Girls of Medina and Henna Sky

Girls of Medina, Medina’s Maidens, and Henna Sky are titles for an image depicting a gathering of ancient women and girls in the town square of Medina, framed by dunes, palm trees, and mud‑brick houses. Their backs face the viewer; some play drums while others lift their hands in excitement as they greet Muhammad upon his arrival. His face appears in the sky beside a full moon, encircled by a radiant halo, and the sky is patterned with a blend of geometric ornament and henna‑inspired design.
​The image references the historic migration from Mecca to Medina, a pivotal moment in Islamic history and the beginning of the Hijri calendar. According to tradition, the women of Medina went out at dawn to welcome the migrants, drumming and singing “The Full Moon Has Risen Upon Us,” a song often considered the earliest known Muslim artistic production.
Depicted unveiled, wearing colorful dresses and long braided hair as they usher in the birth of the Islamic calendar, the women embody the freedom, presence, and expressive agency that characterized early Islam. The work highlights their role as cultural transmitters and celebrants at a defining moment in the community’s history.
Small polymer plate print showing women and girls in Medina greeting Muhammad beneath a full moon and patterned sky.
Girls of Medina – Part of the Lunation Project, Page 15: Full Moon – 2013, polymer plate print, 7 × 7 in, edition of 35. Created for The Lunation Book, a 30‑page printbook produced by 29 women artists.
Digital print depicting ancient women of Medina with raised hands and drums. Mud-brick houses, palm trees, and dunes frame the scene. A full moon and Muhammad's haloed face in a patterned sky blending geometric and henna motifs.
Medina’s Maidens – 2019, digital print, 42 × 31 in. A celebratory scene of ancient women and girls in Medina welcoming Muhammad, framed by desert architecture and celestial ornament.
Detail of a woman and child in the middle ground of Medina’s Maidens, showing the two figures standing close together in deep conversation within the crowded Medina town square.
Medina’s Maidens (detail) – Woman and Child, middle ground of the 2019 digital print.
Detail from deeper inside Medina’s Maidens, showing a cluster of women in brightly colored clothing
Medina’s Maidens (detail) – Cluster of Women, interior section of the 2019 digital print.
Detail from the right side of Medina’s Maidens, showing a woman and three children seated on the ground beside their mud house, all looking upward toward the sky
Medina’s Maidens (detail) – Woman and Three Children, right side of the 2019 digital print.
Detail from deeper inside Medina’s Maidens, showing young women standing on the roof of a mud house in the town square, looking upward toward the sky
Medina’s Maidens (detail) – Young Women on Rooftop, deeper ground of the 2019 digital print.