Art For The Love Of Muhammad (PBUH) Traditional Contest, 2025.

The Winners

Watch our video for announcement of the winners for Art For The Love Of Muhammad (PBUH)

The Islamic Arts Society announced the winners of the 5th “Art for The Love of Prophet Muhammed” (PBUH) contest. A first of its kind, the competition generated worldwide attention. A panel of judges selected the winners based upon (1) Relevance to the theme of the competition (2) Creativity and originality of the idea (3) Effective use of standard elements of art (4) Artistic skill in the use of materials, colors (5) Professional and aesthetic quality, neatness, presentation (6) Authenticity and credibility of work.

This year the competition was divided into Contemporary and Traditional Islamic art. A panel of four judges from the Islamic Arts Society reviewed more than 250 submissions from 21 countries and five continents to select the top ten entries from each category. Our panel of judges was supervised by Mr. Amjad Alvi from Pakistan and Mr. Nihad Dukhan from the USA. Amjad Alvi is an acclaimed artist from Pakistan. He has taught thousands of students, and his YouTube channel has more than half a million subscribers. He is nationally and Internationally recognized as a calligrapher and artist and is an expert in pouring, Mandala, drawing, sketching, illumination, design, doodling, and tezhip. Nihad Dukhan is a professor of engineering at Michigan. He is a Master-Arabic-Islamic calligrapher with Ijaza in Thuluth & Naskh from Hasan Çelebi and Ijaza in Taliq by Mohamed Zakariya in the USA.

We present the competition winners here. Please join us in congratulating the winners of our 2025 competition.

FIRST PRIZE: US $ 1000

Artist: Salah Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mohamed, Egypt.

Title: For the love of The Prophet

Description of artwork: “O Messenger of Allah, my intercessor, my guide, my leader, my support, my light, my bearer of glad tidings, my warner, my trust, my ultimate goal—Muhammad, peace be upon him.”

This artwork was inspired by the offensive images and severe attacks on our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Denmark and other places. In response, a grand exhibition was organized at the Cairo Opera House to counter these insults. The event featured 72 artworks by 72 artists across various art forms, including Arabic calligraphy, visual arts, sculpture, and caricature. It was a significant artistic occasion covered by over 10 local and international TV channels.

The piece was crafted in Kairouan and Fatimid Kufic scripts with Mamluk ornamentation, using acrylic paints and 21-karat genuine gold.

SECOND PRIZE: US $ 500

Artist: Waqar Ahmed, Pakistan.

Title: Hilye Sharifa

Description of artwork: Hilye Sharif with 24k real gold and pigments color on handmade paper

Calligraphy

1-Top section: “Bismillah in khat-e-thuluth jali,( my composition)and starting Hilye On the authority of Ali Ibn Abi Talib with khat-e-Naskh.

2-The Circular area is surrounded by four disks containing the names of the first four Caliphs to the Prophet Muhammad, i.e., Abu Bakr (upper right), `Umar (upper left), `Usman (lower right), and `Ali (lower left). Each disk contains the blessing, “May God be pleased with him. 4 names with khat-e-thuluth

3-In the middle, the beloved name Muhammad (peace be upon him) with 24k real gold and hilye text with khat-e-Naskh

4-lower section “ وما ارسلناك الا رحمة للعالمين in khatt-e-thuluth jali , in my own composition. With sumi ink

Tezhip

Tezhip with 24k real Gold on Handmade Ahar paper with pigments color ( my own creativity, no copied work)

Outer blue card: Romi tezhip and 24k real gold dust.

THIRD PRIZE: US $ 200

Artist: Elif Hale Gokcen, Turkey.

Title: Isra and Mi’raj

Description of artwork: This artwork features the verse from Surah An-Najm (53:10-18), in the center 10-11 : “فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى * مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَى” (So He revealed to His servant what He revealed * The heart did not lie about what it saw). Surrounding this central verse are the following verses (12-18), which describe the Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) Night Journey (Isra and Mi’raj).

These verses emphasize the truthfulness of the Prophet’s vision and describe the heavenly sights he witnessed, including the Sidrat al-Muntaha and the paradise awaiting the righteous. The calligraphy is done in Thuluth and Cali Thuluth scripts. The warm brown tones contrast with the soft background, adding depth to the artwork.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION PRIZE: US $ 100

Artist: Saad Mehmood, Pakistan.

Title: Hiliya Tul nabi PBUH

Description of artwork: This calligraphy beautifully showcases the Hiliya Shareef of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The phrases “Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem” and “Wa Ma Arsalnaka Illa Rahmatan Lil’alameen” are prominently inscribed in Kufi script using golden color, drawing immediate attention. The rest of the artwork features the Hiliya Shareef, intricately written in Kufi script with vibrant red hues.

The painting is enriched with stunning artistic ornaments surrounding the text and filling the spaces within it. This decorative approach elegantly and visually captivatingly presents the Hiliya Mubarak of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).