calligraphy courses : Four Popular Scripts Used in Arabic Calligraphy

الحمد لله رب العالمين

Arabic Calligraphy is the art of writing, or elegant and stylized letters. It is harmonious and aesthetic education of Arabic characters with a pen or brush and ink. In the Middle East, calligraphy is an art form highly valued and developed. His genius lies in the creativity and endless versatility.

Arabic calligraphy was born in the seventh century, when Muslim scholars decided to write the Quran after the Prophet's death. For a long time it has been used exclusively for writing the holy book. Not anymore.

Today, 1400 years later, Arabic calligraphy can be seen everywhere - Tickets cities and homes to clothes and Islamic jewelry. This article is an introduction to the art of beautiful writing in Arabic and in languages ​​that use the Arabic alphabet - Persian, Hausa, Pashto, Punjabi, Urdu and others. This is a summary of the five major styles developed by calligraphers who write Arabic letters.

(1) Riq'a

Riq'a Arabic writing is most commonly used today. It is rounded and densely structured with short horizontal stems. The letter Alif (the first letter of the Arabic alphabet) is never written with barbed heads. Riq'a was a favorite scripts used by calligraphers of the Ottoman Empire, which refine the infinite - which contributes to its current popularity.

(2) Diwani 

If Riq'a was widely used in the Ottoman Empire, Diwani was the result of Ottoman calligraphers. At the end of the 15th century, an original Persian and Turkish calligrapher Ibrahim Munif created Diwani. The most distinctive feature is the variety ornamental Diwani. The spaces between the letters are used for decoration. Diwani is highly favored to write in the imperial palaces.

(3) Kufi

Kufic script is a very angular. Its square shape gives it a unique look. It was developed shortly after the introduction of Basra Kufat - Today two cities in the Middle East. Its main use was religious. It could be due to the geometric construction of Kufi - which is not limited to strict rules. Therefore, calligraphers write Kufic are free to experiment on your own.

(4) naskh

With Kufic, Naskh is one of the first scripts used for Arabic calligraphy. It is one of the few scripts deemed appropriate for the Koran. Naskh is easy to read and write. These qualities have contributed to the spread of writing - from the terraces of the calligraphers of the general population. Naskh is written with short horizontal stems. The curves are deep, letter spacing is decent and upright position and high depth are approximately equal.