Calligraphy: The Highest Art of Islam

'Āli `Imrān 3:48 states, "And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel." As Islam's "highest form of art," calligraphy's main role in society has been one of religious duty. Developed and molded to record the words of Mahammed in the Qu'ran, it has undergone several transformations over the course of several centuries. Calligraphy has "capacity to be both decorative and a conveyor of knowledge, spiritual and secular", thus complimenting nearly every other form of Muslim art from jewelry, to architecture, even to weapons.In a region where religion means everything to its people, calligraphy serves as Muslims' primary artistic reminder of their faith, devotion, and love for Mahammed.

As a writing system, the Arabic alphabet (the language of Islamic calligraphy) originated with a group of people called the  Nabataeans, who inhabited what is now Jordan. They began using a written language as early as the the second century B.C. Theirs was a "highly cursive Aramaic-derived alphabet," bearing semblance to what is believed to be the first written form of the Arabic language, Kufic.

The date of the crossover between the langugage of the Nabataeans and Arabic is unclear. However, during the 4th century B.C., the Arabic language started to appear as inscriptions on wood and stone. Used to record the sacred words of the Qu'ran, Kufic yielded the beginning forms of calligraphy as Muslim artists wanted to record the words of their holy book in the finest way possible. Furthermore, by recording the words of the Qu'ran by calligraphy, Muslims were better able to share their language and their art.

Because of the emphasis on calligraphy, writing became an art, but it also became a way to enhance art as shown by the Qu'ran covers above. In stead of pictoral images, art in Islam consited of calligraphy. And Muslims used it to adorn about everything!

Jewelry...

 Architecture...



 weapons...

... and so much more!

Of the various forms of the Arabic language that developed with the art of calligraphy, four remaine prominent in Islamic culture today. Along with Kufic, Thuluth, Naskhi, and Nasta'liq serve as the most popular styles. Each contains unique characteristics indigenous to that style alone.

Kufic strongly reflects its ancient origin as it's heavier, bolder, boxier look can easily be seen in stone and wood.

Thuluth is intricate, making it a more ornate form of writing. In fact, because it is so ornate, Thuluth is rarely used as anything but decoration.

The most common form of writing, Naskhi is like Islam's equivalent to cursive. As the most legible of all the styles, it is often used by educated Muslims for every day writing.

The least used of the four,  Nasta'liq stands as the most delicate of the scripts. Characterized by soft, flowing lines, it is often thought that it looks like a flock of birds.

A trait shared by all four forms is the use of different versions of each letter. Depending on whether they stand alone or connect to other letters, each individual character of this 28-chracter Arabian alphabet takes on a different shape. Occasionally the differences are not that great, but sometimes, it's hard to believe that the two different forms could possibly mean the same sound. A table of all the different forms of each leter can be found here.

As I thought about all the different forms of the Arabic language, it made me realize that while not official, there are also millions of different ways to write English letters because each person writes differently. A reflection of the individual's personality and life, hand written letters give insight on the soul. Perhaps Muslims know that. Perhaps that is why they chose to make calligraphy such a significant part of their culture. I am of the belief that written knowledge is the most preservable of any form of knowledge. Folk knowledge is personal. Oral knowledge is powerful. But written knoweldge is preservable. Thus, when important works are written by hand, not only is the precious information remembered, but the person who wrote it also. The language lives on. The culture lives on. The people live on.