Hû-II

This work is inspired by a beautiful poem attributed to Ibn Arabi (d.1240), the great Andalusian Arab scholar and mystic:

We were letters, exalted! Not yet uttered

Held aloft in the keep of the Highest of Summits

I Therein am Thou, and we are Thou,

And Thou art He, and All is in He is He

Ask of Any that so far hath reached.

This piece visually represents the two letters that form the Divine Name Huwa—the letters hā’and wāw. Inspired by the opening line of the poem “We were letters, exalted! Not yet uttered,”the artwork explores the transformation of these two letters from their isolated forms into the word Huwa. The letters are depicted as though engaged in a dialogue, taking on different forms and shapes before ultimately merging into the word that signifies the Divine.

The composition is rendered in monumental jaly thuluth script, using 22k gold ink and black ink, applied with a large qalam to preserve the intricate calligraphic strokes. The use of black—considered the ultimate color in calligraphy and symbolic of the interplay between presence and absence—embodies the divine possibility: the sum of all colors and yet their complete absence. Gold, on the other hand, represents the sacred and points to the Heavens.