Hijrah conjures the migration of the great Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, but Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal’s interpretations on canvas take it beyond religiosity, forms, ideas and colours. The transition of red, blue, green, yellow and the Nur white with a blobish dark-hued blues evokes a sense of struggle and obstacle despite the evanescent shades. This work is featured on page 44 of the catalogue of the eponymous exhibition, Between Heaven And Earth (Galeri Petronas, 2000), and in the same Hegira Series are Arafah (1999) and Safa / Marwa (2000). Curator Dr. Muliyadi Mahamood concluded in Between Heaven And Earth: “From the point of view of iconography, Between Heaven And Earth comprises an Islamic message supported by traditional values and applied to contemporary society. For Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal, this world, the space between Heaven and Earth, belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” An artist, an academician, an administrator, a critic-writer, a curator, a stage and costume designer, a cartoonist. National Laureate Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal had been director of the Asian Cultural Centre, Universiti Malaya, KL (1979-1983), the National Art Gallery (NAG) (1981-1991), and principal of the Specialist Teachers Training Institute, from 1964 (1961-1972). The NAG honoured him with a Retrospective in 1975, and another monster Retrospective titled Syed Ahmad Jamal: Pelukis (2009). He also had a survey exhibition titled, Syed Ahmad Jamal: Historical Overview 1954-1994, held at the Nanyang Gallery of Art, Kuala Lumpur, from 1994-1995. In 1996, he was conferred the Panglima Jasa Negara, which carries the title ‘Datuk’. He was also honoured with country awards from India (1962), the United States (1963-1964), France (1970), and Australia (1984). In the October 2018 Henry Butcher Art Auction, Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal’s 1957 oil on board, Ronggeng, sold for a premium of RM470,400.