The Impact of Calligraphy on Muslims

Work by: Addi K

Islamic Calligraphy

Calligraphy was a major style of art and writing for Muslims. Islamic calligraphy was developed around the 6th century. Arabic, the language Islamic calligraphy is written in, is written and read from right to left. Each letter takes one of four forms depending on its position relative to other letters in a sentence. Calligraphy was important because it impacted society and mainly women. The pen was a major and very important invention that impacted calligraphy. Calligraphy is seen in more places than you think. Many Arabic symbols are seen in architecture. Calligraphy is also seen on various murals and on monuments.

This is a picture of the Holy Qur'an.

The Qur'an

One huge part of Islam culture and Islamic Calligraphy was the Qur'an. The Qur'an was a religious text and the holy word of God, or Allah, written in Arabic. The Qur'an is written in the Kufic script. It is sometimes compared to the Christian Bible. Within the script there were said to be different forms of Islamic Calligraphy developing. The Qur'an ranks above all other forms of Islamic art.

The Qalam

The holy Qur'an says that the first thing that was created was the pen. The first revelation of the Qur'an regards the pen as a tool to gain knowledge. The Qur'an also says that the pen is a tool to gain knowledge. When practicing calligraphy you refer to the pen as the Qalam. The Qalam is very important and very precise. It helped Muslims create art through calligraphy. When writing calligraphy and a bolder pen is used it's called Tumār. When a finer pen is used it's called Ghubar.

This is the Islamic Qalam.

This is an example of the Eastern Kufic style in the 11th century.

Styles of Calligraphy

There are many different styles of calligraphy including Kufic, Thuluth, Naskh, Muhaqqaq, Rayhān, Tawqī, and Riqā. Ibn Muqlah is the founder of these six styles. The most common style of calligraphy is Kufic. The holy Qur'an uses the Kufic style of writing.

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