Title
Calligraphic panel
Year/Period
18th century
Region
Multan, central Pakistan
Material
Dimension
Object size: Please refer to indivdual parts
Accession No.
1998-01077
Collection of
This tile panel contains an inscription that professes a fundamental belief of Islam – the unity of God and the prophethood of Muhammad:‘I bear witness that there is only one God, Allah, with no AssociatesAnd I bear witness that Muhammad is his Helper and Messenger.’The above statement is a variation of the shahadah or profession of faith. In the Multan region, some funerary monuments like the shrine of Sufi saint Muhammad Yusuf Gardezi, have the shahadah on their exterior walls. This suggests that these tiles are most probably from a funerary monument, if not a religious institution. The shahadah would be a popular phrase to use on funerary monuments as it is a testimony of one’s faith in the face of death.
