The Islamic garden design principles: thoughts for the 21st century

• Main Authors: Abdul Latiff, Zainab, Mohd Yunus, Mohd Yazid
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American - Eurasian Network for Scientific Information, AENSI Publications 2016
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/53039/1/The%20Islamic%20garden%20design%20principles%20thoughts%20for%20the%2021st%20century.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/53039/; http://www.aensiweb.com/JASA/
• Institution: Universiti Putra Malaysia

The design principles of traditional Islamic gardens i.e. Persian gardens are mostly based on the ancient traditions and religious practices derived from the revealed books besides the factors of climate and terrain. Initially, after Islam came to the world in the eighth century, its designs remain similar to the ancient gardens of Persia. However it gradually changed from the concept of private garden to a mix of both private garden and garden complexes. Besides being influenced by the culture of the local people and the preference of the Muslim rulers, the elements and form of it still remain similar to the ancient garden of Persia. Therefore, this study has established the distinguished tauhidic principles for the 21st-century Islamic garden by considering all the elements from the Persian Garden by closely relating to the verses, " …You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks? Then return [your] vision twice again. [Your] vision will return to you humbled while it is fatigued. " (Qur'an, 67:3-4). As for the purpose of the study, the methods of content analysis and cross reference have been carried out by emphasizing on the divine sources; the Holy Quran and Hadith. The study concludes that the description of Paradise from all the revealed books is similar.