Some musings on the Sistine Chapel painting by Michelangelo

 

I wanted to share some of my insights I kept on observing in one of the famous paintings (The Hands of God and Adam) that adorns the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and was painted by Michelangelo in the year 1512. In this post, I have focused on only the specific part of the original painting where the fingers of Adam and God are shown in the movement of touch but with a gap (see below).

The Hands of God and Adam (c. 1512) by Michelangelo

https://www.artchive.com/artwork/the-hands-of-god-and-adam-michelangelo-c-1512/

 

Before I discuss my observations, I would like to first mention the interpretations already existing for this particular gesture and gap as available online. A commonly discussed explanation (of why Michelangelo painted the fingers so close to touching but never touching and why God’s finger is pointing fully straight while Adam’s finger is bent and not fully stretched towards God) given is that of “free will”, wherein the gap is suggesting that while God is fully present for Adam with a fully outstretched finger, Adam is shown to be given a choice in whether he also wants to seek God and connect with Him in the same way or not (see illustration below).

The Creation of Adam: A Profound Artistic Message in Michelangelo’s Hands

Now, Michelangelo, for one, was a devout Christian who is known to have a deep longing and love for God (Christ), and he was an avid poet too (apart from being a genius sculptor) whose poems are replete with the fragrance of God Almighty. Anyhow, Michelangelo painted the fingers and left the gap highlighting the Christian theological concept of free will that in turn, defines the path of every human’s spiritual evolution.

 

Following are my interpretations that originate from an Islamic perspective:

A). The first is based on one of the Surahs from the holy Quran which says: "Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones? Nay, we are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers. Surah Qiyamah 75:3-4

Now, in this Surah, God is speaking about the resurrection of the soul on the day of judgment, where his fingertips will also be reconstructed. Many scholars believe this indeed hints at the uniqueness of each person coming from their fingertips. The fingertip of every human being on earth is considered unique, as even twins have unique fingerprints (already confirmed by modern science), and thus it is a mark of the individual identity and journey…If one notices the maze-like fingerprint structure (see photo below), which is unique, one can’t help but believe that indeed that’s the reason why each person’s journey on earth (and thus the tests and lessons they ought to learn in their present lifetime) is unique to them and consequently should not be compared to any other person on earth..

Quran Miracle: Identity In Fingertips | The Last Dialogue

 So, this confirms that God indeed has a personal relationship with every human being, which intriguingly also resonates with the biblical idea of Jesus desiring a personal relationship with every human.

 B). Another insight I felt does not directly comes from Quran but from another Islamic book (Sahih al-Bukhari) which says about God speaking to Adam (his servant/ creation): “if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.'

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 7405; In-book reference: Book 97, Hadith 34

Sahih al-Bukhari 7405 - Oneness, Uniqueness of Allah (Tawheed) - كتاب التوحيد - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)

So basically, what God is saying is that if his servant walks to him, God runs to him, which simply means that if a little step is taken, God will take a bigger step to reach his creation (simply because he is the Ar-Rahman and all merciful). And so, it somehow connects with the painting gesture.

C) Moreover, the finger of Adam is literally bent (as if it is in Sajdah/ prayer) in front of the finger of God, which also reiterates that just like all of the creation is in constant worship (ibaadat) of God, so is Adam.

What is the conclusion?

Interestingly, what a Christian artist (here Michelangelo) discovered or showed seemed to be already known 1400 years ago. Not surprisingly, most of the things in the holy Quran spoken by God 1400 years ago are proven by science already.