Islamic calligraphy

Instruments and media

The traditional instrument of the Islamic calligrapher is the qalam, a pen normally made of dried reed or bamboo. The ink is often in colour and chosen so that its intensity can vary greatly, creating dynamism and movement in the letter forms. Some styles are often written using a metallic-tip pen.

| Naskh | Nasta'liq | Diwani | Thuluth | Reqa Islamic calligraphy can be applied to a wide range of decorative mediums other than paper, such as tiles, vessels, carpets, and stone. Before the advent of paper, papyrus and parchment were used for writing. During the 9th century, an influx of paper from China revolutionized calligraphy. Libraries in the Muslim world regularly contained hundreds and even thousands of books.

For centuries, the art of writing has fulfilled a central iconographic function in Islamic art. Although the academic tradition of Islamic calligraphy began in Baghdad, the centre of the Islamic empire during much of its early history, it eventually spread as far as India and Spain.

Coins were another support for calligraphy. Beginning in 692, the Islamic caliphate reformed the coinage of the Near East by replacing Byzantine Christian imagery with Islamic phrases inscribed in Arabic. This was especially true for dinars, or gold coins of high value. Generally, the coins were inscribed with quotes from the Qur'an.

By the tenth century, the Persians, who had converted to Islam, began weaving inscriptions onto elaborately patterned silks. So precious were textiles featuring Arabic text that Crusaders brought them to Europe as prized possessions. A notable example is the Suaire de Saint-Josse, used to wrap the bones of St. Josse in the Abbey of St. Josse-sur-Mer, near Caen in north-western France.

As Islamic calligraphy is highly venerated, most works follow examples set by well-established calligraphers, with the exception of secular or contemporary works. In the Islamic tradition, calligraphers underwent extensive training in three stages, including the study of their teacher's models, in order to be granted certification.

Styles

Kufic

Main article: Kufic

The Kufic style emphasizes rigid and angular strokes, it developed alongside the Naskh script in the 7th century. Although some scholars dispute this, Kufic script was supposedly developed around the end of the 7th century in Kufa, Iraq, from which it takes its name. The style later developed into several varieties, including floral, foliated, plaited or interlaced, bordered, and square kufic. Due to its straight and orderly style of lettering, Kufic was frequently used in ornamental stone carving as well as on coins. It was the main script used to copy the Qur'an from the 8th to 10th century and went out of general use in the 12th century when the flowing naskh style became more practical. However, it continued to be used as a decorative element to contrast superseding styles.

There was no set rules of using the Kufic script; the only common feature is the angular, linear shapes of the characters. Due to the lack of standardization of early Kufic, the script differs widely between regions, ranging from very square and rigid forms to flowery and decorative ones.

Common varieties include Contemporary calligraphy using this style is also popular in modern decorations.

Decorative Kufic inscriptions are often imitated into pseudo-Kufics in medieval and Renaissance Europe. Pseudo-Kufics is especially common in Renaissance depictions of people from the Holy Land. The exact reason for the incorporation of pseudo-Kufic is unclear. It seems that Westerners mistakenly associated 13th–14th century Middle Eastern scripts with systems of writing used during the time of Jesus, and thus found it natural to represent early Christians in association with them.

Naskh

Main article: Naskh (script)

Kufic is commonly believed to predate naskh, but historians have traced the two scripts as coexisting long before their codification by ibn Muqla, as the two served different purposes. Kufi was used primarily in decoration, while Naskh served for everyday scribal use.

Thuluth

Main article: Thuluth

Thuluth was developed during the 15th century and slowly refined by Ottoman calligraphers including Mustafa Râkim, Shaykh Hamdallah, and others, till it became what it is today. Letters in this script have long vertical lines with broad spacing. The name, meaning "one third", may possibly be a reference to the x-height, which is one-third of the 'alif, or to the fact that the pen used to write the vowels and ornaments is one third the width of that used in writing the letters.

Reqāʿ

Main article: Reqa'

Reqāʿ is a handwriting style similar to thuluth. It first appeared in the 10th century. The shape is simple with short strokes and small flourishes. Yaqut al-Musta'simi was one of the calligraphers who employed this style. The Arab, Ibn al-Bawwab is actually believed to have created this script.

Muhaqqaq

Main article: Muhaqqaq

Muhaqqaq is a majestic style used by accomplished calligraphers, and is a variation of thuluth. Along with thuluth, it was considered one of the most beautiful scripts, as well as one of the most difficult to execute. Muhaqqaq was commonly used during the Mamluk era, but its use became largely restricted to short phrases, such as the basmallah, from the 18th century onward.

Regional styles

With the spread of Islam, the Arabic script was established in a vast geographic area with many regions developing their own unique style. From the 14th century onward, other cursive styles began to develop in Turkey, Persia, and China.

1. Maghrebi scripts developed from Kufic letters in the Maghreb (North Africa) and al-Andalus (Iberia), Maghrebi scripts are traditionally written with a pointed tip (القلم المذبب), producing a line of even thickness. Within the Maghrebi family, there are different styles including the cursive mujawher and the ceremonial mabsut.
2. Sudani scripts developed in Biled as-Sudan (the West African Sahel) and can be considered a subcategory of Maghrebi scripts
3. Diwani is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks in the 16th and early 17th centuries. It was invented by Housam Roumi, and reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–1566). Spaces between letters are often narrow, and lines ascend upwards from right to left. Larger variations called djali are filled with dense decorations of dots and diacritical marks in the space between, giving it a compact appearance. Diwani is difficult to read and write due to its heavy stylization and became the ideal script for writing court documents as it ensured confidentiality and prevented forgery.
4. Nasta'liq is a cursive style originally devised to write the Persian language for literary and non-Qur'anic works. Nasta'liq is thought to be a later development of the naskh and the earlier ta'liq script used in Iran. Quite rapidly gaining popularity as a script in South Asia. The name ta'liq means "hanging", and refers to the slightly sloped quality of lines of text in this script. Letters have short vertical strokes with broad and sweeping horizontal strokes. The shapes are deep, hook-like, and have high contrast. A variant called Shikasteh was developed in the 17th century for more formal contexts.
5. Sini is a style developed in China. The shape is greatly influenced by Chinese calligraphy, using a horsehair brush instead of the standard reed pen. A famous modern calligrapher in this tradition is Hajji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang.'*

Modern

In the post-colonial era, artists working in North Africa and the Middle East transformed Arabic calligraphy into a modern art movement, known as the Hurufiyya movement. Artists working in this style use calligraphy as a graphic element within contemporary artwork.

The term, hurufiyya is derived from the Arabic term, harf for letter. Traditionally, the term was charged with Sufi intellectual and esoteric meaning. It is an explicit reference to a medieval system of teaching involving political theology and lettrism. In this theology, letters were seen as primordial signifiers and manipulators of the cosmos.

Hurufiyya artists blended Western art concepts with an artistic identity and sensibility drawn from their own culture and heritage. These artists integrated Islamic visual traditions, especially calligraphy, and elements of modern art into syncretic contemporary compositions. Although hurufiyyah artists struggled to find their own individual dialogue within the context of nationalism, they also worked towards an aesthetic that transcended national boundaries and represented a broader affiliation with an Islamic identity.

The hurufiyya artistic style as a movement most likely began in North Africa with the work of Ibrahim el-Salahi. However, the use of calligraphy in modern artworks appears to have emerged independently in various Islamic states. Artists working in this were often unaware of other hurufiyya artists's works, allowing for different manifestations of the style to emerge in different regions. In Sudan, for instance, artworks include both Islamic calligraphy and West African motifs.

The hurufiyya art movement was not confined to painters and included artists working in a variety of media. One example is the Jordanian ceramicist, Mahmoud Taha who combined the traditional aesthetics of calligraphy with skilled craftsmanship. Although not affiliated with the hurufiyya movement, the contemporary artist Shirin Neshat integrates Arabic text into her black-and-white photography, creating contrast and duality. In Iraq, the movement was known as Al Bu'd al Wahad (or the One Dimension Group)", and in Iran, it was known as the Saqqa-Khaneh movement.

Western art has influenced Arabic calligraphy in other ways, with forms such as calligraffiti, which is the use of calligraphy in public art to make politico-social messages or to ornament public buildings and spaces. Notable Islamic calligraffiti artists include: Yazan Halwani active in Lebanon****, el Seed working in France and Tunisia, and Caiand A1one in Tehran.

In 2017 the Sultanate of Oman unveiled the Mushaf Muscat, an interactive calligraphic Quran following supervision and support from the Omani Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, a voting member of the Unicode Consortium.

Gallery

Kufic

File:Folio from a Qur’an, sura 91,14-15; sura 92,1-5 (F1929.70).jpg|Kufic script in an 11th-century Qur'an File:Folio Blue Quran Met 2004.88.jpg|Maghrebi Kufic script in the 9th or 10th century Blue Quran File:Jame mosque yazd tilework.jpg|Square kufic tilework in Yazd, Iran File:Cup votive inscriptions MET 40-170-15.jpg|Under-glaze terracotta bowl from the 11th century Nishapur File:Hamdanid gold dinar, Nasir al-Dawla and Sayf al-Dawla.jpg|Gold dinar from 10th century Syria Image:An example of Kufic Calligraphy.jpg|A Kufic calligraphy in Chota Imambara

Naskh and Thuluth

Image:Qur'anic Manuscript - Mid to Late 15th Century, Turkey.jpg|Muhaqqaq script in a 15th-century Qur'an from Turkey File:Qur'an manuscript Surat al-Nisa'. (1).tif|Muhaqqaq script in a 13th-century Qur'an File:Muhammad ibn Pir Ahmad al-shahir bi-Ibn Arghun al-Shirazi - Text Page with Dedication to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I - Walters W5912A - Full Page.jpg|Naskh script in an early 16th-century Ottoman manuscript dedicated to Selim I File:Ijazah3.jpg|Diploma of competency in calligraphy, written with thuluth and naskh script File:Mausolée de Touman Aka (Shah-i-Zinda, Samarcande) (6009410911).jpg|Thuluth script tile in Samarkand Image:Kalligráfia Hagia Sophia.jpg|Calligraphy of Ali decorating Hagia Sophia

Regional varieties

File:مصحف مخطوط بالخط المغربي المبسوط ٥.jpg|A Moroccan Quran in a mabsūt Maghrebi script File:Folio Quran Met 42.63.jpg|Surah "Az-Zumar" in an Andalusi script, from the Nasrid period in Al-Andalus File:سورة الأعراف مكتوبة بالخط السوقي ٣.jpg|Surah "Al-A'raf" written in suqi script, named after Essouk File:Bifolium Mushal al-Hadina Quran Met 2007.191.jpg|Nurse's Quran (Mushaf al-Hadina), from the Zirid period in Tunisia, in a Kufic script File: Bismillah_2.svg|Bismillah in Thuluth File:Quran with Chinese translation.jpg|Quran in Sini script with Chinese translations

Modern examples

File:Bismillah_2.svg|Bismallah calligraphy. Thuluth Jali File:Muhammad calligraphy.svg|Muhammad calligraphy File:Bismillah gold.svg|Bismallah calligraphy File:Caligrafia arabe pajaro.svg|An example of zoomorphic calligraphy

Craft

File:Learning Arabic calligraphy.jpg|The instruments and work of a student calligrapher File:Menulis khat.jpg|Islamic calligraphy performed by a Malay Muslim in Malaysia. Calligrapher is making a rough draft.

List of calligraphers

Some classical calligraphers ;Medieval

• Qutba Al-Muharrir
• Ibrahim Al-Shajri
• Yusuf Al-Shajri
• Ibn Muqla (d. 939/940)
• Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 1022)
• Fakhr-un-Nisa (12th century)
• Yaqut al-Musta'simi (d. 1298)
• Mir Ali Tabrizi (d. 14th–15th century)

;Ottoman era Ottoman-era calligraphers

• Shaykh Hamdullah (1436–1520)
• Ahmed Karahisari (1468–1566)
• Seyyid Kasim Gubari (d. 1624)
• Hâfiz Osman (1642–1698)
• Mustafa Râkim (1757–1826)
• Mehmed Shevki Efendi (1829–1887)
• Sami (İsmail Hakkı) Efendi (1838–1912)
• Hamid Aytaç (1891–1982)

;

;Contemporary

• Mohammad Hosni (1894–1964), Syria
• Madiha Omar (1908–2005), Iraqi-American
• Hashem Muhammad al-Baghdadi (1917–1973), Iraq
• Shakkir Hassan Al Sa'id (1925–2004), Iraq
• Ziad Zukkari (1926–2014), Syria
• Sadequain Naqqash (1930–1987), Pakistan
• Abdul Wahid Nadir-ul-Qalam Founder of calligraphy exhibitions in Pakistan (1922-1995), Pakistan
• Ibrahim el-Salahi (born 1930), Sudan
• Abdul Djalil Pirous, known as A.D. Pirous (born 1933), Indonesian
• Uthman Taha (born 1934), Syria
• Hasan Çelebi (born 1937), Turkiye
• Charles Hossein Zenderoudi (born 1937), Iran
• Ali Adjalli (born 1939), Iranian master calligrapher, painter, poet and educator
• Wijdan Ali (born 1939), Jordan
• Mahmoud Taha (born 1942), Jordan
• Mohamed Zakariya (born 1942), United States
• Hassan Massoudy (born 1944), Iraq
• Munawar Islam (Ibne Nadir-ul-Qalam) Master in Khatte Diwani (1945-2021) Pakistan
• Fuad Honda (born 1946), Japan
• Abas Baghdadi (born 1951), Iraq
• Abdulraouf Baydoun (born 1956), Syria
• Hajji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang (born 1963), China
• Amir Kamal (born 1972), Pakistan
• Mothanna Al-Obaydi (born 1972), Iraq
• Soraya Syed (born 1976), United Kingdom
• Nuria Garcia Masip (born 1978) Spanish calligrapher
• Anil Kumar Chawhan Indian calligrapher

References

References

1. "Khalili Collections {{!}} Islamic Art {{!}} Part 15 of a 30-part Qur'an".
2. Gruber, Christiane. (2009). "Sheila Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006). Pp. 679. $150.00 cloth.". International Journal of Middle East Studies.
3. Blair, Sheila S.. (1995). "The art and architecture of Islam : 1250–1800". Yale University Press.
4. Chapman, Caroline (2012). ''Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture'', {{ISBN. 978-979-099-631-1
5. Julia Kaestle. (10 July 2010). "Arabic calligraphy as a typographic exercise".
6. Lyons, Martyn.. (2011). "Books : a living history". J. Paul Getty Museum.
7. Blair, Sheila S. (Spring 2003). "The Mirage of Islamic Art: Reflections on the Study of an Unwieldy Field". ''The Art Bulletin''. '''85''': 152–184
8. Allen, Terry (1988). ''Five Essays on Islamic Art''. Sebastopol, CA: Solipsist Press. pp. 17–37. {{ISBN. 0944940005.
9. Erzen, Jale Nejdet. (February 2011). "Reading Mosques: Meaning and Architecture in Islam". The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.
10. Tabbaa, Yasser (1991). "The Transformation of Arabic Writing: Part I, Qur'ānic Calligraphy". ''Ars Orientalis''. '''21''': 119–148.
11. Roxburgh, David J. (2008). ""The Eye is Favored for Seeing the Writing's Form": On the Sensual and the Sensuous in Islamic Calligraphy". ''Muqarnas''. '''25''': 275–298
12. Flood, Necipoğlu. (2017). "A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture". John Wiley & Sons.
13. Schimmel, Annemarie (1984). ''[https://UniversityofTexasBrownsville.on.worldcat.org/oclc/465842343 Calligraphy and Islamic Culture]''. New York: New York University Press. p. 4. {{ISBN. 0814778305.
14. Kvernen, Elizabeth (2024). [https://www.calligraphyqalam.com/styles/kufic/ "Kufic"], ''calligraphyqalam.com''.
15. Schimmel, Annemarie (1984). ''[https://UniversityofTexasBrownsville.on.worldcat.org/oclc/465842343 Calligraphy and Islamic Culture]''. New York: New York University Press. p. 3. {{ISBN. 0814778305.
16. Ul Wahab, Zain; Yasmin Khan, Romana (30 June 2016). "The Element of Mural Art and Mediums in Potohar Region". ''Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan''. Vol. 53; No. 1 – Nexis Uni.
17. "Kūfic script". Encyclopædia Britannica.
18. (2009). "The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture". Oxford University Press.
19. Mack, Rosamond E. Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300–1600, University of California Press, 2001 {{ISBN. 0-520-22131-1
20. Mamoun Sakkal. (1993). "The Art of Arabic Calligraphy, a brief history".
21. (1977). "بىاض". Anjuman-e-Farsi.
22. Blair, Sheila S. (2006). ''Islamic Calligraphy''. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 158, 165. {{ISBN. 0748612122.
23. "Library of Congress, Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy: Qur'anic Fragments". International.loc.gov.
24. Ali, A. K. M. Yaqub. (1984). "Muslim Calligraphy: ITS Beginning and Major Styles". Islamic Studies.
25. Khatibi, Abdelkebir. (1996). "The splendor of Islamic calligraphy". Thames and Hudson.
26. Kvernen, Elisabeth. (2009). "Thuluth".
27. "خط الرقاع".
28. Kvernen, Elizabeth. (2009). "Riqa'".
29. Mansour, Nassar (2011). ''Sacred Script: Muhaqqaq in Islamic Calligraphy''. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. {{ISBN. 978-1-84885-439-0
30. "Diwani script". Encyclopædia Britannica.
31. Kvernen, Elizabeth. (2009). "Divani".
32. Kvernen, Elizabeth. (2009). "Nasta'liq".
33. "Ta'liq Script". Encyclopædia Britannica.
34. [https://www.hajinoordeen.com/browsegallery "Browse Gallery"], ''hajinoordeen.com''.
35. [http://expositions.bnf.fr/parole/grand/134.htm BNF - Torah, Bible, Coran]. In French.
36. "Praying Man". Ethiopian Muslims Network.
37. [http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/GeogHist/histories/Oldcivilization/Egyptology/Calligraphy/art5.jpg Lion of 'Ali].
38. [http://www.levha.net/calligraphy/calligraphy_index.html Horse of 'Ali].
39. [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060625045753/http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/art/images/calligraphy/islamic.calligraphy.birdtext.101.gif HudHud].{{Dead link. (June 2009)
40. [http://www.ucsc.edu/currents/01-02/art/islamic_bird.jpg Islamic Bird], ''UC Santa Cruz Currents Online''.
41. Flood, Necipoğlu (2017). ''A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture''. Volume II. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1294. {{ISBN. 1119068665. {{OCLC. 1006377297.
42. Mavrakis, N., [https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/ "The Hurufiyah Art Movement in Middle Eastern Art"] {{Webarchive. link. (30 April 2020 , ''McGill Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Blog'')
43. Tuohy, Andy, Masters, Christopher, ''A–Z Great Modern Artists'', Hachette UK, 2015, p. 56
44. Mir-Kasimov, O., ''Words of Power: Hurufi Teachings Between Shi'ism and Sufism in Medieval Islam,'' I.B. Tauris and the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2015
45. Lindgren, A. and Ross, S., ''The Modernist World'', Routledge, 2015, p. 495; Mavrakis, N., "The Hurufiyah Art Movement in Middle Eastern Art," ''McGill Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Blog,'' Online: https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/ {{Webarchive. link. (30 April 2020 ; Tuohy, A. and Masters, C., ''A–Z Great Modern Artists,'' Hachette UK, 2015, p. 56)
46. Dadi. I., "Ibrahim El Salahi and Calligraphic Modernism in a Comparative Perspective," ''South Atlantic Quarterly,'' 109 (3), 2010, pp. 555–576, {{doi. 10.1215/00382876-2010-006; Flood, F.B. and Necipoglu, G. (eds) ''A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture,'' Wiley, 2017, p. 1294
47. Flood, Necipoğlu (2017). ''A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture''. Vol. II. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1298–1299. {{ISBN. 1119068665. {{OCLC. 1006377297.
48. Mavrakis, N., "The Hurufiyah Art Movement in Middle Eastern Art," ''McGill Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Blog,'' Online: https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/; Tuohy, A. and Masters, C., ''A–Z Great Modern Artists'', Hachette UK, 2015, p. 56; Dadi. I., "Ibrahim El Salahi and Calligraphic Modernism in a Comparative Perspective," ''South Atlantic Quarterly,'' 109 (3), 2010, pp. 555–576, {{doi. 10.1215/00382876-2010-006
49. 1119068665. {{OCLC. 1006377297.
50. Grebenstein, M., ''Calligraphy Bible: A Complete Guide to More Than 100 Essential Projects and Techniques,'' 2012, p. 5
51. Alabaster, Olivia. [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2013/Feb-09/205688-i-like-to-write-beirut-as-its-the-city-that-gave-us-everything.ashx#axzz3DCxf8Utr; "I like to write Beirut as it's the city that gave us everything"] {{Webarchive. link. (8 May 2018 , ''[[The Daily Star (Lebanon)). The Daily Star]]'', Beirut, 9 February 2013
52. Vandalog. (3 May 2011). "A1one in Tehran IRAN". Vandalog.
53. [[Martin Lejeune]], 15 June 2017, [https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/oman-unveils-world-s-1st-interactive-calligraphic-quran/842512 Oman unveils world's 1st interactive calligraphic Quran] {{Webarchive. link. (23 May 2021)