Some Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) in Art

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The notion that depictions of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) are blasphemous is a relatively modern idea.  It is considered blasphemous to depict the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a disrespectful manner.  The Muslims of earlier times had no problems depicting the Prophet (s.a.w.), as evidenced by the innumerable pictures and drawings that used to adorn places, that were found illustrating books of sirah and elsewhere.  The following are some of these depictions.

This is from Marie-Rose Seguy’s “The Miraculous Journey of Mahomet”.

Here is a 19^th Century Persian depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and Judgement Day.

Here is a 19^th Century Persian depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) at al-Kawtsar.

Here is a 15^th Century Persian depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) visiting Hell.

Here is a 15^th Century Persian depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) visiting Paradise.

Here is an illustration of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) meeting Sayyidina Bahirah (r.a.), taken from Shaykh Rashid ad-Din Thabib Fadhlullah al-Hamadani’s (r.a.) Jami’ at-Tawarikh, a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate, in Central Asia.

Here is an illustration of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) riding the Buraq, from the Mughal period, in India.

Here is an illustration of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) on the Buraq, but this time, from Shaykh Abu Muhammad Sa’adi Muswlih ad-Din ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shirazi’s (q.s.) Bustan, a noted book of Sufi poetry.

This is an 18^th Century Ottoman depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) being presented to his grandfather, Sayyidina ‘Abd al-Muththalib Shaybah ibn Hashim (r.a.).

Here is an illustration of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) putting the Hajr al-Aswad back into the Ka’bah, from Shaykh Rashid ad-Din Thabib Fadhlullah al-Hamadani’s (r.a.) Jami’ at-Tawarikh.

Here is an illustration of the Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) birth, from Shaykh Rashid ad-Din Thabib Fadhlullah al-Hamadani’s (r.a.) Jami’ at-Tawarikh.

This is a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) flight from Makkah, from 1920s.

This is an illustration of Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) Final Sermon, taken from Imam Abu Rayḥan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni’s (r.a.) ‎‎Kitab al-Atsar al-Baqiyyah ‘an al-Qanun al-Khaliyyah.