Plants of the Qur’an
Talk and Discussion with Dr Shahina Ghazanfar
Talk and Discussion with Dr Shahina Ghazanfar
Author of the book, Plants of the Quran, Dr Shahina Ghazanfar discussed the 22 plants/trees mentioned in the Quran.
The talk discussed some popular plants and their metaphorical significance in the Quran, especially the fig, olive, date palm, pomegranate, grape, and mustard tree. We also spoke about plants as commodities and their movement across the Islamic lands in the early and medieval periods.
The idea of the garden sparked a lot of discussion, and we explored early conception of gardens in funerary spaces and as part of architectural reliefs. Inspired by the stunning botanical illustrations of Sue Wickison in Dr Ghazanfar’s book, the session ended with the participants creating their own botanical illustrations.
Participant stories
The Fig Tree
Something that many participants connected with was the imagery and use of the fig tree found in many of the texts.
“I want to see in the Fitz museum an exhibition that put together the knowledge that the Muslims were producing along side the art that was produced and how one was feeding the other. I want more of the stories that connected me to the other participants, for example realizing that each of us has grown up with/ has a story about fig trees!”
Participant’s personal fig trees
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Nasreen's fig tree
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Nasreen's fig tree fruit
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Saadiah's potted fig tree
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Shanaz's fig tree fruit
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Shanaz fig tree