Fundamentals of Islamic calligraphy in Singapore

The inaugural Islamic Calligraphy Exhibition, an Arabic and Islamic calligraphy event, has concluded in Singapore with the prize-giving ceremony for the IRCICA Regional Competition of Calligraphy in South East Asia 2018. The exhibition introduced the public to fundamentals of Islamic calligraphy, culminating in prize-winning works from regional calligraphers. Winners were largely from Indonesia.

Source: Competition booklet for the IRCICA Regional Competition of Calligraphy in South East Asia 2018. Set texts for the Jali Diwani, Diwani, Jali Ta'aliq and Nasta'aliq categories.

Source: Competition booklet for the IRCICA Regional Competition of Calligraphy in South East Asia 2018. Set text for the Riq'a category.

Sheikh Belaid explains what an
ijazah is.

During a tour of the exhibition, Sheikh Belaid Hamidi, who has been the Royal Calligrapher of Morocco, explained the various tools of the trade to the audience.

Pens of bamboo are used for the writing. The tip is shaved at an angle to create a point, which is then shaped like a chisel but angled so that it mirrors the slant created when the forefinger and middle finger are held together.

Specially prepared ahar paper is dull on one side and shiny on the other. The shiny side, created through a coating of egg white and alum, creates a barrier between the pores of the paper and the ink so that the calligraphy can be preserved for centuries. The coating also enables mistakes to be easily corrected with saliva. Ahar paper is typically stored for at least a year before it is used.

Silk figures in traditional Arabic calligraphy. It is frayed and placed in the inkwell to absorb the ink and allow an appropriate quantity of the ink to be taken up by the nib. It also protects the fragile nib when it is dipped into the inkwell.

The exhibition was the first time ijazahs by Singapore calligraphers were on display. The sheikh explained that the ijazah is a certification of competency in Arabic calligraphy, received when a student reaches maturity as a master calligrapher who is able to imitate the work of another master calligrapher exactly.

The master - Sheikh Belaid in the cases of the ijazahs on exhibit - signs the ijazah in recognition that the student has mastered a particular script, names his or her own teacher - Hasan Shalabi of Turkey in this case - and gives permission for the student to sign his or her own name with work done of that script. This ensures that the lineage of the instruction can be traced for the past 500 years.

Ijazahs on display showed Thuluth (الثلث) and Naskh (النسخ), the scripts of the Quran and mosques; Maghribi, a script found in Morocco that Sheikh Belaid introduced to this part of the world; variations of Kufi (الكوفي), Nasta'aliq (التعليق) that came to Turkey via Iran, Jali Diwani (الديواني الجلي) and Diwani (الديواني) scripts.

Detail of the lock at the end of a

Jali Diwani illuminated artwork. 

Part of Surah Al Imran, ayah 132-134. 

Calligrapher, Mohamad Zaenudin 

Ahmadun, Indonesia. 1st prize in the Jali 

Diwani style, 10th International 

Calligraphy Competition, 2016. 

Illumination by Songul Sumen Ak, 

2016.

The Ottoman empire designated different fonts for different applications. Naskh was used for the Quran and Riq'ah (رقعة) for the day-to-day use. The Diwani script was invented during Ottoman times, and only used for royal decrees. To prevent alterations, the letters of this script look different from other scripts; are written very close together, and end off with a symbol that looks like a leaf, called a quful (قفل, lock). The calligraphers of the Sultan had to swear not to bring the script outside of the Palace.

Sheikh Belaid further commented on the winners of the IRCICA Regional Competition of Calligraphy in South East Asia 2018. He noted that there were only subtle differences in quality between the first-prize and third-prize winners, and that the strength of the composition mattered. The placement of each letter is typically planned ahead of time, and not written spontaneously.

He added that some words had to be shaped in exactly the same way whereas others offered some leeway for the calligrapher to express himself or herself. This could be in the length of certain strokes, the angle chosen for the calligraphy, or in the variation of the letter chosen.

For the Jali Diwani entries, all of which were written in the shape of a sword, he commented that it is permissible to use a character to create a space within Jali Diwani calligraphy, but only if it is within a word as opposed to the beginning or end of a word, which could allow alterations.

The competition was organised by the OIC Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), in cooperation with the Bustan Khat Center and Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah to commemorate the birth of the Prophet (ﷺ) in 2018 (1440). It was open to calligraphers in Southeast Asia who had studied calligraphy in the traditional way from a master of calligraphy who is authorised to give ijazahs (إِجَازَة) to his or her students.

Judges included Sheikh Belaid, who is from Morocco; Efdaluddin Kılıç of Turkey; Ataullah, of Indonesia and Mohamad Nasrullah Refa’ie, from Singapore.

IRCICA has been organising calligraphy competitions since 1986. The 11th International Calligraphy Competition, with results announced in 2019, has 10 categories: Jali Thuluth (الثلث الجلي), Thuluth, Naskh, Muhaqqaq (المحقق), Thuluth-Naskh, Jali Ta'aliq (التعليق الجلي), Ta’aliq (Nasta'aliq), Jali Diwani, Diwani, or Kufi.

Hashtags: #khatsingapore, #khatsg, #islamiccalligraphy, #arabiccalligraphy, #madrasahaljunied, #thebustankhat

Explore:

View pictures of the event on Facebook

Visit Belaid Hamidi's Facebook page to see highlights of the competition