The Arabic Calligraphy Thread

[noraina]

Assalamu alaykum,

I have been meaning to make this thread for a while now, I've been studying and learning Arabic for three years and whilst I am *very* far from mastering the art, I feel I have gained enough experience from the million mistakes I've made to be able to say something on the subject.

Arabic calligraphy is very closely tied with the Quran, it developed into the stunning art form it is today directly because of the Qur'an and the spread of Islam and the Arabic language across what is now the Muslim world. It was transformed into an individual art form partly because of the prohibition on drawing living beings or faces, and partly because Muslims wished to express in a small way the inherent beauty they found in Islam and the words of Allah swt, and from this a variety of beautiful scripts flourished to express exactly that. I'm sure anyone can testify to the fact there are few forms of writing more beautiful.

Traditionally, a student learns by taqlid. They will repeatedly copy again and again their teacher's way of writing Arabic calligraphy until they have mastered the art enough to develop their own formations or pieces. This requires a huge amount of time and even more patience, and perhaps this is why not as many people actually practise calligraphy today.

There are several different styles, actually dozens of them, but the central ones are these:

The Kufic (and oldest) script:

The Thuluth (and by far most common) script, it is a subvariant of the Naskh style of script:

The Maghrebi script:

 

[noraina]

Some more styles.

This is Muhaqqaq (like thuluth, a variant of the naskh script):

Nasta'liq is more a Persian form of writing Arabic, but beautiful nonetheless:

As I've said, the Thuluth script is by far the most common and the only one I'm learning at the moment, so I'll be focusing on that. However, I have dabbled a bit in the other scripts and they each have their place, you'd see example of each throughout the Muslim world.

 

[anatolian]

There is a saying that Quran was revealed in Makka, recited in Cairo, written in Istanbul. Turkish style of Arabic caligraphy was also famous since the Ottoman era.

 

[noraina]

There is a saying that Quran was revealed in Makka, recited in Cairo, written in Istanbul. Turkish style of Arabic caligraphy was also famous since the Ottoman era.

Yes, I've heard that quote. The Turkish calligraphers are renowned throughout the Muslim world for their mastering of calligraphy ma'sha'Allah - inshaAllah I really want to one day go there and learn from the teachers there, it would be a dream come true.

 

[anatolian]

I was also interrsted in the Arabic caligraphy once but I think I must learn Arabic at first

 

[noraina]

I was also interrsted in the Arabic caligraphy once but I think I must learn Arabic at first

Actually, you just need to have a basic understanding of reading and writing Arabic, like knowing the alphabet and how the letters join together, and then you're good to go.

When I started learning calligraphy, I knew very basic reading and writing and didn't understand a word of Arabic lol, but as a student my job is just to copy what the teachers have written (again and again and again) so I didn't really need to know it.

Of course, understanding Arabic is good but not a requirement for a beginner.

If you're living in Turkey, you're extremely lucky because you have the best of the best teachers and their exhibitions literally on your doorstep. And I'm here in rainy England peering at their instagram accounts on the computer screen.

 

[anatolian]

And I'm here in rainy England

Yes I am living in Turkey but if are planning to come to Istanbul know that it has more average rainfall than London lol