Ibada (worship)
Medina
Available sizes:
$200 • Large: 16×11 print, matted to 20×16 2mm Styrene board
$100 • Medium: 8x10 print, matted to 11x14 2mm Styrene board
$55 • Small: 5×7 print, matted to 8×10 3/4" foam board
Production time is 3-4 days.
Printed on Moab Estrada Bright Rag, a 100% cotton, museum-grade archival paper known for its soft texture, depth, and tonal richness.
The 5x7 print matted on 8x10 3/4" foam board is an intimate, shelf-ready piece designed to be propped or leaned. Beautiful on a desk, nightstand, bookshelf or entryway table. Due to its thickness, it does not fit standard frames and is best styled in non traditional frames or displayed unframed.
The medium and large sizes are matted and mounted to 2mm styrene board, perfect for traditional framing.
There are as many paths to the divine as there are rivers to the sea. This idea is present even at Hajj - a strictly Islamic practice. There are a certain set of rituals that need to be done in order to "complete" your Hajj, those rituals are completed on each person's own time and in their own way connecting to the Divine. I assert it’s not the rituals themselves that elevate your soul - it’s the struggle and the moments of reflection that do it.
This photo was shot on Kodak Portra 400 on a Canon P and was developed and scanned by Photovision. Aside from cropping adjustments, these photos are completely unedited. In a day when artificial intelligence can make aesthetically perfect images I wanted these images to be exactly as my eye saw them. Real and Authentic.
O Lord, if I worship You because of fear of Hell, then burn me in it; If I worship You because I hope for paradise, then exclude me from it; But if I worship You for Your own Being, then don't withold from me your everlasting beauty.
Rabi’a al-Adawiyya
Akbar Sayed is known for creating photographs that capture not only the image, but the soul of a moment. His path into photography began while in nursing school, where empathy and human connection shaped the way he learned to see.
His photography has been featured in Washingtonian, The New York Times, and numerous other publications, and he is a four-time Washingtonian Weddings Editors’ Choice recipient. He lives in Ellicott City, Maryland with his wife and three children, where love, legacy, and storytelling guide everything he creates.
Revered for his editorial, yet emotive imagery & published countless times.
Meet Akbar Sayed
