With a photo-rich teaching method that's welcoming to everyone, this introduction helps you use ink and a qalam a traditional reed pen to create flowing, timelessly decorative lines of Arabic script. The book begins with the history behind this art that decorates writings and architecture worldwide. Master calligrapher Alani next shows you how to choose the materials and prepare your tools. After a quick introduction to how the Arabic language works, he guides you through exercises to help you successfully write the 28 Arabic letters, join them together, and finally assemble them into phrases. Once you have mastered the basics, explore creating graphic compositions in each of seven major styles (Kufic, Thuluth, Naskh, Persian, Turkish, Riqaa and Maghrebi). Sometimes it takes years to be able to decipher a composition, but meanwhile, you can enjoy its aesthetic beauty. This guide helps beginners, like centuries of people before them, create graceful, meaningful art from words."

Beautifully illustrated, this is an essential reference work for students and connoisseurs of calligraphy alike.

Provides an easy-to-understand, practical guide to Arabic script. Explains the basic letter shapes, the combinations of letters, and different writing methods.--From publisher's description.

The first stroke-by-stroke guide ever produced for learning to write Naskh, one of the six major cursive Arabic scripts. Its origins can be traced back to the late eighth century AD and it is still in use today, over 1300 years later. The Ottoman Turks considered Naskh the script most suited for copying the Qur'an and today more Qur'ans are copied in Naskh throughout the Islamic world than in all other Arabic scripts combined. This introductory workbook makes it possible for everyone to learn and enjoy the beauty of Arabic calligraphy. Based on his experience of running workshops and demonstrations at The British Museum and other cultural institutions around the UK, Mustafa Ja'far has created an easy-to-follow, teach-yourself guide.

"For centuries, Islamic calligraphy has mesmerized viewers with its beauty, sophistication, and seemingly endless variety of styles. How to Read Islamic Calligraphy offers new perspectives on this distinctive art form, using examples from The Met's superlative collections to explore the enduring preeminence of the written word as a means of creative expression throughout the Islamic world. Combining engaging, accessible texts with stunning new photography, How to Read Islamic Calligraphy introduces readers to the major Islamic script types and explains the various contexts, whether secular or sacred, in which each one came to be used. Beauty and brilliance emerge in equal measure from works of every medium, from lavishly illuminated Qur'an manuscripts, to glassware etched with poetic verses, to ceramic tiles brushed with benedictions. The sheer breadth of objects illustrated in these pages exemplifies the ubiquity of calligraphy, and provides a compelling introduction to this unique art form"--Publisher's description

A fantastically fun book for those who love classic Arabic calligraphy, This islamic coloring book contains 50 designs to colour in and enjoy, with each design made up of Arabic lettering surrounded by beautiful Islamic themed and old-school wild-style, graffiti art flavors. In expressing art there is no right way or wrong. Everything that you deem beautiful is art. Art is soul-food. This colouring book is another step to reach out to those who have a yearning to combine innate artistic talents with the spiritual.This book combines both art-forms with style, funk, flow and finesse. Kick your feet, up relax and unwind with this fun stress-relieving book today!

Joint Winner of the 2007 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize for Middle Eastern StudiesThis stunning book is an important contribution to a key area of non-western art, being the first reference work on the art of beautiful writing in Arabic script.The extensive use of writing is a hallmark of Islamic civilization. Calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, became one of the main methods of artistic expression from the seventh century to the present in almost all regions from the far Maghrib, or Islamic West, to India and beyond. Arabic script was adopted for other languages from Persian and Turkish to Kanembu and Malay. Sheila S. Blair's groundbreaking book explains this art form to modern readers and shows them how to identify, understand and appreciate its varied styles and modes. The book is designed to offer a standardized terminology for identifying and describing various styles of Islamic calligraphy and to help Westerners appreciate why calligraphy has long been so important in Islamic civilization.The argument is enhanced by the inclusion of more than 150 colour illustrations, as well as over a hundred black-and-white details that highlight the salient features of the individual scripts and hands. Examples are chosen from dated or datable examples with secure provenance, for the problem of forgeries and copies (both medieval and modern) is rampant. The illustrations are accompanied by detailed analyses telling the reader what to look for in determining both style and quality of script.This beautiful new book is an ideal reference for anyone with an interest in Islamic art.Key Features* Written by the world's leading expert on Islamic calligraphy* Includes c.150 colour illustrations* Comprehensive: covers the art of calligraphy throughout Islamic civilisation, from the 7thc. to the present* The first volume to explain this art form to modern readers, guiding them in the identification, understanding and appreciation of its varied style