Ramadan is About Fasting and Prayer, An Antique Carpet is about Luxury

Persian rugs are symbols of luxury and wealth to many in the western world. In the Persian region like Iraq, Pakistan and Iran they are part of daily life and would not be out of place during a fasting time of Ramadan. Rugs are used during prayer times and because of the labor intensive creation many hours of prayer and contemplation go into any single carpet. Knitting and crochet, much more western forms of art have created their own version of the prayer rug, but rather than kneeling which is only practiced in a few Christian traditions, shawls are being created with a prayerful mind. The repetitive and time consuming nature of the art lends itself to both chatter and meditation.

Ramadan is about taking time to think about the wrong paths that have been taken in the past, and contemplating how to improve the future. This is similar to Lent for Christians. This slower more contemplative mindset is perfect for working on a piece of art that develops slowly. Even fast moving hands would take months to progress through a hand-woven rug. Those sturdy knots will likely survive the maker and help pass on the prayers of a better tomorrow to the future.

Remembering the hands that created any art work, even one made for being walked on can help a person to understand its value. Antique rugs have also stood a test of time. Their knots have proven sturdy. To classify as antique a rug will be at least 50 years old. This puts it minimally as old as the movie Wizard of Oz. Many of these rugs though are much older, as the tradition dates back before written history. The Muslim connection of the region also explains why some colors are more prevalent and others not as much. Green is closely linked to Muhammad and would probably not be put into a rug that was to be walked on. Some Antique carpets are woven with the expectation of a rug being hung. Because of the prohibition on pictorial representations of a person, one is more likely to use color to represent the divine or holy in decorations. This is similar to the idea in the western world of purple being the color of wealth and royalty and white more closely linked with the divine.

So as Muslims around the world take a month to slow down their world and pray over a better path for the future, take a moment to slow down and respect, if not the faith, than the hands that created the Antique rugs underfoot.