Boat-Pattern Panel with Pseudo-Kufic Script

The calligraphy in the shape of a boat expresses a verse of chapter 17, The Journey—al-Isra. This section of the Qur’an is about the journey that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) undertook on the back of an otherworldly winged horse from Mecca to Jerusalem. There he met with the prophets that came before him: Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), John the Baptist (Yahya ibn Zakariya), and Jesus (Isa). Within Islām it signifies both a physical and spiritual journey. Interpretation of text: And say, “My Lord, cause me to enter a sound entrance and to exit a sound exit, and grant me from Yourself a supporting authority.”