A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c20.s1.32

c20.s1.32

The Koran, following the Semitic principle formulated in the Mosaic Second Commandment, absolutely forbids Muslims to make the likeness of anything in heaven or on earth; and the prohibition has been and is strictly obeyed, with rare exceptions, in all countries and at all times, so far as the decoration of mosques and other buildings devoted to religious purposes is concerned.³ But, as explained in Chapter XII (p. 422), Muslims often have taken the liberty of disregarding the prohibition in secular matters. In book illustrations such liberty is commonly assumed. The Persians, adherents of the Shīa sect of Islam, always have been especially lax in their open disregard of the Koranic prohibition. The Mughal emperors of India looked to Irān for the graces of civilization, and it was natural that Akbar should desire to add the charms of Persian pictorial art to the amenities of his court. Regarding himself as Head of the Church and pontiff of a new religion, he cared little about the Prophet, and at a private party was heard by his Boswell to observe:—