ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY ORIGIN PROMINENT CALLIGRAPHERS DIFFERENT STYLES OF CALLIGRAPHY DIFFERENT TOOLS USED QALAM: MOST SACRED TOOL FOR CALLIGRAPHERS THE MASTER’S HAND PIECES OF WORK IN CALLIGRAPHY CALLIGRAPHY IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION ARTISTIC PRACTICE OF HANDWRITING AND CALLIGRAPHY KNOWN IN ARABIC AS KHATT ISLAMI, MEANING ISLAMIC LINE, DESIGN, OR CONSTRUCTION CHARACTERS ARE SYMBOLIC TO HARMONY, MELODY OR BEAUTY

ORIGIN STRONGLY TIED TO THE QUR’AN ORIGINATED IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA SPREAD FROM SYRIA TO EGYPT AND THEN FROM SPAIN TO PERSIA THEN IT DEVELOPED SLOWLY WITH A SINGLE MERGE OF ASSORTED ART FROM THE BYZANTINES, ROMANS, AND THE PERSIANS

PROMINENT CALLIGRAPHERS THE 4TH CALIPH OF ISLAM, IMAM ALI, IS CONSIDERED AS THE FIRST MAJOR CALLIGRAPHER OTHER IMPORTANT CALLIGRAPHERS IBN MUQLA ALI ADJALLI SHAYKH HAMDULLAH HAFIZ OSMAN SEYYID KASIM GUBARI

DIFFERENT STYLES OF CALLIGRAPHY THERE ARE 20 DIFFERENT STYLES OF CALLIGRAPHY KUFIC- IT IS THE , MOST POPULAR SCRIPT AS IT WAS MOSTLY USED IN THE QUR’AN. NASKH-THIS SCRIPT IS THE MOST UNIQUE AMONG OTHER STYLES. IT IS USED IN QUR’AN AND IN OFFICIAL DECREES. IT BECAME THE BASIS OF ARABIC SCRIPT OTHER IMPORTANT STYLES: MUHAQQAQ DIWANI RIQA TULUT RIHANI

KUFI CALLIGRAPHY KUFI CALLIGRAPHY

NASKH CALLIGRAPHY

TOOLS FOR CALLIGRAPHY CALLIGRPAHY IS TRADITIONALLY WRITTEN WITH A REED PEN. MOST CALLIGRAPHY IS WRITTEN WITH BLACK INK. CALLIGRAPHY CAN BE WRITTEN ON MANY SURFACES LIKE: PARCHMENT PAPER METAL CARAMIC WOOD STONE GLASS LEATHER

QALAM: THE MOST SACRED TOOL FOR CALLIGRAPHY THE CALLIGRAPHER SPENDS A GREAT AMOUNT OF TIME EVERYDAY, AND DEVOTING HIS WHOLE LIFE WITH THE QALAM IN HIS HAND. MOST OF WHAT CALLIGRAPHERS WRITE, IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE QURANIC VERSES. THE QALAM IS HENCE THE MOST SACRED TOOL FOR A CALLIGRAPHER. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE CALLIGRAPHERS USES TO KEEP THE SHAVINGS OF THE QALAM.

THE MASTER’S HAND “HOW THE TEACHER HOLDS THE QALAM, HOW HE TURNS IT, AT WHAT POINT HE STARTS A STROKE, WHERE HE PAUSES AND WHERE HE FINISHES IT ARE ALL ASPECTS OF THAT TEACHER- STUDENT RELATIONSHIP”. THE TEACHING IS ALWAYS DONE IN PERSON EVERY STUDENT OF CALLIGRAPHY IS TAUGHT WITH THE SAYING “THE HAND OF YOUR MASTER KEEPS ALL THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE TO LEARN” FOR A CALLIGRAPHER IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE A VERY HEALTHY HAND

PIECES OF ART THE CONTENT OF A CALLIGRAPHY COMPOSITION VARIES GREATLY AND CAN INCLUDE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: KURANIC VERSES HADITH OR SAYINGS ABOUT THE PROPHET POETRY PROVERBS COURT DOCUMENTS STORIES

HADITH OR SAYINGS ABOUT THE PROPHET HADITH OR THE SAYINGS ABOUT THE PROPHET

POETRY WRITTEN IN CALLIGRAPHY

DOME OF ROCK IN JERUSALEM, PALESTINE

IMAM MOSQUE IN IISFAHAN

CALLIGRAPHY IN THE WORLD MOSTLY FOUND IN OTTOMAN AND TURKEY WHO WERE SIGNIFICANT TO ITS IMPROVEMENT ISTANBUL, THE LONG TERM CAPITAL OF TURKEY, HAS BEEN THE PLACE WHERE THE TRADITION OF CALLIGRAPHY HAS BEEN PRESERVED VALUABLE OR CREATIVE WORK WAS PRODUCED IN MOSQUES, SCHOOLS, SHOPS, AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES WHICH ARE STILL ALIVE AND VISIBLE.

CONCLUSION CALLIGRAPHY IS ONE OF THE MOST HIGHEST FORMS OF VISUAL ART IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD TODAY IT’S DEEP RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE QURAN LED THIS HIGHLY INVENTIVE SKILL TO BECOME ONE OF THE MOST MAJOR FORMS OF CREATIVE EXPRESSION IN ISLAMIC CULTURES

THANK YOU