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Symbol of Divine Light: The Lamp in Islamic Culture and Other Traditions surveys the history of the mosque lamp, describing the numerous variants made in different historical periods. The book contains more than 200 stunning color and b/w illustrations.
The deep significance of light and the lamp in Islamic culture and other traditions — Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Hindu — is also explored, with reference made to the writings of authors who were key to what has been called the “Perennialist School,” notably Frithjof Schuon, René Guénon, Titus Burckhardt, and Martin Lings. The book presents a detailed exploration of the famous Koranic Verse of Light and the symbolism of its constituent elements: light, the niche, the lamp, glass, oil, and the tree. Parallels are also drawn with other traditions, indicating a universal symbolism.
Symbol of Divine Light concludes that the most important function of the mosque lamp was as a symbolic reminder of the Verse of Light. This conclusion is demonstrated by examples of actual mosque lamps that were virtually non-functional as lighting devices, and also by the extensive use of the mosque lamp as a decorative motif in Islamic architecture. The book aims to give the reader an opportunity to contemplate the meaning of the mosque lamp as a symbol of Divine Light.
Awards
- Finalist for the 2019 Annual “Best Book” Awards (Sponsored by American Book Fest) in these categories:
- “Best Interior Design”
- “Religion: Eastern”
- “Religion: General”
About the Author(s)
Nicholas Stone
Nicholas Stone is the author of Symbol of Divine Light: The Lamp in Islamic Culture and Other Traditions, a richly illustrated book that is a survey of the history of the mosque lamp within Islam, as well as an exploration of the deep significance of light and the lamp in Islamic culture but also in other traditions (Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Hindu). Mr. Stone’s background is as an architect dedicated to using traditional forms and techniques. He has worked on a number of projects at important Islamic sites, including the Prophet’s Mosque and Al-Qiblatain Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. His work on a perforated brass mosque lamp ultimately led to the publication of Symbol of Divine Light: The Lamp in Islamic Culture and Other Traditions.
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Reviews
- Symbol of Divine Light provides an in-depth survey of the history and significance of the mosque lamp within the Islamic tradition and explores the numerous variants relating to the different historical periods. It explains the symbolism of the lamp with reference to the famous ‘Verse of Light’ or ?yat al-N?r found in the Koran. A cross-cultural examination is also made by probing the depths of other traditions such as Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism; also provided is an analysis by preeminent exponents of the Perennial Philosophy. The work contains more than two hundred stunning color and black-and-white illustrations, making it a definitive guide to the mosque lamp. The author, Nicholas Stone, combines rare qualifications, being an architect by profession with firsthand knowledge of Islamic art and architecture, coupled with an understanding of traditional metaphysics and symbolism.… It is my hope that this book will inspire works of architecture and sacred art that are informed by the transcendent principles found within each tradition.… This is an unusual and striking work that enlightens Islamic sacred art in its multiplicity of meaning. Along with being a definitive text on the mosque lamp and its symbolism, this work also supports building bridges across the faith traditions which will increase spiritual literacy in its universality.
from a review by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos in Parabola
- Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout, Symbol of Divine Light amply provides the reader an opportunity to contemplate the meaning of the mosque lamp as a symbol of Divine Light. Impressively informed and informative from cover to cover, Symbol of Divine Light is highly and unreservedly recommended for personal, mosque, community, and academic library Islamic History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.
Midwest Book Review
- The author is a scholar and architect with rare qualifications … [who] brings his intimate knowledge of Islamic art and architecture, combined with knowledge of traditional metaphysics and symbolism in general, to bear upon a central feature of Islamic sacred art as it is related to the famous Light Verse of the Quran.… Stone is to be congratulated on producing a major new work in the field of Islamic art seen traditionally and from its own perspective, yet expressed in a very readable language in a text to which numerous instructive and illuminative illustrations have been added.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, George Washington University, author of Islamic Art and Spirituality and Knowledge and the Sacred
- An excellently researched, beautifully presented, and timely book [that] will become the standard text for Islamic students for many years to come on this subject.… This book is light and contains references to such important illuminated twentieth- and twenty-first century figures as Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, René Guénon, Martin Lings, Annemarie Schimmel, and the Dalai Lama. The photographs and reproductions alone raise the publication into the realms of Beauty.
Keith Critchlow, President of the Temenos Academy, author of Islamic Patterns: An Analytical and Cosmological Approach
