Islamic Calligraphy Short Report PDF

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This report contains on a brief of Islamic Calligraphy, why should learn Islamic calligraphy and example of Islamic calligraphy art...

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AAD 2110 ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY

ASSIGNMENT 1 Short Report on Islamic Calligraphy Styles and Scripts Used in Islamic Artwork

NAME : MATRIC NUMBER : LECTURER : DATE OF SUBMISSION:

NURSYUHAILA BINTI ZAINULMUJAHIDIN 1914694 ASST. PROF. DR. ZUMAHIRAN KAMARUDDIN 28TH OF OCTOBER 2020

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TABLE OF CONTENT Introduction………………………………………………………… Definition of Islamic calligraphy………………………………….. Opinion on why it is known as Islamic calligraphy……………… Why Islamic calligraphy subject is embedded in B.AAD………... Reasons should learn Islamic calligraphy…………………………. Types and styles of the Islamic calligraphy ……………………… How have been exposed to the calligraphy………………………. Artwork of Islamic calligraphy …………………………………... Application of knowledge and skills……………………………… Conclusion…………………………………………………………..

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1) INTRODUCTION Islamic Calligraphy is an art that contains the most important aesthetic beauty in Islam. It started under the auspices of Arabic writing which is in the circle of Islamic civilization. Initially used as a tool to gain knowledge and delivery information, Islamic calligraphy is used to write the holy verses of the Qur'an, then it is beautified again with suitable style to record the holy verses, then it has turned into an art that decorates the pages of books, mosques and other.

2) DEFINITION OF ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY Calligraphy generally has the meaning of beautiful writing art. The word calligraphy comes from the Greek word ‘kallos’ which means beautiful and ‘graphe’ which means writing. When it is associated with Islam , it leads to the art of writing Arabic letters beautifully, arranging the arrangement of single letters, their placement and ways of combining into one structured sentence, which contains about the verses of the Qur'an or Al hadith. According to Didin Sirojuddin, an Indonesian maestro in Islamic calligraphy, he defined Islamic calligraphy as the beautiful art of writing Arabic letters that contain verses about the Qur'an or Al hadith. This art was created and developed by Muslims since the advent of Islam. As the Arabic letters has a soft and artistic character, the Arabic letters become an appropriate subject for calligraphy writing.

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3) OPINION ON WHY IT IS KNOWN AS ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY In my opinion, it is called Islamic calligraphy because it is very related to the Qur'an and hadith because most of its writings is in Arabic letter that feature verses of the Qur'an or Hadith of the Prophet S.A.W. During the old day, calligraphy is used for writing verses from the Qur’an. Islam forbids depicting god in any human form or living creature so Muslims did not want the prophet himself as imaginary item so they avoided not to draw any images of him. As a result, the strip itself became a work of art. It is in the word of God, the Qalamullah, written down beautifully that Muslims feel his presence. To add my point of view, it is named as Islamic Calligraphy is to differentiate between Arabic Calligraphy and Islamic Calligraphy. Certain community especially non-Muslim community often misinterpret any Arabic things, culture and lifestyle as part of Islam when the truth is, it is only culture. Islam is a religion and it is a must to protect the sanctity of the religion so that community will not misinterpret between Arabic and also Islamic. Just like issues that happened to popular K-pop group NCT U after featuring an Islamic shrine and a religious text in one of their recent live shows. After performing their song titled ‘Make A Wish’ on a Korean music show, the boy band was attacked because of using photos of the Imam Husayn Shrine interior and a line from a prayer text of Muslim Shias as their backdrop of the stage. The Shrine of Imam Husayn is a mosque in Karbala, Iraq, where the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third Imam of Shia Islam, Husayn ibn Ali, were laid to rest. For Shia Muslims, it is considered a holy religious site.

The backdrop stage of NCT U performance Source: twitter.com

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The prayer line displayed

‫علىالمرملبالدما‬ ‫السالم‬ ‫على خامس اهلالكساء‬ ‫السالم‬

in Nasakh

style which is part of the Husaini Columns prayer or (Ziyarat Al- Nahiya) and it's made for the prophet Mohammad 's grandson, Hussain. The prayer line means "Peace be upon the fifth of the People of the Cloak, Peace be upon him, who was saturated in (his) blood" and it refers to the big massacre where Hussain and the prophet's family were killed. Even though it is Muslim Shia, many Sunni Muslim and people from other religion as well as fans and critics of NCT U have protested that using religious imagery as mere "decorations and aesthetic" was wrong and disrespectful for the band and the management team. Hence, it is very important to name it as Islamic calligraphy so that community will be more sensitive and respect towards it.

4) WHY ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY SUBJECT IS EMBEDDED IN B.AAD Islamic calligraphy subject is embedded in Bachelor of Applied Arts and Design is to expose students to the arts in Islam. Through this, students will realize that Islam is a beautiful religion because Muslims still can still express love for God through calligraphy instead of depicting god in any human form or living creature. This will help students to understand more that Islam never stops people from creating art as long as it is complied with the Shari'ah. To add, students will also be educated with high Islamic values in producing art such as having a good ethic, as well as producing an art that is good and does not deviate from the faith and religion. From that, students can apply the values learned in daily life and apply those values to their future workplace after graduating. Other than that, this subject is applied in this programme is to let the students realize that Islamic calligraphy can also be a source of creativity. This is because when talking about art, students are more driven to talk about western art. Through this subject, it can get rid the stereotype to refer to western art when seeking inspiration and creativity as well as being able to appreciate and elevate the dignity of Islamic art especially Islamic calligraphy. In wrap, this subject will bring many benefits and knowledge to in terms of theory as well as skills.

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5) REASONS SHOULD LEARN ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY One of the reasons for studying Islamic calligraphy is to challenge myself. Challenges keep life exciting, and things start to get dull if I am doing the same-old things all the time. There is a fun challenge if I determined to learn Islamic calligraphy. In my point of view, Islamic calligraphy is not too hard, but it's not too easy for a beginner. The techniques about how to handle the tools have to be right, and letter structures are very different from what are used to in our daily handwriting. There are so many challenges that dispersed along the way in doing Islamic calligraphy but the final result will be an enjoyable endeavor to take on. Once I have overcome the challenges and confident, I could learn how to create various style and design with the skills that I have gained. There's always something new to take on, no matter what degree of difficulty a person at. Next reason is to improve my handwriting in Arabic letter. In order to improve Arabic lettering and handwriting, I can try to learn through Islamic calligraphy. With the emergence of computers, many people and even myself are no longer needed to handwrite reports, data and information. It is important, to not let my handwriting get messy and illegible especially handwriting that uses Arabic lettering. By learning and practicing on Islamic calligraphy skills regularly, it can keep my handwriting skills sharp. Besides, I could also gain more knowledge on the verses of Qur’an as well as Hadith. It can be a daunting experience to learn Islamic calligraphy. People may assume that they don't have the ability or skill to create Islamic Calligraphy, but that's just not true. The right tools and a lot of patience are the only things really need ed to learn this knowledge and skills. Overall, learning this knowledge and skills of Islamic calligraphy gives many benefits and purposes.

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6) TYPES AND STYLES OF THE ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY THAT ARE FAMILIAR WITH AND HOW HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE CALLIGRAPHY Types of Islamic calligraphy that I am familiar with is Nasakh. Nasakh calligraphy style is often used by Muslims, both for writing religious texts and daily writing. Nasakh style is among the oldest calligraphic writing styles. Since the method of writing was formulated systematically by Ibn Muqlah in the 10th century, it had been adopted in many Muslim countries by 11th century. This style of Islamic calligraphy has been very popular in writing the Qur'an until now. Its lettering features are simple, cursive style with roundness and no additional decoration, making it easy to write and read.

Example of Nasakh style Source: google.com

There are some views on the name of Khat Nasakh. Some say it is called Nasakh which means to copy or write because this writing is used to book the Qur'an and various other scholarly manuscripts since the first century AH. It continues to be the main writing of scientific materials to this day whether in newspapers, magazines, computers and so on in addition to continuing to be the main writing of the Qur'an. For the purpose of writing these scholarly materials, there are two clear streams namely. Apart from the first opinion, there are researchers who explain the cause of this calligraphy named as Nasakh is because of its role. It also gives a meaning to eliminate or replace the use of Kufi calligraphy in the writing of God's revelation that is the Qur'an. After the emergence of Nasakh calligraphy, Kufi calligraphy was no longer used to write the Qur'an but its place was taken over by Khat Nasakh.

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I have been exposed to Nasakh style since 2009 when I was in 3 rd grade of primary school. It started when all students need to take the calligraphy subject or known as Khat starting from 3rd grade until 6th grade. In the syllabus, various types of calligraphy have been taught but the syllabus emphasized more on Nasakh because of its easy features for students at the primary level. We started from really basic technique, that is writing the Arabic or Jawi letter in single letter before combining the letters into one structured sentence or words.

One of the textbooks of calligraphy syllabus Source: google.com

Other than that, I also have been exposed to calligraphy tools that is very basic and suitable for students at young age to write calligraphy during that time. The most common tool was the calligraphy mechanical pencil but there are also other options to replace the calligraphy mechanical pencil which is carpentry flat pencil. Both pencils have the similar feature to the exact tools of Islamic calligraphy which i s flat nib.

Tools used during my calligraphy learning in primary school Source: google.com

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7) ARTWORK OF ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY The first artwork is a frame of ‘Bismillah 6’ which is hung in the living room of my house. This artwork was bought by my mom in 1995 with total price of RM 480 and it was handmade by her friend that lives in Kelantan. It was made from ceramic blends and molded using readymade molds.

Close up on artwork Source: Own Copyright

From this artwork, the style of calligraphy used is Nasakh style which is the most common style and easy to read. On top of the word ‫الر ِح ي ِ ْم‬ ฀฀ ‫الر ٰحْم ِن‬ ฀฀ ِ‫ ِبس ِْم للا‬is traditional Malay ornamentation called Awan Larat.

Awan larat ornamentation Source: Own Copyright

This artwork can be categorized as Islamic calligraphy because the Bismillah is a sentence that is familiar to Muslim that praises Allah which means ‘in the name of God, the merciful and compassionate.’ Bismillah is said when Muslims want to start every beneficial action. Rasulullah said, "Everything that does not start with bismillah (in another narration: by remembering Allah), then the practice is cut off (less) His blessings." (Riwayat Ibnu Majah). Besides, Bismillah 6 is often use to protect human being from any worldly threats or black magic. Allah also grants to whoever practice and reads this verse will have a blessed life, InshaAllah. 9

The second artwork is a frame of Surah Al-Falaq, which was given by my father's friend as a farewell gift when my father had to transfer work from Kedah to Johor in 1997. This Islamic calligraphy artwork was produced with beautiful, fine and high quality on pieces of goat skin.

Close sup on the texture of goat skin Source: Own Copyright

Based on self-observation, the goat skin has been through a preservation process so that the skin is more durable. The benefits of using goat skin are it is durable and a hard material, unlike ordinary paper that will soon be damaged and even the writing will fade. Like many other techniques, it has to go through several stages, starting with writing the script using a pencil to get a balance writing and to avoid in making mistakes before using a special pen and ink .

Arabic floral seamless border Source: Own Copyright

The style of calligraphy used is Khufi. Kufi style is a popular Islamic calligraphy style besides Nasakh. The name Kufi is taken in conjunction with the name of a city called al-Kufah located in Iraq. In general, the features of the Kufi calligraphy are square, upright, and straight, more to geometric shape with proportional measurement. To be detailed, Khufi style that used in this artwork is Khufi Muzakhraf or known as Ornamented Khufi which certain space and letter is filled and decorated with floral ornamentation. Furthermore, around the verse is also ornamented with arabic floral seamless border 10

8) APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS OF ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY As a student, there is still a lot to learn and to set target as well as goal is the most important things. From learning this knowledge and skills of Islamic Calligraphy, there are a few targets that I have set up for myself and I see, through this knowledge and skills, there are many things that can help me throughout my studies either for other courses or after I graduate in Bachelor Applied Arts and Design. At this moment, I can apply this knowledge and skills in my studio subject. As I am majoring in Industrial Design, I am always exposed to innovation. Maybe one day, I will design and innovate something that related to Islamic Calligraphy such as innovating the traditional calligraphy writing tools in my future project. To add, this knowledge and skills might help me to understand more and strengthen the knowledge on the history of Islamic art that I have learned during year one. Furthermore, in my point of view, Islamic calligraphy has a strong relation with Islamic geometry because most of decorations in mosques often have calligraphy inscriptions and are decorated with Islamic geometric patterns. Hence, I will use this knowledge and skills to look up for inspiration and new design for my upcoming assignment in the Islamic Geometry subject. Through out my studies, I have planned on taking khat skills in my curriculum credits to extend the knowledge and to solidify the skills that I will gain in this subject. To me, I think to have a skill is very important and impressive because skills can help us in various things. Therefore, it is a great loss if I do not hone the talents I have acquired even better. After graduating, I am planning to open my own craft studio and I am determined to achieve it. I can apply this knowledge and skills to create a craft or design that related to it such as wood carving, or maybe taking commission in designing and painting Islamic calligraphy as well as doing mural related to Islamic calligraphy.

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9) CONCLUSION In conclusion, it can be considered that calligraphy is one of the types of writing art that has colored the various teaching and learning of Islamic education which is also a high-quality Islamic art value while still guided by the Islamic value itself. Islam also strongly encourages Muslims to continue the activities of Islamic calligraphy art so that it can be a meaningful subject for the preservation of the greatest art taught in educational institutions. Let us all dignify and cultivate Islamic calligraphy art by beautifying it through writing calligraphy in various types, ornament it with shapes and patterns.

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REFERENCES •

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A., & Abdullah syafiq . Sebaik baik manusia adalah bermanfaat bagi orang lain. (2018, May 03). Definisi kaligrafi dan khat. Retrieved November 03, 2020, from http://syafiqkaligrafimasjid.blogspot.com/2018/05/definisi-kaligrafi-dan-khat.html Kufi Script - Kufi ( Kufic ) Arabic calligraphy Style. (2018, August 07). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from https://www.arabic-calligraphy.com/arabic-calligraphystyles/kufi/ Unknown. (1970, January 01). Belajar Khat, Masihkah penting ? Retrieved November 03, 2020, from http://santripelosok.blogspot.com/2017/11/belajar-khat-masihkahpenting.html Wardah. (n.d.). Seni Kaligrafi Islam (Seni Khat). Retrieved November 03, 2020, from http://wardahwnm.blogspot.com/2011/03/seni-kaligrafi-islam-seni-khat.html

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