The title, Awal Muharram, reflects the sacred occasion of sublimal bliss being the first day of the Islamic New Year. A time for reflection, renewal and peace with the historical antecedence of the hijrah (migration) of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622AD representing a turning point. Such Islamic-tinged works are latent in Dato' Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir’s series like Nursiyah (Dark Light) and the textile-integrated Garden of the Heart. Also called Maal Hijrah, this year’s event falls on June 17, a Wednesday. The work resonates a prayer as well as a re-affirmation of faith and remembrance and can be seen by the busy centrifugal interlocking shapes which herald a chance to change generally for the ummah. This work is done around the time of Dato' Sharifah’s Joy Is The Theme solo exhibition at NN Gallery in Kuala Lumpur. It is a rare masterpiece of absolute quality. Dato' Sharifah Fatimah Syed Zubir comes from the pioneering batch of fine-art students from the Mara Institute of Technology (now a university), graduating in 1971. She continued her art studies at the Reading University, England (BFA) and Pratt Institute, New York (MFA). Her accolades include the Major Award in the Salon Malaysia 1979, Young Contemporary Artists (Bakat Muda Sezaman, 1981), and Minor Award in the Malaysian Landscape competition (1972). She also won 3rd Prize in the Islamic World Painting Biennial in Teheran, Iran. For her tremendous contributions to painting and art-administration, she was conferred a Dato'ship by the Sultan of Kedah, the first female artist to receive the award on own merit.