Islamic theology is grounded in Tawhid, which emphasizes God's absolute transcendence. It stands for aniconism, the avoidance of physical representations of the Divine. This theological concern has led to the perception that the Islamic tradition is fundamentally hostile to material mediation. However, this perceived hostility is most visible in modern, puritanical discourse, often associated with 18th-century reformist movements. This specific discourse systematically marginalizes the traditional and historically attested role of material objects, often dismissing them as bid’a or shirk.

In this article it will argue that this iconoclastic purification is a theological and philosophical error that reduces the object to inert, profane matter. Substantively, this study reveals that objects in the Islamic worldview are not perceived as passive symbols, but rather as active, autonomous agents and effective indices possessing social, spiritual, and moral power. Such a realization make clear on the comprehensive capacity of material objects to mediate between the divine and the human across distinct spiritual and ethical domains.

The Cosmos: The Speaking Creation

Traditional Islamic ontology grants spiritual reality to all creation and counters modern theological minimalism. The Qur’an, a foundational element of the traditional Islamic worldview, repeatedly encourages us to look to nature and the created world to understand divine creation and God’s attributes. As Seyyed Hossein Nasr asserts, God’s revelation occurs through two complementary "Books": the Qur’an (the Written Revelation) and the Cosmos (the Cosmic Revelation).

This sacralized concept is further defined by the philosophy of Ibn ‘Arabi. For him, the entire manifest universe is a sign (āyah) of God’s creative power, and its "Islamic" quality is innate (fitrah). Even "inanimate objects" (jamād) possess a form of "rational speech" (nutq). This belief is grounded in the Qur’anic notion: "There is nothing that does not glorify Him in praise, but you do not understand their glorification" (17:44). Thus, in the Islamic view, the object must be heard because it actively speaks. Modern secularism and religious puritanism both "desacralize" the world. Nasr critiques the spiritual crisis of modernity that, the reducing the world from a living text of signs to mere utility and quantity.

In contrast, the Qur’an validates the indexical function of the material by designating objects as Sha’a ir Allah (Symbols of God). As stated in verse 22:32, "Whoever honors the symbols of Allah, it is certainly from the piety of the heart". This verse indicates that the honor granted to a material symbol is not rooted in the object itself, but in the capacity of the object to function as an effective index pointing toward the Divine, and it also refutes the text-centric charge of bid’a from puritans.

The Ka’bah: An Anchor, Not an Idol

The Ka’bah, as the central object of Islamic ritual, embodies the core theological and material paradox. It is a singular fixed object that mediates between divine transcendence and human spatial experience. The Ka’bah’s symbolic power is defined by its role as the ultimate material mediator of Tawhid.

This dynamic is clear when considering the balance between form and content. The brilliance of the Ka’bah is that its Form is designed to point away from itself. It is empty; it contains no idols and no representations. By resisting figural representation, the Form disciplines the believer: it does not demand worship for itself, but rather anchors the believer’s physical body in a specific direction so that the soul can focus on the infinite Content. The Ka’bah proves that materiality is not against Tawhid; it is a complementary vessel.

History further proves that the specific material Form is not the deity. The physical structure of the Ka’bah has evolved significantly; the Ka’bah of the Prophet Ibrahim was rectangular and unroofed. The Quraysh later rebuilt it as a cube due to a shortage of funds. Later still, Abd Allah Ibn al-Zubayr rebuilt it to match the original Ibrahimic dimensions, finally Umayyad commander Al-Hajjaj to tear it down and return it to the smaller Quraysh dimensions for political reasons. This historical silence reveals a vital theological point: the stones themselves are not God. If the Form can be demolished and resized by human actors, the Content, the spiritual orientation, is what remains constant. Thus, the object in islam acts as an anchor, not an idol.

As the Qibla and a Sha’a ir Allah, the Ka’bah aligns the spiritual and corporeal experience of the believer, ensuring the collective performance of the faith through global, synchronized prayer (salat).

It is Tawhid’s most disciplined and effective expression because it functions simultaneously as a symbol of transcendence and a symbol of communal order. In short, materiality in Islam is valid if it directs focus rather than demanding worship.

Relics: The Logic of Transfer

Relics, which was a controversial context among iconoclastic discourses, serve as the most eloquent expressions of material agency, operating through the logic of indexical transfer. The theological basis for this power is rooted in the Qur’anic concept of the baqiyya (remnants) and containings of tābūt (2:248). These baqiyya function as "contact relics," objects that acquire and retain spiritual power (baraka) through physical association with a holy source. Similarly, the shirt of the Prophet Yusuf, a mere piece of cloth, was used to miraculously restore his father’s eyesight, expressing that matter can be charged with divine energy.

Relics possess baraka that persists beyond the death of the holy person, allowing the object to serve as a bridge for tabarruk (seeking blessing). Historical precedents are numerous: the companion Khalid ibn al-Walid kept the Prophet’s hair in his cap to ensure victory in battle, and Ummu Sulaym collected the Prophet’s sweat for healing. However, the most profound example of material agency is the Na’l (the Prophet’s Sandal). Numerous scholars have dedicated works to this relic, most notably Al-Maqqari’s Fath al-Muta’al fi Madh al-Ni’al. Additionally, Imam Al-Tirmidhi dedicated two chapters of his seminal work, al-Shama’il al-Muhammadiyya, exclusively to the description of the Prophet’s Sandal.

Historically, the Na’l was not just revered in its original form but was endlessly retraced. These "tracings" (drawings of the sandal’s outline) were believed to hold the same power as the original sandal. For instance, the historian Ibn ‘Asakir recounts a narrative where a copy of the Sandal tracing was used to heal a woman in severe pain; when the paper image was placed upon her, God cured her at once. This incident emphasizes that the Form (ink on paper) is distinct from the Content (the Prophetic healing power).

The tension between the humble material and the majestic spiritual content is beautifully captured in Islamic poetry. The poet Yusuf al-Nabahani plays with this dialectic in his famous verses: "Verily I serve the image of the Sandal of Mustafa. So that I may live in both worlds under its protection!" (Nabahani, 1977). Here, the "Form" is the lowest of objects, a sandal worn on the ground. Yet, the "Content" is the highest of realities: the Prophet’s proximity to God. By honoring the lowest Form, the believer accesses the highest Content.

Corporeal Anchors: The Object as Disciplining Agent

In the Islamic worldview, faith is not merely a cognitive state; it is a lived experience that requires the participation of the body. Islamic objects serve as "corporeal anchors" because they actively engage the human senses, adopting abstract doctrines into disciplined, performative, and ethical experiences. These objects bridge the gap between faith and practice by forcing the believer to physically enact their theology. They do not just symbolize belief, but carve ethical behavior in the believer.

The ihram garment provides the most powerful example of corporeal ethics. This unstitched white cloth acts as a total Form that forces the wearer into a temporary state of spiritual unity and higher moral awareness. It clarifies the object’s power to discipline the body and consciousness by stripping away social identifiers of wealth, status, and nationality, making the abstract theological concept of human equality before God a lived, physical reality. The physical insecurity of the unstitched cloth forces the wearer to move with caution and humility, constantly aware of their state of consecration. Another common daily example of a corporeal anchor is sajjadah (prayer rug). It is a portable, personal, and sacred space that disciplines the body by defining a clean area for worship. It orients the worshipper towards the Qibla. Common motifs, like the mihrab or a lamp, are not mere decoration but active reminders that aid memory and structure the hermeneutic experience of prayer, visualizing the presence of the Divine and allowing the believer to enter a state of mental pilgrimage even while thousands of miles from Mecca. It creates a temporary "sacred space" anywhere on earth, acting as an active agent in the performance of piety.

The tasbih (prayer beads) serves as a tool that structures the daily practice of devotion. It is a corporeal instrument that transforms abstract remembrance (dhikr) into an embodied, rhythmic, and disciplined ethical practice. It engages the sense of touch, ensuring the body participates in prayer alongside the tongue and mind; while the mind is prone to wandering, the tactile sensation of the beads passing through the fingers anchors the consciousness. The repetitive motion transforms the passage of time into a devotional act. In fact, objects do not merely decorate the life of a muslim, they construct it.

The Haqq of Objects and Political Ecology

In the Islamic worldview, objects function in different ways, becoming active agents that help the believer consolidate his faith. If, as the Qur’an states, all matter is engaged in active praise (tasbih), then all matter possesses a spirit and, consequently, rights. This is mostly seen in the Sufi tradition, where objects generally perceived as "inanimate," from a small sapling to holy spaces, are treated as "alive" because they serve a purpose and carry a spirit. This is an acknowledgment that the object is providing a service and deserves respect.

This ethical dimension extends to the object’s inherent rights. According to Ibn ‘Arabian philosophy, humanity must honor the haqq of the object. This traditional view is not a later invention; it finds a stunning modern echo in Jane Bennett’s concept of "Vital Matter" (Bennet, 2010), which argues that matter is not dead but vibrant and capable of acting upon us. It aligns with Bruno Latour’s concept of "actants," non-human entities that "do something" and produce effects. (Latour, 1993).

In Islam, objects are seen as Signs of God (Ayat or Sha’a’ir Allah). They are "actants," like a healing relic or the orienting Ka’bah, that participate in shaping the pious subject. In contrast, the iconoclastic movement denies this non-human agency. This Denial reflects an intellectual error that falsely separates active humans (culture) from passive objects (nature), what Latour calls a "Modern Constitution". This secular, desacralizing logic of exploitation mirrors the desacralization of holy objects undertaken by iconoclastic movements.

To honor the haqq of the object is a "political ecology". It is a command to recognize our entanglement with all "actants" in a "Parliament of Things," or in a shared world which Latour terms an "eco-humanism". In the Islamic context, this is the ultimate expression of Tawhid. Muslims do not live in a world of lonely humans and dead stones; believers live in a shared cosmos of co-worshippers. All are answerable for how they interact with these "actants". In the hereafter world, the Qur’an warns that the earth itself will "tell its news". The objects we touched, the ground we walked on, and the relics honored (or dishonored) will testify. Thus, respecting the agency of the object is not idolatry; it is the highest form of accountability before God.

In a nutshell, Material objects actively participate in the religious life of the Ummah. By adopting an "object’s-eye view," we have discussed that the objects in Islam are agents that actively embody and enforce the tenets of Tawhid. Moreover, objects in the Islamic view, from the innate "speaking reality" (nutq) of all matter to the indexical power of repetition in the Sandal tracing, fulfill a mediational role, transforming transcendent principles into lived, felt experiences. Integrating an object’s ontological function with its ethical function, this study has analyzed the human’s ethical obligation to fulfill its haqq, an obligation that extends to both the smallest object and to the agentic Earth, Gaia itself, as described by Bruno Latour.

References:

  1. Bigelow, Anna, ed. 2021. Islam Through Objects. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  2. McGregor, Richard. 2021. "Repetition and Relics: Tracing the Lives of Muhammad's Sandal." In Islam Through Objects, edited by Anna Bigelow, 103-118. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  3. Rashid, Hussein, and Kristian Petersen, eds. 2021. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Muslims and Popular Culture. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  4. Shafer, Ann. 2023. "Image and Object in Islam: On the Ka'bah and Its Popular Representations." In The Bloomsbury Handbook of Muslims and Popular Culture, edited by Hussein Rashid and Kristian Petersen, 63-75. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
  5. Nasr, Sayyid Hossein. 1993. Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of Modern Man. London: Unwin Hyman.