Traditionalists on the Relationship between Islamic Thought and Islamic Art

The problem of Islamic Art to Islamic Thought relationship is one of the axial questions for understanding the Islamic Art; one that may clear what the adjective “Islamic” signifies to in “Islamic Art”. To the present day, there have been different answers to this question. This article discusses the various answers hence given by the traditionalists to this inquiry. Traditionalists, with their specific definition of tradition and its relation to aspects of life, particularly art, in traditional societies, offer a special point of view. Here we first define the term “tradition” from a traditionalist point of view and then discuss its relationship with art. This relationship is the basis for what we further articulate to be the relationship between Islamic Art and Islamic Thought. Finally, some criticism will be directed at traditionalist viewpoints.