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| Pre-9th Century Hijazi Script |
“Bism Allah al Rahman al Rahim,” the literal translation
being: “In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate.” This statement commonly
appears at the beginning of important written documents within Muslim
societies, and is an example of the importance of the written word within the
Islamic culture, as it represents the dedication of the projects achievement to
Allah. I found this to be a fitting
introduction as this subject is about the art of Islamic calligraphy.
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| Mosque |
The art
of writing, to many scholars, is viewed as synonymous with the development and
expansion of religion. Islamic calligraphy also known as Arabic calligraphy is
a testament to that common belief. Scripts,
of eloquently flowing letters scrolled from right to left (as Arabic is a
Semitic language) in angular intricate designs form verses of the holy Qur’an,
songs, and poetry, pottery, and even woven into blankets, all equal in visual
and audial beauty.
As the
Muslim empire grew the practice of writing remained intact, the ancient
calligraphers’ devotion to delicacy and detail ensured its emergence as an art
form. The sacred symbolism of the art of
beautiful handwriting thus provides evidence of the religious and aesthetic
importance of Islamic calligraphy within Muslim culture.
A.
Schimmel writes in her book entitled Islamic
calligraphy: Iconography of Religions that “calligraphy is an art that expresses
the true Islamic spirit, even the Qur’an talks of the importance of writing.” It was believed that the ancient calligraphers
were the primary reason for the preservation of the Qur’an, and because they were
maintaining the purity of the text they were preforming a sacred and holy
duty. It was an expression of their
devotion to Allah. And the amount of effort and time put into the copying of
the text in such an esthetically pleasing way became an integral part of
Islamic culture.
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| Late 9th Century Kufic Script |
During
the first centuries of the development and expansion of Islam, scribes copied
the Qur’an, using a modified version of the Arabic alphabet arranging the
letters in an artistic way to form the Hijazi script, later around the ninth
century the calligraphers began to make thicker strokes forming the first Kufic
style script.
Late 9th century Kufic Script
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There
are many different styles of Islamic calligraphy usually categorized by
location of origin or the person who created them, and then in turn classified
by the sub-categories. There are many sub-categories; however, the most popular
are the kufic scripts, known as geometric in appearance, originating in Kufa,
Iraq; and the naskh scripts known as cursive in appearance. naskh translates to
the word “copy” it was used by calligraphers to replace the kufic script when
copying the Qur’an and is generally believed to be easier to write. Simplistic
naskh scripts are usually used in modern times for computers.
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| Poetry | |
Islamic calligraphy is written using
a pen made of reed known as a “qalam” it has an angled point which enables the
thick upward and downward strokes and the diamond shaped “dots” that are used
along the alphabet. Many of the artists use this method when creating their
poetry, or songs, or proverbs that are commonly viewed as Islamic art. However, the calligraphy scripts were also ideal
for being transcribed onto ceramics like pottery, and even stone work. These scripts were also used to decorate Mosques
all around their empire. Calligraphy was
implemented into almost every aspect of society throughout the early Islamic
world.
Because
of the connection between religion and handwriting, calligraphy emerged within
Islamic society as an art form that is continually practiced. Many modern day Muslim artists look to the
holy books pages for inspiration, and as time passes the art of calligraphy continues
to change and represents something truly sacred within Islamic culture.
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