminder of Divine blessing.”
Speech of His Highness Aga Khan IV Opening of the Aga Khan Park, Toronto, 2015
Gardens – shorthand for designed landscapes – exist in all cultures. Over thousands of years, they have been associated with happiness and well-being - a fact now borne out by a growing body of scientific research.
For centuries, the garden has been a central element in Muslim cultures. Gardens and Well-Being: an Islamic Perspective, Opening Exhibition of the Aga Khan Centre offered glimpses into the ways in which gardens have been imagined, designed and enjoyed in Islamic civilisation. Touching upon the spiritual and the material, the intellectual and the artistic, the socio-economic and the environmental, it illustrated a variety of real and imagined gardens, which become symbols of Muslim diversity.
Moreover, by moving beyond notions of “what makes a garden Islamic,” the exhibition explored the role gardens play in Muslim contexts and to what extent these gardens form part of our common human heritage. And by embarking on a journey across time and space, it highlighted the important role gardens play in connecting people with nature, with each other, with the arts and with history, while inviting reflections both about the here-and-now and the eternal.
Gardens and Well-Being: an Islamic Perspective was conceived as a multimedia, multi-sensory, immersive experience. Spanning three continents and eight centuries, the selected materials have been drawn from the work of the institutions founded by His Highness Aga Khan IV.
The exhibition was organised in four sections:
1)Gardens of Paradise
In the Qur’an, paradise is portrayed as a bountiful garden – a reward for those who believe and do good deeds. It stands for the ultimate site of well-being, poetically described with multiple terms. The abundance of earthly gardens is also referred to in Qur’anic verses, as manifestations of Divine blessing. Rich in parables, metaphors and symbols, the imagery of Qur’anic gardens is an inexhaustible source of inspiration, leading to a wide spectrum of interpretations, representations and styles.
Inspired by the beauty of paradise gardens in Qur’anic metaphors, illuminators decorated manuscripts with flowers, scrolls, leaves and stems. This type of vegetal ornamentation is a distinctive feature of Islamic art. However, gardens were not only spaces of recreation and delight. They also served as sites for holding philosophical discussions; philosophers also discussed spiritual matters and for them the garden became a metaphor for the soul and the intellect.
2)The Science Of Gardens
For centuries, Islamic civilisation has encouraged the scientific study of the natural world. A considerable number of Muslim scholars preserved, systemised and built on the legacy of previous Greek, Persian and Indian cultures, making crucial contributions to knowledge. This section included examples of medieval scientific studies and initiatives relating to gardens. For example, Ibn al-Haytham, in his pioneering book on Optics, written during his stay in Fatimid Cairo, cited examples of trees, plants and gardens to explain the ways in which the eye reacts to colours and how it perceives beauty. In his travelogue, Nasir-i Khusraw recorded the variety of public and private gardens in Fatimid Cairo: roof-top gardens, terraced gardens, enclosed gardens, miniature gardens, and garden complexes with large numbers of local and exotic trees and plants.
3)Landscapes of Feeling
The sound of running water, birds singing, the play of light, colourful vegetation, the scent of flowers and fruits have a powerful impact on the senses. The materiality of gardens can make people feel inspired, invigorated, romantic, nostalgic or restful. Selected examples showcased the work of Muslim poets, painters, and singers, who have endowed the sensorial and emotional aspects of gardens with layers of meaning.
For the poet Rumi, the garden is a refuge for lovers and love gives meaning to life. His fables are charged with mystical undertones, which later feature in European romantic poetry.
The Ismaili Centre in Lisbon has a 12,500 m2 garden which combines Portuguese and Indian features with elements from the Alhambra in Granada. The Centre seeks to preserve spiritual values, enhance intellectual and social initiatives and serve as a bridge between European, East African and South Asian cultures.
4)The Seeds Of Change
In the 13th century the Ismaili polymath Nasr al-Din Tusi’s work on ethics argued that human beings have a duty to care for other species and for the environment.
This section highlighted examples of contemporary gardens that positively impact people’s quality of life and well-being, enabling transformative processes in both human and ecological terms. Featured conservation projects aim to leverage culture and heritage as means to help alleviate poverty while reconnecting with historical gardens, such as the creation of Al-Azhar Park, which was conceived as a major urban green space for Cairo, also included a regeneration programme for the development of neighbouring al-Darb al-Ahmar district, providing employment, housing, education, microfinance and health services. The rehabilitation of the six-hectare of Khorog National Park in Badhakshan, Tajikistan, which was revitalised in consultation with the local population, is now used as a landscape for reflection, relaxation and celebration. And the 11 years of rehabilitation of Sunder Nursery, neighbouring Humayun’s Tomb Complex in Delhi-India, balances beauty, utility and environmental conservation with 30 acres of biodiversity, housing 280 tree varieties, 80 birds and 36 butterfly species.
These garden-projects have become catalysts for socio-economic development and community cohesion. At the same time, they stand as projects in the quest to honour humanity’s ecological stewardship of the earth and in raising awareness about environmental challenges.
Rumi Fihi ma Fihi, Discourse 55:
Those who cultivate the habit of speaking well of others are like gardeners who plant
flowers and aromatic herbs around their houses — wherever they look out they see a beautiful display and are always in Paradise.
کسی گِرد خانهی خود گلستان و ريحان کارد. هر باری که نظر کند گل و ريحان بیند، او دايماً در بهشت باشد.
Kasī gird-i khānah-yi khud gulistān wa rayḥān kārad. Har bārī ki naẓar kunad gul wa rayḥān bīnād, ū dāyimān dar bihisht bāshad.
Rumi Fihi ma Fihi, Discourse 55:
The exhibition was curated by Dr Miriam Ali-de-Unzaga, assisted by a team of scholars, designers and generous volunteers. You can see one-minute trailer of the exhibition at: https://ismailimail.blog/2018/11/29/gardens-and-well-being-an-islamic-pe... A brief about the actual gardens in the Aga Khan Centre at: https://the.ismaili/global/aga-khan-centre-source-inspiration-and-illumi... https://www.facebook.com/theismailiuk/posts/349858759036906 https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/eeacta
The Aga Khan Centre has been awarded the Eastern Eye Editor’s Special Award 2019 at the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards (eeacta). The editorial team visited the inaugural exhibition at the Aga Khan Centre, entitled Gardens and Well-being: An Islamic Perspective and were impressed by the immersive experience exploring the diversity of parks and gardens in Muslim societies, and particularly how the exhibition promotes understanding of Muslim cultures. See at:
