Arabic Calligraphyis the art ofwriting, orelegant andstylizedletters.It isharmoniousand aesthetic educationofArabic characterswith apen or brushand ink.In the Middle East, calligraphy isan art formhighly valuedand developed.His geniuslies in thecreativity andendless versatility.
Arabic calligraphywas bornin the seventh century, when Muslimscholars decidedto writethe Quranafterthe Prophet's death. For a long timeit has been usedexclusively forwriting theholy book.Not anymore.
Today, 1400 yearslater,Arabic calligraphycan beseen everywhere-Ticketscitiesand homesto clothesandIslamicjewelry.Thisarticle is an introductionto the art ofbeautiful writingin Arabic andinlanguagesthat use theArabic alphabet-Persian, Hausa, Pashto, Punjabi, Urdu and others.Thisis a summary ofthe five majorstyles developed bycalligrapherswho writeArabic letters.
(1)Riq'a
Riq'aArabic writingismost commonly usedtoday.It is roundedand denselystructuredwithshorthorizontal stems. The letterAlif(the first letter of the Arabic alphabet) is never writtenwithbarbedheads. Riq'awas afavoritescripts usedbycalligraphersof the Ottoman Empire, which refinethe infinite-which contributes toits current popularity.
(2) Diwani
IfRiq'awas widely usedin the Ottoman Empire, Diwaniwas the resultof Ottomancalligraphers.At the endof the 15th century, an originalPersianand TurkishcalligrapherIbrahimMunifcreatedDiwani. The most distinctive featureis the varietyornamentalDiwani. The spaces between theletters are usedfor decoration.Diwaniishighly favoredto writein the imperialpalaces.
(3) Kufi
Kuficscriptis a veryangular. Its squareshape gives ita unique look.Itwas developed shortlyafter the introductionof BasraKufat- Todaytwo citiesin the MiddleEast.Its main usewas religious.It could be duetothe geometric construction ofKufi-which is not limitedto strict rules. Therefore,calligrapherswriteKuficare free toexperiment on your own.
(4) naskh
WithKufic, Naskhis one of thefirst scriptsused forArabic calligraphy.It is oneof the fewscriptsdeemed appropriate forthe Koran.Naskhis easy to readand write.These qualities havecontributed to thespread of writing- fromthe terraces of thecalligraphersof the general population. Naskhis written withshorthorizontal stems. The curvesare deep,letter spacingis decent anduprightpositionandhigh depthare approximately equal.