Islamic calligraphy#Calligrams

The traditional instrument of the Islamic calligrapher is the qalam, a pen normally made of dried reed or bamboo. The ink is often in colour and chosen so that its intensity can vary greatly, creating dynamism and movement in the letter forms. Some styles are often written using a metallic-tip pen.

[[File:Niebuhr Beschreibung von Arabien Tab XIII.png|thumbnail|Five principal Arabic calligraphic cursive styles:

{{ordered list|

| Naskh

| Nasta'liq

| Diwani

| Thuluth

| Reqa

}}]]

Islamic calligraphy can be applied to a wide range of decorative mediums other than paper, such as tiles, vessels, carpets, and stone. Before the advent of paper, papyrus and parchment were used for writing. During the 9th century, an influx of paper from China revolutionized calligraphy. Libraries in the Muslim world regularly contained hundreds and even thousands of books.{{rp|218}}

For centuries, the art of writing has fulfilled a central iconographic function in Islamic art.Tabbaa, Yasser (1991). "The Transformation of Arabic Writing: Part I, Qur'ānic Calligraphy". Ars Orientalis. 21: 119–148. Although the academic tradition of Islamic calligraphy began in Baghdad, the centre of the Islamic empire during much of its early history, it eventually spread as far as India and Spain.

Coins were another support for calligraphy. Beginning in 692, the Islamic caliphate reformed the coinage of the Near East by replacing Byzantine Christian imagery with Islamic phrases inscribed in Arabic. This was especially true for dinars, or gold coins of high value. Generally, the coins were inscribed with quotes from the Qur'an.

By the tenth century, the Persians, who had converted to Islam, began weaving inscriptions onto elaborately patterned silks. So precious were textiles featuring Arabic text that Crusaders brought them to Europe as prized possessions. A notable example is the Suaire de Saint-Josse, used to wrap the bones of St. Josse in the Abbey of St. Josse-sur-Mer, near Caen in north-western France.{{rp|223–225}}

As Islamic calligraphy is highly venerated, most works follow examples set by well-established calligraphers, with the exception of secular or contemporary works. In the Islamic tradition, calligraphers underwent extensive training in three stages, including the study of their teacher's models, in order to be granted certification.Roxburgh, David J. (2008). ""The Eye is Favored for Seeing the Writing's Form": On the Sensual and the Sensuous in Islamic Calligraphy". Muqarnas. 25: 275–298

File:A section of the Koran - Google Art Project.jpg, an early kufic example from the Abbasid period ]]

File:Bowl with Kufic Calligraphy, 10th century.jpg Calligraphy, 10th century. Brooklyn Museum ]]

{{Main|Kufic}}

The Kufic style emphasizes rigid and angular strokes, it developed alongside the Naskh script in the 7th century.{{Cite book|title=A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture|last=Flood, Necipoğlu|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2017|isbn=9781119068570|volume=I|location=Hoboken|pages=109–110|oclc=963439648}}Schimmel, Annemarie (1984). [https://UniversityofTexasBrownsville.on.worldcat.org/oclc/465842343 Calligraphy and Islamic Culture]. New York: New York University Press. p. 4. {{ISBN|0814778305}}. Although some scholars dispute this, Kufic script was supposedly developed around the end of the 7th century in Kufa, Iraq, from which it takes its name.Kvernen, Elizabeth (2024). [https://www.calligraphyqalam.com/styles/kufic/ "Kufic"], calligraphyqalam.com.Schimmel, Annemarie (1984). [https://UniversityofTexasBrownsville.on.worldcat.org/oclc/465842343 Calligraphy and Islamic Culture]. New York: New York University Press. p. 3. {{ISBN|0814778305}}. The style later developed into several varieties, including floral, foliated, plaited or interlaced, bordered, and square kufic. Due to its straight and orderly style of lettering, Kufic was frequently used in ornamental stone carving as well as on coins.Ul Wahab, Zain; Yasmin Khan, Romana (30 June 2016). "The Element of Mural Art and Mediums in Potohar Region". Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan. Vol. 53; No. 1 – Nexis Uni. It was the main script used to copy the Qur'an from the 8th to 10th century and went out of general use in the 12th century when the flowing naskh style become more practical. However, it continued to be used as a decorative element to contrast superseding styles.{{cite web|title=Kūfic script|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/324418/Kufic-script|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=3 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503135058/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/324418/Kufic-script|url-status=live}}

There was no set rules of using the Kufic script; the only common feature is the angular, linear shapes of the characters. Due to the lack of standardization of early Kufic, the script differs widely between regions, ranging from very square and rigid forms to flowery and decorative ones.

Common varieties include square Kufic, a technique known as banna'i.{{cite book |author1=Jonathan M. Bloom |author2=Sheila Blair |title=The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA212 |access-date=4 January 2012 |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530991-1 |pages=101, 131, 246}} Contemporary calligraphy using this style is also popular in modern decorations.

Decorative Kufic inscriptions are often imitated into pseudo-kufics in Middle age and Renaissance Europe. Pseudo-kufics is especially common in Renaissance depictions of people from the Holy Land. The exact reason for the incorporation of pseudo-Kufic is unclear. It seems that Westerners mistakenly associated 13th-14th century Middle Eastern scripts with systems of writing used during the time of Jesus, and thus found it natural to represent early Christians in association with them.Mack, Rosamond E. Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300–1600, University of California Press, 2001 {{ISBN|0-520-22131-1}}

{{Main|Naskh (script)}}

File:Copied by Mehmed Şevki Efendi - Qur’an - Google Art Project.jpg script by Mehmed Şevkî Efendi of the two intro pages of the Quran]]

File:Folio from a Qur'an (Mamluk dynasty).jpg script in a 14th-century Qur'an from the Mamluk dynasty ]]The use of cursive scripts coexisted with Kufic, and historically cursive was commonly used for informal purposes.{{cite web |title=The Art of Arabic Calligraphy, a brief history |url=http://www.sakkal.com/ArtArabicCalligraphy.html |author=Mamoun Sakkal |year=1993 |access-date=5 May 2014 |archive-date=22 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722050039/http://www.sakkal.com/ArtArabicCalligraphy.html |url-status=live }} Naskh first appeared within the first century of the Islamic calendar.{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ORgAAAAMAAJ&q=%22But+there+are+specimens+of%C2%A0Naskh%C2%A0style%22|title=بىاض|year=1977|publisher=Anjuman-e-Farsi|page=77}} Naskh translates to "copying", as it became the standard for transcribing books and manuscripts.Blair, Sheila S. (2006). Islamic Calligraphy. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 158, 165. {{ISBN|0748612122}}. The script is the most ubiquitous among other styles, used in the Qur'an, official decrees, and private correspondence.{{cite web |url=http://international.loc.gov/intldl/apochtml/apocfragments.html |title=Library of Congress, Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy: Qur'anic Fragments |publisher=International.loc.gov |access-date=2013-12-04 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203101039/http://international.loc.gov/intldl/apochtml/apocfragments.html |url-status=live }} It became the basis of modern Arabic print.

Kufic is commonly believed to predate naskh, but historians have traced the two scripts as coexisting long before their codification by ibn Muqla, as the two served different purposes.{{Cite journal |last=Ali |first=A. K. M. Yaqub |year=1984 |title=Muslim Calligraphy: ITS Beginning and Major Styles |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=373–379 |jstor=20847281}} Kufi was used primarily in decoration, while Naskh served for everyday scribal use.{{Cite book |title=The splendor of Islamic calligraphy |last=Khatibi |first=Abdelkebir |date=1996 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |others=Sijelmassi, Mohamed |isbn=0500016755 |location=New York |oclc=34275017}}

{{Main|Thuluth}}

File:basmalah-1wm.svg in an 18th-century Islamic calligraphy from the Ottoman region, Thuluth script]]

Thuluth was developed during the 15th century and slowly refined by Ottoman Calligraphers including Mustafa Râkim, Shaykh Hamdallah, and others, till it became what it is today. Letters in this script have long vertical lines with broad spacing. The name, meaning "one third", may possibly be a reference to the x-height, which is one-third of the 'alif, or to the fact that the pen used to write the vowels and ornaments is one third the width of that used in writing the letters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.calligraphyqalam.com/styles/thuluth/|title=Thuluth|last=Kvernen|first=Elisabeth|date=2009|website=CalligraphyQalam|access-date=11 September 2024}}

{{Main|Reqa'}}

Reqāʿ is a handwriting style similar to thuluth. It first appeared in the 10th century. The shape is simple with short strokes and small flourishes. Yaqut al-Musta'simi was one of the calligraphers who employed this style.{{Cite web|title=خط الرقاع|url=https://www.diwanalarabia.com/Display.aspx?args=D51AD7D059C2A84D88579A24C58DF90F49EA0329249558D0A816E020DF81F5F3563E7F0523B4C6E9060C9FB3DEE1725E29001BF3F91BE909770DCB474E55BE75B229C5814227ABC3|access-date=2021-04-16|website=example.ampproject.org|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416155538/https://www.diwanalarabia.com/Display.aspx?args=D51AD7D059C2A84D88579A24C58DF90F49EA0329249558D0A816E020DF81F5F3563E7F0523B4C6E9060C9FB3DEE1725E29001BF3F91BE909770DCB474E55BE75B229C5814227ABC3|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Kvernen|first=Elizabeth|date=2009|title=Riqa'|url=https://www.calligraphyqalam.com/styles/riqa/|access-date=11 September 2024|website=CalligraphyQalam}} The Arab, Ibn al-Bawwab is actually believed to have created this script.

{{Main|Muhaqqaq}}

Muhaqqaq is a majestic style used by accomplished calligraphers, and is a variation of thuluth. Along with thuluth, it was considered one of the most beautiful scripts, as well as one of the most difficult to execute. Muhaqqaq was commonly used during the Mamluk era, but its use became largely restricted to short phrases, such as the basmallah, from the 18th century onward.Mansour, Nassar (2011). Sacred Script: Muhaqqaq in Islamic Calligraphy. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. {{ISBN|978-1-84885-439-0}}

File:Miremad-1.jpg, perhaps the most celebrated Persian calligrapher]]

With the spread of Islam, the Arabic script was established in a vast geographic area with many regions developing their own unique style. From the 14th century onward, other cursive styles began to develop in Turkey, Persia, and China.

1. Maghrebi scripts developed from Kufic letters in the Maghreb (North Africa) and al-Andalus (Iberia), Maghrebi scripts are traditionally written with a pointed tip (القلم المذبب), producing a line of even thickness. Within the Maghrebi family, there are different styles including the cursive mujawher and the ceremonial mabsut.
2. Sudani scripts developed in Biled as-Sudan (the West African Sahel) and can be considered a subcategory of Maghrebi scripts
3. Diwani is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks in the 16th and early 17th centuries. It was invented by Housam Roumi, and reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–1566).{{cite web|title=Diwani script|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/166798/diwani-script|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=5 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505144516/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/166798/diwani-script|url-status=live}} Spaces between letters are often narrow, and lines ascend upwards from right to left. Larger variations called djali are filled with dense decorations of dots and diacritical marks in the space between, giving it a compact appearance. Diwani is difficult to read and write due to its heavy stylization and became the ideal script for writing court documents as it ensured confidentiality and prevented forgery.{{Cite web|last=Kvernen|first=Elizabeth|date=2009|title=Divani|url=https://www.calligraphyqalam.com/styles/divani/|access-date=11 September 2024|website=CalligraphyQalam}}
4. Nasta'liq is a cursive style originally devised to write the Persian language for literary and non-Qur'anic works.{{Cite web|last=Kvernen|first=Elizabeth|date=2009|title=Nasta'liq|url=https://www.calligraphyqalam.com/styles/nastaliq/|access-date=11 September 2024|website=CalligraphyQalam}} Nasta'liq is thought to be a later development of the naskh and the earlier ta'liq script used in Iran.{{cite web|title=Ta'liq Script|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/581497/taliq-script|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006085534/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/581497/taliq-script|url-status=live}} Quite rapidly gaining popularity as a script in South Asia. The name ta'liq means "hanging", and refers to the slightly sloped quality of lines of text in this script. Letters have short vertical strokes with broad and sweeping horizontal strokes. The shapes are deep, hook-like, and have high contrast. A variant called Shikasteh was developed in the 17th century for more formal contexts.
5. Sini is a style developed in China. The shape is greatly influenced by Chinese calligraphy, using a horsehair brush instead of the standard reed pen. A famous modern calligrapher in this tradition is Hajji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang.'[https://www.hajinoordeen.com/browsegallery "Browse Gallery"], hajinoordeen.com''.'''

In the post-colonial era, artists working in North Africa and the Middle East transformed Arabic calligraphy into a modern art movement, known as the Hurufiyya movement.Flood, Necipoğlu (2017). A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture. Volume II. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1294. {{ISBN|1119068665}}. {{OCLC||1006377297}}. Artists working in this style use calligraphy as a graphic element within contemporary artwork.Mavrakis, N., [https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/ "The Hurufiyah Art Movement in Middle Eastern Art"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430013131/https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/ |date=30 April 2020 }}, McGill Journal of Middle Eastern Studies BlogTuohy, Andy, Masters, Christopher, A–Z Great Modern Artists, Hachette UK, 2015, p. 56

The term, hurufiyya is derived from the Arabic term, harf for letter. Traditionally, the term was charged with Sufi intellectual and esoteric meaning. It is an explicit reference to a medieval system of teaching involving political theology and lettrism. In this theology, letters were seen as primordial signifiers and manipulators of the cosmos.Mir-Kasimov, O., Words of Power: Hurufi Teachings Between Shi'ism and Sufism in Medieval Islam, I.B. Tauris and the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2015

Hurufiyya artists blended Western art concepts with an artistic identity and sensibility drawn from their own culture and heritage. These artists integrated Islamic visual traditions, especially calligraphy, and elements of modern art into syncretic contemporary compositions.Lindgren, A. and Ross, S., The Modernist World, Routledge, 2015, p. 495; Mavrakis, N., "The Hurufiyah Art Movement in Middle Eastern Art," McGill Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Blog, Online: https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430013131/https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/ |date=30 April 2020 }}; Tuohy, A. and Masters, C., A–Z Great Modern Artists, Hachette UK, 2015, p. 56 Although hurufiyyah artists struggled to find their own individual dialogue within the context of nationalism, they also worked towards an aesthetic that transcended national boundaries and represented a broader affiliation with an Islamic identity.

The hurufiyya artistic style as a movement most likely began in North Africa {{circa|1955}} with the work of Ibrahim el-Salahi. However, the use of calligraphy in modern artworks appears to have emerged independently in various Islamic states. Artists working in this were often unaware of other hurufiyya artists's works, allowing for different manifestations of the style to emerge in different regions.Dadi. I., "Ibrahim El Salahi and Calligraphic Modernism in a Comparative Perspective," South Atlantic Quarterly, 109 (3), 2010, pp. 555–576, {{doi|10.1215/00382876-2010-006}}; Flood, F.B. and Necipoglu, G. (eds) A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture, Wiley, 2017, p. 1294 In Sudan, for instance, artworks include both Islamic calligraphy and West African motifs.Flood, Necipoğlu (2017). A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture. Vol. II. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1298–1299. {{ISBN|1119068665}}. {{OCLC|1006377297}}.

File:Ceiling of Frere Hall.jpg, Karachi, Pakistan, {{circa|1986}}. Mural by artist, Sadequain Naqqash integrates calligraphy elements into a modern artwork.]]

The hurufiyya art movement was not confined to painters and included artists working in a variety of media.Mavrakis, N., "The Hurufiyah Art Movement in Middle Eastern Art," McGill Journal of Middle Eastern Studies Blog, Online: https://mjmes.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/article-5/; Tuohy, A. and Masters, C., A–Z Great Modern Artists, Hachette UK, 2015, p. 56; Dadi. I., "Ibrahim El Salahi and Calligraphic Modernism in a Comparative Perspective," South Atlantic Quarterly, 109 (3), 2010, pp. 555–576, {{doi|10.1215/00382876-2010-006}} One example is the Jordanian ceramicist, Mahmoud Taha who combined the traditional aesthetics of calligraphy with skilled craftsmanship. Although not affiliated with the hurufiyya movement, the contemporary artist Shirin Neshat integrates Arabic text into her black-and-white photography, creating contrast and duality. In Iraq, the movement was known as Al Bu'd al Wahad (or the One Dimension Group)",[https://daratalfunun.org/?artist=shaker-hassan-al-said "Shaker Hassan Al Said,"] Darat al Funum, Online; Flood, Necipoğlu (2017). A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture. Vol. II. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 1294. {{ISBN|1119068665}}. {{OCLC|1006377297}}. and in Iran, it was known as the Saqqa-Khaneh movement.

Western art has influenced Arabic calligraphy in other ways, with forms such as calligraffiti, which is the use of calligraphy in public art to make politico-social messages or to ornament public buildings and spaces.Grebenstein, M., Calligraphy Bible: A Complete Guide to More Than 100 Essential Projects and Techniques, 2012, p. 5 Notable Islamic calligraffiti artists include: Yazan Halwani active in LebanonAlabaster, Olivia. [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2013/Feb-09/205688-i-like-to-write-beirut-as-its-the-city-that-gave-us-everything.ashx#axzz3DCxf8Utr; "I like to write Beirut as it's the city that gave us everything"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508123336/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Lifestyle/2013/Feb-09/205688-i-like-to-write-beirut-as-its-the-city-that-gave-us-everything.ashx#axzz3DCxf8Utr; |date=8 May 2018 }}, The Daily Star, Beirut, 9 February 2013, el Seed working in France and Tunisia, and Caiand A1one in Tehran.{{cite news|last=Vandalog|title=A1one in Tehran IRAN|url=http://blog.vandalog.com/2011/05/from-a1one-in-tehran-iran/|access-date=8 October 2012|newspaper=Vandalog|date=3 May 2011|archive-date=9 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509203029/http://blog.vandalog.com/2011/05/from-a1one-in-tehran-iran/|url-status=live}}

In 2017 the Sultanate of Oman unveiled the Mushaf Muscat, an interactive calligraphic Quran following supervision and support from the Omani Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, a voting member of the Unicode Consortium.Martin Lejeune, 15 June 2017, [https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/oman-unveils-world-s-1st-interactive-calligraphic-quran/842512 Oman unveils world's 1st interactive calligraphic Quran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523075112/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/oman-unveils-world-s-1st-interactive-calligraphic-quran/842512 |date=23 May 2021 }}

File:Folio from a Qur’an, sura 91,14-15; sura 92,1-5 (F1929.70).jpg|Kufic script in an 11th-century Qur'an

File:Folio Blue Quran Met 2004.88.jpg|Maghrebi Kufic script in the 9th or 10th century Blue Quran

File:Jame mosque yazd tilework.jpg|Square kufic tilework in Yazd, Iran

File:Cup votive inscriptions MET 40-170-15.jpg|Under-glaze terracotta bowl from the 11th century Nishapur

File:Hamdanid gold dinar, Nasir al-Dawla and Sayf al-Dawla.jpg|Gold dinar from 10th century Syria

Image:An example of Kufic Calligraphy.jpg|A Kufic calligraphy in Chota Imambara

Image:Qur'anic Manuscript - Mid to Late 15th Century, Turkey.jpg|Muhaqqaq script in a 15th-century Qur'an from Turkey

File:Qur'an manuscript Surat al-Nisa'. (1).tif|Muhaqqaq script in a 13th-century Qur'an

File:Muhammad ibn Pir Ahmad al-shahir bi-Ibn Arghun al-Shirazi - Text Page with Dedication to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I - Walters W5912A - Full Page.jpg|Naskh script in an early 16th-century Ottoman manuscript dedicated to Selim I

File:Ijazah3.jpg|Diploma of competency in calligraphy, written with thuluth and naskh script

File:Mausolée de Touman Aka (Shah-i-Zinda, Samarcande) (6009410911).jpg|Thuluth script tile in Samarkand

Image:Kalligráfia Hagia Sophia.jpg|Calligraphy of Ali decorating Hagia Sophia

File:مصحف مخطوط بالخط المغربي المبسوط ٥.jpg|A Moroccan Quran in a mabsūt Maghrebi script

File:Folio Quran Met 42.63.jpg|Surat Az-Zumar in an Andalusi script, from the Nasrid period in Al-Andalus

File:سورة الأعراف مكتوبة بالخط السوقي ٣.jpg|Surat Al-A'raf written in Suqi script, named after Essouk

File:Bifolium Mushal al-Hadina Quran Met 2007.191.jpg|Mushaf al-Hadina, from the Zirid period in Tunisia, in a Kufic script

File: Bismillah_2.svg|Bismillah Bismillah Thuluth

File:Quran with Chinese translation.jpg|Quran in Sini script with Chinese translations

File:Bismillah_2.svg|Bismallah calligraphy. Thuluth Jali

File:Muhammad calligraphy.svg|Muhammad calligraphy

File:Bismillah gold.svg|Bismallah calligraphy

File:Caligrafia arabe pajaro.svg|An example of zoomorphic calligraphy

File:Learning Arabic calligraphy.jpg|The instruments and work of a student calligrapher

File:Menulis khat.jpg|Islamic calligraphy performed by a Malay Muslim in Malaysia. Calligrapher is making a rough draft.

Some classical calligraphers:

{{columns-list|colwidth=40em|

;Medieval

• Ibn Muqla (d. 939/940)
• Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 1022)
• Fakhr-un-Nisa (12th century)
• Yaqut al-Musta'simi (d. 1298)
• Mir Ali Tabrizi (d. 14th–15th century)

;Ottoman era {{anchor|Ottoman-era calligraphers}}

• Shaykh Hamdullah (1436–1520)
• Ahmed Karahisari (1468–1566)
• Seyyid Kasim Gubari (d. 1624)
• Hâfiz Osman (1642–1698)
• Mustafa Râkim (1757–1826)
• Mehmed Shevki Efendi (1829–1887)
• Sami (İsmail Hakkı) Efendi (1838–1912)
• Hamid Aytaç (1891–1982)

;{{Further|List of Ottoman calligraphers}}

;Contemporary

• Mohammad Hosni (1894–1964), Syria
• Madiha Omar (1908–2005), Iraqi-American
• Hashem Muhammad al-Baghdadi (1917–1973), Iraq
• Shakkir Hassan Al Sa'id (1925–2004), Iraq
• Ziad Zukkari (1926–2014), Syria
• Sadequain Naqqash (1930–1987), Pakistan
• Ibrahim el-Salahi (born 1930), Sudan
• Abdul Djalil Pirous, known as A.D. Pirous (born 1933), Indonesian
• Uthman Taha (born 1934), Syria
• Hasan Çelebi (born 1937), Turkiye
• Charles Hossein Zenderoudi (born 1937), Iran
• Ali Adjalli (born 1939), Iranian master calligrapher, painter, poet and educator
• Wijdan Ali (born 1939), Jordan
• Mahmoud Taha (born 1942), Jordan
• Mohamed Zakariya (born 1942), United States
• Hassan Massoudy (born 1944), Iraq
• Fuad Honda (born 1946), Japan
• Abas Baghdadi (born 1951), Iraq
• Abdulraouf Baydoun (born 1956), Syria
• Hajji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang (born 1963), China
• Amir Kamal (born 1972), Pakistan
• Mothanna Al-Obaydi (born 1972), Iraq
• Soraya Syed (born 1976), United Kingdom
• Nuria Garcia Masip (born 1978) Spanish calligrapher
• Anil Kumar Chawhan Indian calligrapher

}}

{{columns-list|

• Illuminated manuscript
• Islamic architecture
• Islamic Golden Age
• Islamic graffiti
• Arabic miniature
• Islamic miniature
• Islamic pottery
• Museum of Turkish Calligraphy Art
• Ottoman Turkish language
• Persian calligraphy
• Sini (script)
• Uthman Taha

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Sister project links| wikt=no | commons=Category:Islamic calligraphy | b=no | n=no | q=Islamic calligraphy | s=no | v=no | voy=no | species=no | d=no}}

• [http://www.themuslimculture.com/islamic-calligraphy-of-quran-verses-and-other-terms/ Islamic Calligraphy Pictures]
• [https://mushafmuscat.om/ Mushaf Muscat]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110228232705/http://www.mastersofistanbul.com/en/ustalar/2/calligraphy mastersofistanbul.com]
• [https://baradariarts.com/ baradariarts.com]
• [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/calligraphy Gallery with much calligraphy in Turkish mosque]
• [https://www.reed.edu/persian-calligraphy/en/index.html Anthology of Persian calligraphers from 10th to 20th centuries]

{{Islamic calligraphy}}

{{Islamic art}}

{{Islamic architecture}}

{{Islamic studies}}

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