Islamic Calligraphy

Abstract Calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, is a universal art form that garnered unparalleled esteem in Islamic cultures since the advent of Islam in the 7th century. The reasons behind the importance of Islamic calligraphy, often also referred to as “Arabic calligraphy,” as it generally utilizes the Arabic script, are manyfold but have primarily been attributed to references to the act of writing and writing accessories in the Qur’an (“recitations”), the holy text of Islam, as well as the role that the Arabic script served in the preservation and transmission of Islamic scripture. Calligraphy was integral to the formation of a distinct visual identity for the earliest Muslim societies in Late Antiquity and continues to maintain relevance in the arts. The possible configurations that artfully arranged words may take and the content that words may carry are both limitless. There are no restrictions as to what words or phrases Islamic calligraphy may use, though it has traditionally been used to replicate scripture, prayers, poetry, or inscriptions that otherwise express the faith of the calligrapher, their patrons, or their audience. Islamic calligraphy may be used to inscribe a wide range of languages other than Arabic including but not limited to variants of Chinese, Hebrew, Persian, Spanish, Turkish, and Urdu, among others. Most examples of Islamic calligraphy are handwritten with ink on vellum or paper and are sometimes embellished with gold or colorful illumination. However, Islamic calligraphy appears in a multitude of forms and may be printed or composed in a variety of media (e.g., carpentry, ceramics, masonry, metalware, textiles). Islamic calligraphy has been admired, collected, and imitated by non-Muslims, and integrated into non-Islamic artistic contexts, especially in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. Far from a vestige of the past, there are innumerable living practitioners of the traditional scripts and Islamic calligraphy has been employed by modern and contemporary artists from around the world. The world-historical significance of the art form is so well-regarded that in December of 2021 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated “Arabic calligraphy” as a form of intangible cultural heritage.