ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY

10/16/12 Melissa Huff

Why is Art important?

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A horse made out of silk with calligraphy drawn inside.

“God is beautiful and loves beauty”

This is a very famous phrase which was actually said by the Prophet Muhammad. For the Muslim, art is reflected on their culture. It also reflects on their own views of their beliefs, and the way they live. Muslims revolve their whole life around Allah, and they portray it in a lot of things like calligraphy. We might not usually think of it as an Art, but almost everywhere, their calligraphy is on mosques, homes, or streets. The image in figure one is actually a horse with calligraphy written inside which was made out of silk.

The Art of the Qur’an

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Verses from the Qur’an

The Qur’an, which is known as their most holy book in the world, is written in Arabic. The art of writing is valuable to the Muslims, and this is how they express themselves since they believe it to be from the word of God. Arabic Calligraphy is actually a symbol of unity, beauty, and power. Many verses from the Qur’an are on the walls of their Mosques and the Arabic calligraphy expanded to different styles in writing, with different curves or lines.

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Framed Arabic Calligraphy

Calligraphy Everywhere

Something that is worn and is very common for Muslims to have, are amulets. These are designed with many different carvings and calligraphy on them. The purpose of an amulet is to protect the wearer from threats in the world. This is to be worn every day, underneath your clothing, around the neck, or on the upper arm. These beautiful art objects are usually made in agate or jade which are easy for carving. The calligraphic carvings are the key elements; usually the amulet will have a verse from scripture or religious text. Many of these are made from the 17th or the mid-19th century. Calligraphy is very commonly written on tiles. This is a close image of the Dome of the Rock in figure six with verses from the Qur’an and Turkish tiles.

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Close-up image of the tiles on the Dome of the Rock

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Amulets worn everyday by Muslims

Amulets with scripture from the Qu’ran

http://www.wovensouls.com/images/horse%20calligraphy%20on%20silk%20003.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvf9s5FiAz1qd60lu.jpg

http://www.zakariya.net/gallery/index.html

http://www.biddingtons.com/content/expertamulet.html

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-dome-of-the-rock-photos/slides/dome-of-the-rock-exterior-detail-cc-Aaron-Wenner-flickr.jpg