An azan and a prayer in itself, a tauhid in symbolic Islamic cosmogony, with the hemispherical semi-elliptical roof and portal of white purity with an aura all round. Notice the etched triangle at the bottom of the portal, as if triggering aeons of triangles into space ascending inexorably to Heaven and seeming to float from a distance through a clever play of adumbrated bands of colours. The ascend starts from the bottom edges of the work, funneling towards the base of the portal, and thenceforth, horizontal bands across the portal are connected until it breaks into the stella triangles. This is Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal at his sublimal best in Islamic shahada. Though in the vein of Tenaga and Energy Mat (1980), it moves into the realm of religiosity, signalling the majesty and munificence of God. Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal was educated at the Birmingham School of Architecture (1950-1951) before he switched to Fine Art at the Chelsea School of Art (1951-1955) and the Institute of Education at the London University (1955-1956). He had a second stint at the Malay Teacher’s Training College in Kirkby, Lancashire, near Liverpool, from 1958-1959, before his studies in the United States, starting with the School of the Art Institute Chicago (1963-1964), University of Hawaii, Honolulu (1973-1974), and a summer course at the Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (1974). He taught at the Specialist Teachers Training Institute in Kuala Lumpur from 1961 to 1972, and was principal in 1964. He was a director of the Asian Cultural Centre in Universiti Malaya, KL (1979-1983), and the National Art Gallery (NAG, 1981-1991). The NAG honoured him with a Retrospective in 1975, and another Retrospective titled Syed Ahmad Jamal: Pelukis (2009). Art Expo Malaysia gave a tribute show to him in 2008. His other notable survey exhibition titled, Syed Ahmad Jamal: Historical Overview 1954-1994, was held at the Nanyang Gallery of Art, Kuala Lumpur, from 1994-1995. He was the only visual artist so far to be awarded the National Artist Award, in 1995, and 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). His talents were so multi-faceted that he was known also for his writing (books and catalogues), and had been a logo / costume designer, cartoonist, administrator, educator and curator. He was also in the Arts Council from 1960 to 1972 serving as deputy chairman from 1968; chairman of the Wednesday Art Group and the Angkatan Pelukis SeMalaysia in 1969, and president of the Malaysian Artists Association. He was guest artist of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (1991-1992), Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (1995-1996) and the NAG (2008-2009). He wrote two major books namely Rupa Dan Jiwa (1992), which was translated into English, and the autobiographical Kunang-Kunang (1999). He did two monumental public sculptures, one in Laman Asean in the Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, and the other, Lunar Peaks, which was torn down after he won a court case against the Kuala Lumpur City Hall for altering and desecrating his sculpture. He did the décor and costumes design for the stage plays Desaria (1981), z:oo-m (1984), Tok Perak (1992), Puteri Gunung Ledang (1995) and Keris (2007). His first solo was at the British Council, Kuala Lumpur, in 1960. He won 1st Prize for a mural for Bank Negara (1970), 2nd Prize the Mother & Child competition, 1st Prize in the Federation Art Competition (1962) and 1st Prize ink drawing in the Johor Open in 1950.