Sam LeFevre, a valued commenter on this blog, responding to a curiously hybrid entry that I posted earlier today that was partly about the remarkable Cathedral and Basilica of Hagia Sophia — which was transformed into a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and was then turned into a museum under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and is now being turned back into a mosque by the regrettable Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, formerly the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (2003-2014) and now, since 2014, unfortunately the Turkish president — called my attention to very pleasant 3:13-minute video “tour” of the building that I commend to your attention:
He also asked me what is said on the large black disks or medallions that appear suspended high above the floor on the interior of Hagia Sophia. I thought that I might as well answer that question here, in a blog entry.
In the image above, the large writing on the medallions reads, going from the left hand side of the photo to the right, ‘Umar (referring to the second of the four so-called “orthodox” or “rightly-guided caliphs” of seventh-century Islam), Muhammad (referring to the Prophet of Islam, through whom the Qur’an was revealed), Allah (or “God”), and Abu Bakr (referring to the first of the four “orthodox caliphs,” who was Muhammad’s immediate successor as the leader of the Muslim community).
There is also much smaller writing on the four disks. Taking it altogether, for example, the writing on the first medallion to the left says “‘Umar the Distinguisher [sc. between right and wrong, truth and falsehood], may God Most High be pleased with him.” The one to the furthest right says “Abu Bakr the Truthful, may God be pleased with him.”
Other medallions shown later in the film bear the names of ‘Uthman (the third of the four caliphs) and Hasan (the eldest son of ‘Ali). Not shown in the video, but definitely present in the building, are two additional disks, one for ‘Ali (the fourth and last of the “orthodox caliphs”) and Husayn (Ali’s martyred younger son). ‘Ali was Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law and (according to Shi‘ite Muslims, the Prophet’s sole legitimate successor), so Hasan and Husayn are Muhammad’s grandsons (and, thus according to Shi‘a Islam, imams in the line of succession to Muhammad).
I absolutely love Hagia Sophia. Standing in it and using it as a visual aid, I could (granted enough time) give a pretty good historical summary of the region from about AD 330 into the mid-twentieth century. I used to fantasize about teaching a semester-long or even a year-long course entirely devoted to Byzantium/Constantinople/Istanbul.
I now offer some additional links. I’m very pleased with the first of them, and rather happy about the last:
“Islamic Society of North America condemns Turkey’s conversion of Hagia Sophia”
“Hagia Sophia: Is the decision in line with divine guidance?”
“Turning a museum into a mosque could be Erdogan’s biggest mistake”
Posted from Park City, Utah
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