The Evolution of Islamic Calligraphy

1st Arabic Alphabet

512 BCE

During the 6th century in the year of 512, the first written form of the Arabic alphabet was created. It was developed in in the northern Arabian Peninsula in the cities of Mecca and Medina. The creator of this alphabet is unknown, but it is guessed that it was complied by many scholars and poets. This original alphabet has no cursive aesthetic of modern Arabic. It is the basic form that modern Arabic was created upon.

First Arabic Alphabet

512

1. During the 6th century in the year of 512, the first written form of the Arabic alphabet was created. It was developed in the northern Arabian Peninsula in the cities of Mecca and Medina. The creator of this alphabet is unknown, but it is thought that it was complied by many scholars and poets. This original alphabet has none of the cursive aesthetics of modern Arabic. It is the basic form upon which modern Arabic was created.

Kufic Script

Jan 1, 650

The first formal script of Islamic calligraphy was created in the 7th and 8th century. This was known as Kufic script and was created in Kufa, Iraq. Kufic script was the first widely used and commonly agreed upon written script in the Umayyad Dynasty of the Islamic Empire. This script is characterized by short vertical strokes coupled with long horizontal strokes. There is a strong visual rhythm within lines of varying thickness.

Ibn Mulqa creates guidelines for calligraphy

Jan 1, 900

Ibn Mulqa set the foundational for all forms of Islamic calligraphy. Ibn Mulqa was a scribe during the Abbasid Dynasty in the 10th century. He established a proportional system for Arabic letters to follow. He developed a circle guide called, alif, that is the structure each letter in calligraphy is based around. Every letter must be created as if there is an imaginary circle directing the strokes of the calligrapher. Scripts created in later years all followed this proportional system.

Maghribi Script

Jan 1, 940

The only major script created in North Africa was the Maghribi script created in the 10th century. This script was used in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and also Spain. Maghribi was developed around the same time as Thuluth script. The script has long descending lines with large unified thickness making it easy to read. Along with easy readability, it is also decorative in nature. Maghribi was used to created writings, inscriptions, and Islamic monuments.

Thuluth

Jan 1, 1001

Thuluth script was developed after Kufic script in the mid 10th century. It was used across the entire Islamic Empire, specifically developed in the Abbasid Dynasty in Iraq. Thuluth script is cursive with larger strokes and varying thicknesses. It is characterized with clear structure and good readability. During its time, Thuluth script was commonly used to decorate Mosques and was popular for transcriptions of the Qur’an.

Naskh Script

Jan 1, 1050

Along with Thuluth, there was a secondary script developed in the Abbasid Dynasty. In the 11th century Naskh script was developed. In Arabic, Naskh means “copy” which signifies its good readability. Naskh script contains open strokes that allows for excellent readability. Due to its good legibility, Naskh was used for long texts and lengthy Quranic inscriptions.

Ta'liq Script

Jan 1, 1060

Around the same time as Naskh script, Ta’liq script was created in Persia within the Safavid Dynasty. It was created under the rule of Shah Islma’il who made this Ta’liq the official script for the 11th and 12th centuries in Persia. Ta’liq means “suspension” because the Arabic letters seem to be linked together. Because of this ”suspension” this script is less legible with large curved spaces between each line. This script was used for messages, books, letters, and poems.

Nasta'liq Script

Jan 1, 1500

Amid the 15th and 16th century a script combining Ta’liq and Naskh elements was formed in Persia and Turkey. This script was called Nasta’liq. There are short vertical stokes from Naskh and long curved horizontal stokes from Ta’liq. Nasta’liq is categorized by hooked edges with varying thicknesses that is hard to write and is less readable. However, it is the most easily identifiable Persian Islamic script.

Diwani Script

Jan 1, 1550

The final developments of Islamic calligraphy took place during the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a period of amazing development for Islamic calligraphy where two major scripts were developed called Diwani, in the 16th century and Riq’a, in the 18th century. Diwani is cursive script with complex forms in long texts that can be hard to read. It was created for official documents, mostly legal contracts. However, because of its curved complexities it was also used for calligrams.

Riq'a Script

Jan 1, 1750

The second script of the Ottoman Empire was Riq’a. Riq'a is very simple in form and is easy converted to digital forms. For that reason it is commonly used today by many graphic designers to create easily readable works of art. Riq’a was the last major development in Islamic calligraphy. Though Riq’a is easily converted into digital forms, most modern day artists combine Riq’a with other Islamic calligraphy scripts.