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Islamic Calligraphy
Flowing patterns, intricate geometry, mysticism in letters—these are the elements of Islamic calligraphy. Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing, celebrating the sounds and meanings of the sacred text, the Qur'an, and preserving its accuracy. To write the Qur'an is an act of devotion and merit, as it is to recite it. As we beautify the spoken word with our voices and cadences, we use the pen as the ambassador of intelligence, the messenger of thought and interpreter of the mind to render in calligraphy music for the eyes.
Letters are the raw material of calligraphy, never divorced from meaning, but like music, true calligraphy also works on a wordless level. Balance, harmony and theme combine and cooperate together with the visual to enhance meaning to give greater power to truth.
Calligraphy was one of the components of Islamic classical education. Transmitted in an unbroken lineage from original sources, its knowledge was utilized and revitalized by people who devoted their lives to their art. To have received the knowledge granted in the ijazat, the diploma or testimonial of competence, meant that one shouldered the sacred license and duty of the calligrapher, to clothe knowledge via art in a new yet classical beauty, to strive and struggle to give old texts new resonance and power...thus to transcend the profane and convey the divine message in the disciplines of a spiritual geometry.
A working knowledge of calligraphy was once considered a necessary part of a young person's education, a greatly prized skill and an excellent discipline of mind. Now as then, a knowledge of calligraphy can refine the serious student's taste, develop his appreciation of the arts, and instill in him a love for universal beauty and form.
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