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arsa · #1 Saturday, March 07, 2009

Arabic Calligraphy

Introduction

While many religions have made use of figural images to convey their core convictions, Islam has instead used the shapes and sizes of words or letters. Because Islamic leaders saw in figural arts a possible implication of idolatry, Islam's early theocracy looked to the artistry of calligraphy for religious expression. In Islamic and Arabic cultures, calligraphy became highly respected as an art -- the art of writing.
Scholar Yasin Hamid Safadi (1978) writes:

The primacy of the word in Islam is reflected in the virtually universal application of calligraphy. Writing is given pride of place on all kinds of objects--objects of everyday use as well as entire wall surfaces, mosque furniture, the interiors and exteriors of mosques, tombs, and al-Ka'ba, the most famous sanctuary of Islam. But like the icons of most other faiths, script also represents power. Its preeminent use is the writing of the divine message of the Qur'an, of course, which endowed it with extraordinary strength and transcendent significance. From this world's manifold possibilities, Allah had chosen Arabic as the vehicle for his final revelation.
Arabic calligraphy is a primary form of art for Islamic visual expression and creativity. Throughout the vast geography of the Islamic world, Arabic calligraphy is a symbol representing unity, beauty, and power. The aesthetic principles of Arabic calligraphy are a reflection of the cultural values of the Muslim world. A thorough investigation into the aesthetic differences between Arabic and non-Arabic calligraphy might provide an approach for understanding the essential spirit of each culture.

Anthony Welch (1979) writes that the primary reason for the chronological, social, and geographic persuasiveness of the calligraphic arts in the Islamic world is found in the Holy Qur'an.

Welch cites the following quote from the Qur'an:

Thy Lord is the Most Bounteous,
Who teacheth by the pen,
Teacheth man that which he knew not.
-- (Surah al-Alaq, 96:3-5)
This verse refers to the attainment of knowledge in general, and particularly to that gained from revelation as found in the Qur'an. The written form of the Qur'an is the visual equivalent of the eternal Qur'an and is humanity's perceptual glimpse of the Divine. The Holiness of the Qur'an lends a special aura to all forms of the written word.

Contemporary scholarship stipulates that Arabic belongs to the group of Semitic alphabetical scripts in which mainly the consonants are represented. Arabic script is derived from the Aramaic Nabataean alphabet. It is a script of 28 letters and uses long but not short vowels. The letters are derived from only 17 distinct forms, distinguished one from another by a dot or dots placed above or below the letter. Short vowels are indicated by small diagonal strokes above or below letters. When written without dots and diacritical points, Arabic script can look flat and barren. But when the dots and diacritical points are added, the script comes to life like a garden in spring.

Writes Welch: "Written from right to left, the Arabic script at its best can be a flowing continuum of ascending verticals, descending curves, and temperate horizontals, achieving a measured balance between static perfection of individual form and paced and rhythmic movement. There is great variability in form: words and letters can be compacted to a dense knot or drawn out to great length; they can be angular or curving; they can be small or large. The range of possibilities is almost infinite, and the scribes of Islam labored with passion to unfold the promise of the script.

Moreover, technical aspects were not separated from aesthetic and even personal criteria. Inscriptions are found incorporated in the decoration of almost every Islamic work, and in that of a large number of objects as well."

Arabic lettering has achieved a high level of sophistication, and Arabic scripts can vary from flowing cursive styles like Naskh and Thuluth to the angular Kufi. On a traditional Islamic building, a number of different writing styles may appear on, for example, the walls, windows, or minarets. Most of the inscriptions are not only from the Qur'an but also the Hadith (the Prophet's words) and are in harmony with the religious purposes of the building. An inscription can give meaning to the building by clarifying its function.

Arabic calligraphy is a symbol representing power and beauty. Its history is the integration of artistry and scholarship. Through the abstract beauty of the lines, energy flows in between the letters and words. All the parts are integrated into a whole. These parts include positive spacing, negative spacing, and the flow of energy that weaves together the calligrapher's rendering. The abstract beauty of Arabic calligraphy is not always easily comprehended -- but this beauty will slowly reveal itself to the discerning eye.

Arabic calligraphy is not merely an art form but involves divine and moral representations -- from which calligraphy acquires its sublime reputation.

The Origins of Arabic Calligraphy

As the teachings of Islam spread beyond the boundaries of the Arabian Peninsula, an enormous number of people worldwide became Muslims. The new Muslims interpreted the art of writing as an abstract expression of Islam, each according to their own cultural and aesthetic systems. The influx of this cultural diversity led to two major events: the birth of regional calligraphic schools and styles such as Ta'liq in Persia and Deewani in Turkey, and the need to reform of the Arabic language. A clear and universal language with legible script was needed if the non-Arab Muslims were to learn Arabic and become part of the Islamic melting pot.

The first movement to reform the Arabic language and writing system came during the Umayyad era. Abul Aswad ad-Du'ali was the prophet and legendary founder of Arabic grammar and is credited with the invention of placing diacritical points to distinguish between certain identical consonants such as the 'gaf' and 'fa' in the Arabic alphabet. This system of diacritical marks is known as Tashkil (vocalization). Different colors also were introduced to differentiate between these marks--black for the diacriticals and red or yellow for the vocalics.

The powerful and energetic Umayyad viceroy al-Hajjaj Ibn Yousuf al-Thaqafi (694-714), took on the responsibility of solving problems concerning diacriticals. He commissioned Nasr and Yehya to refine the Tashkil system. They introduced the use of dots and certain vowel signs as differentiating marks. The dots were placed either above or beneath the letter, either single or in groups of two or three.

Unfortunately, for many people and scribes the system was unclear and confusing. A more sophisticated system was needed. The second reform movement was undertaken around 786. Khalil Ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, the famous Arab philologist and lexicographer, was entrusted with devising a new Tashkil system. Al-Farahidi introduced vowel signs inspired by the initial shape or parts of certain letters. The sign 'hamza,' for example, is part of the letter 'ayn' (without its end-tail).

The new system gained wide popularity throughout the Muslim world. And Arabic calligraphy acquired the characteristics of beauty, sanctity, and versatility. Arabic calligraphy was used administratively, on architecture, on coins, to pen impressive epistles, and to produce elegant books, especially the Holy Qur'an, miniatures, and other literary works.

Noble Calligraphers
The lines of calligraphers have neither beginning nor end as they constantly link and unlink. The calligrapher's work lies in search of the absolute; his aim is to penetrate the sense of truth in an infinite movement so as to go beyond the existing world and thus achieve union with God.

-- Salah al-Ali (quotes in Musee d'art et d'histoire. "Islamic Calligraphy: Sacred and Secular Writings". Catalog of an exhibition held at the Musee d'art et d'histoire, Geneva and other locations 1988-1989, p. 30)

Calligraphers were dedicated to their work. David James writes in Sacred and Secular Writings (1988, p.22) that calligraphers often wrote, not at a small table but seated on the floor, holding the paper on their knees and supporting it with a piece of cardboard. Calligraphers had to be trained from a young age, sometimes from childhood; they studied examples called mufradat which had the letters of the alphabet written out singly and in combination with other letters.

The great calligraphers could write perfectly even without the proper tools and materials. Although a calligraphic master might be deprived of the use of his preferred hand either as a punishment or in the battle field, he would learn to write equally well with his other hand. When the other hand failed him, he would astound his admirers by using his mouth or feet to hold the pen.

An aspiring scribe would observe his predecessors' art very carefully. To perfect his touch, sharpen his skills, and find a style of his preference, the scribe would imitate the masters of calligraphy with a diligent hand. Welch (1979, p. 34) cites the following quote from the Sultan Ali's treatise on calligraphy:

Collect the writing of the masters,
Throw a glance at this and at that,
For whomsoever you feel a natural attraction,
Besides his writing, you must not look at others,
So that your eye should become saturated with his writing,
And because of his writing each of your letters should
become like a pearl.

al-Bawwab reproduced the writing of Ibn Muqlah so exactly that his employer, the Buyid amir Baha' ad-Dawlah of Shiraz, could not tell the difference.

Arabic calligraphers integrate inner experiences with their experiences of external reality. By imbuing strokes with life and feeling, an equilibrium of energy flows from all composing elements. A calligrapher's integration of inner and external realities results in a very personalized style and is accompanied by concentrated and unremitting scholarly study. The development of a calligraphy style is as unique as the calligrapher's personality, and its achievement is considered as the representation of the individual's self-cultivation.

It is fascinating to think how great calligraphers such as Ibn Muqlah, Ibn al-Bawwab, and Yaqut al-Musta'simi strove for knowledge and made use of all possible resources from the past.

In almost all of the Arabic scripts, the spacing between lines and words overflows with a sense of freedom and a flexibility that reveals the creativity and spontaneity of the calligrapher. Through the calligrapher's momentum and sense of balance, a tranquil harmony is achieved that immediately appeals to the mind and to the heart.