Month: November 2010

“And remember when thy Lord brought forth from Children of Adam, from their reins, their seed, and made them testify of themselves, (saying): ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yea, verily. We testify…’ ” 7:172 ~Qur’an

“Bow down with those who bow down” 2:44 ~Qur’an

Description: 30″x40″ oil & acrylic on canvas. This painting entitled “The First Realm” captures a theme dearest to my heart, I had to nurture it within for a long time before even attempting to crystallize it because from the moment it came to me it was such an important subject that I wanted to take the necessary time to accomplish this work so today I’m grateful to be able to share it in its completed form. “The First Realm” is about the pre-cosmic state of Surrender~Islam that has been instilled in the human soul by the Most Beautiful. This painting was my way of celebrating our quintessential nature which reflects immense beauty for in this state, our attributes are manifested in their pure form without any interferences of the ego so these attributes whose source is divine seem to carry us, each with its own distinct fragrance and universe. Indeed this painting relates to true wealth, wholeness and pure humility before The Most Majestic, this reverence is the constant position of the soul before the Divine Being so in order to embrace it anew we must consciously turn inward with love and gentleness. For me, this painting probably is the most significant one I ever did because it celebrates the very essence of Islam and the majestic unfolding which takes place when we align with our innate sense of Surrender, all this naturally leads to contemplation and awe of the Divine One. Below is the poem that inspired this piece.

~ The First Realm ~

Love settled on the seven lakes of your soul,
quieted by the latitude of its own being,
it ever permeates your pulse;
with each of its divine dictation,
you align with the spherical movements
every atom of the Creation offers,
microcosm of the Cosmos,
we are light-filled quarks.
Lo! There are the celestial symbolic
that the Moor mystics inscribed
upon the scintillating waves
of the two Easts;
O how sumptuous the Radiance
of their presence that extends all the way to here!
My love, robed in golden silk,
prostrate and move toward the Throne
of your soul where “Am not your Lord?”
was carved in letters ornamented
with the Light of Muhammad (saw),
can you hear the spheres’ discourse now?
“Meditate, join us and keep quiet,
you will now witness
the ecstatic dance
of Allahu’s Breath.”

© 2012 Aïda Touré

“And the stars and the trees both prostrate themselves to Allah.” ~55:6 Qur’an

Description: this 40″x30″ oil/acrylic painting is entitled “Prelude to Majesty” it was inspired by an event in the life of my great grand father who was a Sufi saint. The piece represents a visual conversation between the surrendered soul and the majesty spread out before it, constantly exhibiting its breathtaking beauties. It is during this phenomenon that the heart realizes its true nature and immersion in its Source. The bliss that arises from it permeates each breath that we take, it is the grandest love to experience; accessible to all yet it takes conscious nurturing of inwardness to know this sacred love. Compared to its Reality, the painting captures but a fragment of this grace. The feeling of pure joy I felt through this whole creative process lingers even after completion of the piece, it was moving to work on it. The poem that offered “Prelude to Majesty” is below. After the sight of the sacred healing tree, what is to be beheld is beyond anything ever seen before…

~ Prelude to Majesty ~

Al ikhlas, spherically ambient,
the heart leans on immanence,
look, we shed our selves,
souls dancing and whirling
in prelude to majesty, turn by turn,
we pick up the gems the prophets
scattered on the grounds for us;
in each one, a luminescence
infinitely undefined,
there are many paths in one
lo! in Hu’s pleasure,
lovers are refined.
Do you see the veil lifting?
Love speaks with no mouth,
we are interwoven with the signs
laid around us like sublime kisses.
Our all, lost in this splendid beauty,
we rejoice for the Garden is near,
Rubies dangle from the healing tree,
its branches prostrate with the star
in osmosis and the worlds let out:
“here, taste the bliss
that composes your soul,
in this cosmic musical scheme,
rise as it is yours to know,
yours to wallow in,
yours to revel in.
Be like the child,
free, in tune with the Light, 
whirl my loves!
The sun is up with us tonight,
that is how deep this Love runs;
let it tame the ego that defiles your glory!”
After this aural revealing,
we helplessly leave ourselves,
eager to embrace the Fragrant~
Tonight we hear the Truth as it is,
dissatisfied with the world,
Azzan is all that resounds
now nothing left to enounce…

© 2012 Aïda Touré

Medium & size: 24″x30″ oil & acrylic on canvas. To purchase prints, click here.

“I was made to love three things from your world: women, and perfume, and the comfort of my eye is in prayer.” ~Prophet Muhammad (saw)

“Paradise lies at the feet of Mothers.” ~Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Description: in a dimension that is ruled by ego consciousness, the attributes that gather, unites and thus mold us to embrace love are suppressed. The suppression of these spiritual attributes so naturally embodied by women, has been applied to all institutions governed by falsehood. The feminine principle which has always been revered by all prophets (as) and sages of all ages has been repressed for subtlety, mercy, gentleness, sensitivity represent true power for they propel, revolutionize, heal and restore balance and truth through Love. To encourage the cultivation of these sublime qualities, I wanted to work on a series of paintings about the feminine principle in its original manifestation on Earth.

“Aminata Disamu” is the second painting in the series “Luminous Dark Matter” that started with “Kemet Incandescence”. It is through cultivation of the feminine principle’s attributes that the human soul reaches enlightenment. All the richness inherent to higher  consciousness constitutes a natural resource whence the importance to revere life and the soul, that woman channels with such grace!

The feminine is the catalyst to authentic life, as she restores prosperity, truth and harmony on Earth through love.

~ Amina~Disamu ~

Behold our queen of light!
She who has rung the bells
of our ancestral mind,
she who has kept
the genius of the tribe,
she is the ascendance
from Kemet to Ndolu.
O Disamu,
strum your Harp’s strings,
surround our essence
with the cosmic lake’s Music,
unleash your healing peace
in the waters of our being,
let us hear you converse with Ruh.
O Disamu,
our warrior queen,
you lead the way
toward Divine Majesty!

© 2010 Aïda Touré. | visualsufipoetry.com

Medium & size: 24″x30″ oil & acrylic on canvas.

“And We have created above you seven paths, and We are never unmindful of creation”. ~23:17 Qur’an

“And remember when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am creating a mortal out of potter’s clay of black mud altered. So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My spirit . . .” ~Qur’an 15:28-29

“And wherever you turn there is the Presence of Hu, for Hu is all pervading, All Knowing.” 2:115 ~Qura’n

“My heavens and My earth do not contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me.” ~Hadith Qudsi

“The whole earth is a place of worship” ~prophet Muhammad (saw).

Description: “Atoms’ KaBa” is a visual metaphor for inner life. I worked on the painting by intervals for months, it was indeed a journey whose dimensionlessness lingers with me still. I first wrote the poem of the same title and the painting came out of it, slowly. “Atoms’ KaBa” evokes the process of evolution that leads toward the sacredness of all that is, in a context of pure Light, being the very quintessence of everything seen and unseen. “Atoms’ KaBa” is an invitation to turn inward, to embrace the pilgrimage we all are subjected to through the Breath as it flows from and back to The Divine. We are signs of Tawhid, the Unity that governs existence, the Reality that mystics have expressed for eons and which is starting to be acknowledged by quantum physics as the “unified field”. Every atom is a sacred space, whose forces emanate from the Divine Consciousness itself; this places great responsibility on us to awaken to our connectedness with the Cosmos and thus to transcend the conditioning imposed to us by external sources. In such station of consciousness, there no longer is such a thing as separation, no projection of anything being “outside” of ourselves. In this, lies the importance to live in reverence, gentleness and love so we can inwardly retrace the Way to the ultimate Treasure within.

~Atoms’ KaBa~

We gather within you
wave after wave to pull you
and your seven spheres
toward the frequency of Tawhid.
To know oneself is to know Us
beyond the spatial realm,
man is the temple of the Opening
we continuously erect
through the breath,
the sign of Love itself!
The state of being is sacred,
love around infinite Love,
you curl around the Pulse
within or without
it does not matter
for the lover only sees one!
You are a fullness of empty space
praising The Divine.
Know that the KaBa by excellence
dwells in each of your atoms
so revolve my love and
retrace your immanent Source.
(c) 2009 Aida Toure.

Description: I painted “Kemet Incandescence” for the album cover of “Ancestral Devotion” the new CD by Jazz musician Lonnie Plaxico. The piece was inspired from Africa’s ancient art that captures the spirituality of African culture, its reverence for the feminine principle and the sacredness of music. In experimenting with this different yet ancient genre of two dimensional art, I experienced such proximity to my roots, I plan to explore it more. Through this painting, I wanted to honor the sacred feminine as well as the origin of the spiritual tradition of Light now known as “Sufism”.

~ Kemet Incandescence ~

Inner lamps all lit,
a billion ecstasies
are now speaking of Hu;
each, gracefully interweaving

in the Universe’s womb;
whispers of light are induced
in the pure child’s mind
through the rays of Shams,

royalty bestowed by the Divine.
You see, nobility never exiles,
although ever coveted by the fallen ones,
it dances in and out of these truths

the African genius has laid like gems
in the depths of humanity’s collective self,
yes we are these muses who bore
Kemet Incandescence,

through our Harps, Flutes and hands,
revealing the Music of the spheres
the pineal gland is immersed in:
Bismillah ir Rahmanir Rahim…

© 2009 Aïda Touré.

Illumination at the Door (24″ x 30″ oil & acrylic on canvas)

“…And He is with you wheresoever ye may be…”
~ 57:4 Quran

Description: the visual landscape of this painting came from this poem I composed about the culture of egolessness, love and contemplation which magnifies the quality of our life, of our overall human experience. “Illumination at the Door” suggests enlightenment and the discovery of our inner beingness that always expands as it is an octave of the Reality the soul floats in… Striving for peace, concentration, humility, contentment and heart generosity causes our inner doors to open and when they do, nothing the world of illusion imposes even matters, because it immensely pales in comparison to our authentic Reality, this exquisite Reality that allows us to stand and exist in the fullness of the grace bestowed upon us by The Creator solely.

~ Illumination at the Door ~

The subject tonight is love,
come out of your ego

and watch it dance around itself
until complete dissolution.

Let The Beloved be,
there is no use for “I”, “you”

nor “we” anymore,
Illumination is at the door;

can you hear its Knocking?
Who will get up and answer?

Whose heart is pure enough
to endure this Ringing inside?

The Sun has risen at midnight!
There will be no sleeping tonight,

there will be no unfulfilled
longing tonight!

Only this continuous beating,
only this Sound that brought

galaxies at prophet Muhammad’s (as) feet;
Jibreel (as) stood at the Limit,

Miraj upon Miraj,
no pen will write beyond that…

© 2008 Aïda Touré.