ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY

Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, based

upon the alphabet in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. It includes

Arabic Calligraphy, Ottoman, and Persian calligraphy. It is known in Arabic as khatt

Islami meaning Islamic line, design, or construction.

The development of Islamic calligraphy is strongly tied to the Qur'an; chapters and

excerpts from the Qur'an are a common and almost universal text upon which Islamic

calligraphy is based. However, Islamic calligraphy is not limited to strictly religious

subjects, objects, or spaces. Like all Islamic art, it encompasses a diverse array of works

created in a wide variety of contexts. The prevalence of calligraphy in Islamic art is not

directly related to its non-figural tradition; rather, it reflects the centrality of the notion of

writing and written text in Islam. It is noteworthy, for instance, that the Prophet

Muhammad is related to have said: "The first thing God created was the pen."

Islamic calligraphy developed from two major styles: Kufic and Naskh. There are

several variations of each, as well as regionally specific styles.

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 color 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.

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. While monasteries in Europe treasured a few dozen volumes,

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

center of the Islamic empire during much of its early history, it eventually spread as far as

India and Spain.

STYLES

Kufic

Kufic is the oldest form of the Arabic script. The style emphasizes rigid and

angular strokes, which appears as a modified form of the old Nabataean script. The

Archaic Kufi consisted of about 17 letters without diacritic dots or accents. Diacritical

markings were added during the 7th century to help readers with pronunciation of the

Qur'an and other important documents, increasing the number of Arabic letters to 28.

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

Qur'ans from the 8th to 10th century and went out of general use in the 12th century when

the flowing naskh style become 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 square Kufic, a technique known as banna'i.

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

Naskh

The use of cursive scripts coexisted with Kufic, and historically cursive was

commonly used for informal purposes. With the rise of Islam, a new script was needed to

fit the pace of conversions, and a well-defined cursive called naskh first appeared in the

10th century. Naskh translates to "copying," as it became the standard for transcribing

books and manuscripts. The script is the most ubiquitous among other styles, used in

Qur'ans, official decrees, and private correspondence. It became the basis of modern

Arabic print.

Standardization of the style was pioneered by Ibn Muqla (886 – 940 A.D.) and later

expanded by Abu Hayan at-Tawhidi (died 1009 A.D.). Ibn Muqla is highly regarded in

Muslim sources on calligraphy as the inventor of the naskh style, although this seems to

be erroneous. Since Ibn Muqla wrote with a distinctly rounded hand, many scholars drew
the conclusion that he founded this script. Ibn al-Bawwab, the student of Ibn Muqla, is

actually believed to have created this script. However, Ibn Muqla did establish systematic

rules and proportions for shaping the letters, which use 'alif as the x-height.

Variation of the naskh includes:

Thuluth was developed during the 10th century and later refined by Ahmad Tayyib

Shah. Letters in this script have long vertical lines with broad spacing. The name, meaning

"third," is in reference to the x-height, which is one-third of the 'alif.

Riq'ah is a handwriting style derived from Naskh and thuluth, first appeared in the

10th century. The shape is simple with short strokes and small flourishes.

Muhaqqaq is a majestic style used by accomplished calligraphers. 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.

Reginal 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.

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. 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 is used in more informal contexts.

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.

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.