Al-Nuwayn's Classification of Arabic Scripts @ Adam Gacek
Al-Nuwayn's classificationof Arabic scripts @ Adam Gacek
A number of classicaland post-classicalArabic texts cal data, one learns that al-Nuwayn must have been on penmanshiphave come down to us. Some of them quite a skilled penman. Ibn Taghrrbirdr reports, for have been edited and translated.some are known to example,that he practisedthe so-called'proportioned existin manuscript,and still others,reported in various writing' (al-khatt al-mansub),copied three gatherings r. sources.are yet to be discovered At the same time. (kararrs) a day and executedal-Sahrh of al-Bukhàri many studiesof varying calibre have been written on eight times,each time sellingit for 1,000dinars: quite penmanshipby both Islamic and Europeanaurhors. clearly a considerableamount of money in those Despitethis, we are far from having a clear picture of dayss. It is not surprising, therefore, that he should the developmentof variousArabic scripts.their rela- have included a section on penmanship in his opas tionship to eachother and their appellarions.The root magnum entitled Nihayat al-arab Jï.funun al-adab6. of the problem lies in the classicaiand post-ciassical This short text. one of the earliest of Mamluk literatures of the various Islamic regions. For, as 'Like writings on penmanship,should be looked A. D. H. Bivar rightly observes, other branchesof at in the context of other works of period, Arabic technical literature (e.g. archery), calligraphy the namely those of Ibn al-Sá'igh.al-Qalqashandr, showsin certain periods tracesof a divided tradition, al-Hiti and al-Tïbï?. It suppliesus with much additional information the compiler and the practitioner being no longer the on the scripts.their namesand relationship same.Thus writers,perplexed b-v the constantlychang- to eachother, as well as some of their features.Of significance ing fashions and terminolog.v.lost touch u'ith the here is the ciassificationitself based on the ideaof fundamen- practicalmeaning of the technicalitiesin their sources. tal (a.i/) and derived (làr') understanding them on11,in hollorl et1'mological scripts.The author quite terms'2. rightly talks about the five primary scripts (al-aqlam al-khamsah)and not the so-called.sittah (i.e. al-aqlam This. of course, does not mean that this literature al-sittah),for the simple reason that al-Ruy'hanis not should be ignored. On the contrary, if we are to arrive an asl-scriptbut a derivativeof al-Muhaqqaq. at a clearerpicture of Islamic calligraphy,the available literature ought to be carefully studied and subse- quently confronted with dated specimens,preferably ar-Nuweynr's CrassrrrcATroN those of master calligraphers. Furthermore, the 'The attempt at reconstructing the picture will be more final stage of learning how to write concerns meaningfulif it is done for certaingeo-political regions proficiencyof penmanship(kitàhat al-ra.jw.rel).Itis the and periodsof Islamichistory. This would enableus to basis (asl) of all that we have written before. The differentiatebetween, for example. ctl-Ríqu'aspractised person who wants to attain it has to master the in Mamluk Egypt and al-Riqa' as practised in the [different] scripts (aqlam al-kirabah) and acquire Persianateworld. The correct identificationof various knowledgeof their rules,as laid down by al-WazrrAb[ 'arabicised' scripts, as well as their nomenclature,will remain a Ah ibn Muqlahe, when he the writing by greatdilemma, unless stylistic differences of region and transforming it from its Knfiform to its new form, and period have been properly understoodand isolated3. elaboratedon by Alï ibn Hilál al-Kátib, known as Ibn al-Bawwáb10. The text presentedbelow has been found quite by chanceand as far as we know is not known to those This knowledgeof scriptsis basedon five principal whose interestlies in Arabic calligraphy. It was com- hands (al-usul al-khamsah):qalam al-Muhaqqaq, qalam posed by Sharaf al-Drn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Wahháb al-Naskh, qalam al-Riqa', qalam al-Taw'aqí'and qalam lr-NuwlyRf, an Egypt historian and polymath, born al-Thuluth. These five are the primary scripts from in 67711278in Q[s, a small village situated north of which other scripts branch off. God willing, we shall Luxor. He was in the serviceof Sultan al-Násir and mention those later. The reasonsfor, and etymology died in Cairo ín 73311333a.At first sight he seemsan of, their appellationsshould [first] be mentioned.It is unlikely candidate to have written anything about said that al-Muhaqqaqwas so named becauseit is the penmanship.Yet, when piecingtogether his biographi- foundation of penmanship(asl al-kitabah)and requires
Manuscriptsof the Middle (1987) East 2 .a- Ter Lugt Press.Donkersteeg 19, 2312 HA Leiden. Netherlands.l9g7 ISSN0920-0401 AL-NUWAYRI'S CLASSIFICATION OF ARABIC SCRIPT 127 exactness(tafiqíq) in the execution (x,ad') and the kóniglichenBibliothek zu Berlín (Berlin. 1887-1899).vol. I, 'al-Khatt composition(tarkíb) of the letters11 ; al-Naskft,because pp. 9-10. See also K[rkis Awwád, al-'arabrÍ-í áthár books are copied in it, and it was developedas the al-dárisrn qadïman wa-hadithan', al-Mah'rid, 15. no.4 -412. meansmost suitablefor their transcription (naskh)on ( 1986),pp.377 2 review of Y. H. Safadi's Islamic r:alligraphv account of the straightnessof its lines, the finenessof See his r 2 (London. 1978) in Bulletin o./ the School oí Oriental and its lettersand the uniformity of its constituentparts ; African Studíes,Unir'. oJ'London, vol. XLII, pt.3, pp.564- al-Riqa'; becauseit was used for writing messages - 56s. (riqa') for everydaypurposes do you not seehow 3 The first attempt to analyseArabic sourceson calligra- 'Arabic much beauty there is in them? If they were written in a phy was made by N.Abbott in her two studies: script other than this, they would not be well-regarded paleography',Ars Islantica8 (1941).pp. 65-104and The rise by peoplet 3; al-Tatt'aql',because it was used for writing o/' the ltíorth Arahit' script and iÍs kur'anic developntent decrees(tatraqt') issuing from caliphsand kingstol.al- (Chicago, 1938).A good and. to our knowledge the only. Thuluth, for writing edicts (ntanashtr).which were example of a study concerning a particular region and 'The hook ín written on fpaper etc. of] Íhe thuluth format (.qat'ul- period is P. Soucek's arts of calligraphy', The thuluth)1 s. These are the reasons for giving these CentrolAsia, l4th-l6th t:enturies,ed. B.Gray (Paris;London. 1979).pp.7-34. The problem of nomenclatureis Islamic scriptsthe above names. 'Estab- calligraphl'was raisedby M. U. Zakariyain his paper Each of the above-mentionedscripts (al-uqlàm al- lishing a corrcct nomenclaturefor Arabic scripts',presented khamsuh) branches off into other scripts. since each to the SixteenthAr.rnual Meeting of the Middle EastStudies script can have its large (lit. thick. ghalt:). small (lit. Association.Philadelphia. Pennsl''lviinia, Nov. 1982.In view light, khaf\/) and median (ntuÍax'ussit) r'arietl'rÓ. Thus. ol the inportanceof rttachingthe right labelto a script.the r"rsed other Arabic sourceshave becn al-Muhaqqaq branches off into Kh!ïÍ ul-Mulluqquq nanlcs in this and cmphasisedin rcllant lbotnotes. and al-Rat,l.tanr';from al-l,laskltis derived ul-,1ítttrt. + \'Isul' ibn Taghribirdl. ul-Manltul al-saíïv'a-ul-musÍutrfï which is its larger version, al-Hax'usltí.*'hich rs its bu'd ul-vàlr. ed. Ahrnad Y[suf Najáti (Cairo. 1956).vol. l. smaller version, and al-Manthur, whtch separatesone pp.36l-362; Ja'far ibn Tha'lab al-Adfuwï.al-Talí' al-sct'td. t8: word from another with a [ong] blank space al- ed. Sa'd Muhammad Hasan (Cairo. 1966).pp.96-97. Riqa'branchesoff into al-Ghubar,which is its smaller s Ibn Taghrí6ird7,loc. c'il.That al-Nuwayrt was a practi- re, variety. hke al-Hau'ashíin relation to al-Na.skh and tioner of this art can be seen from a specimen of his is usedfor writing on small piecesof paper (ntulattaf'at, handwriting included in Khayr al-Din al-Zirkilí. ol-Á7c7nt. bata'iq), as well as al-Muqrarin,which is employedfor 4th ed.(Beirut. 1979). vol. l. p. 165. writing in pairs of lines(satran muzdaw'ijan)20, although ó This thirt.v-volumeu'ork is still in the processof being this can be done in another script than this. but then it edited.Thc releiantsection on scriptscan be Íound in vol.5. pt 9. pp.ll0-113. is called differently;in addition. al-Riqu' is charac- - 'chaining' Fcrrbibliographical cletails sec ,lppendi.v nos. 11. 19.2l terised by of its letters QnLt.sul.sul):ul- 'chained' and ll. To this list shouldbe addedat leastt\\'o more very Tav'aqr'[also]has its letters by meansof thin important exponentsof thc art of penmanship.namely al- (tash'rrat)21. From al-Tltulutlt and al- hairlines Zilláwi and al-Áthárï(nos. l6 and 18).Although now enu- Muhaqquqstems a/-ls h'ar22. merated in the Select bibliography. the two works of al- There is also al-Dhahab(lit. gold). uhich may be Ziftáw1 and al-ÁthárT and a few others came to my notice paper publication. written either in the form of al-Thuluth or al-Tatraqr'. after this had been submitted lor Conse- quently. they are absent, when relevant comments and but without the hairlines. becauseof its tarmrk in a comparisonsare made. in the footnotes. gold. (The tarmík is a processof colour other than the 8 It is not clear when the expressional-aqlant al-sittah outlining a letter with a very fine calamusin a colour establisheditself in calligraphic circles. Qádi Ahmad. for 'May other than that used for the letter)23.There is also a/- example.states: it not be hidden from the minds of Tumar of the kamil variety. the largest of all scripts, the clear-sightedthat Ibn-Muqla was the inventor of the usedfor writing at the headsof scrolls(duru.i), and al- 'Ibn alreadydistinguished by pp. 886-887.s.v. Mukla'' For the appraisal of his bah' (p. 126)these two scriptswere 'The teachers of Ibn al- contribution to calligraphysee N. Abbott, contribution Muhammad ibn Asad, one of the of Ibn Muklah to the North-Arabic script', AmericanJour' Bawwáb. 1e letter-shapesare those nal of Semitic Languagesand Literqtures56 (1939)' pp'70- According to al-Qalqashandïits 'The finer and rounder than 83: see also E. Schroeder. so-called Badi' script. a of at-Thututhand al-Taw'ql',but it is (tarv'ts)(op. cit'. vol'3. mistakenidentiÍication', Bulletin oJ'theAmerican Institute of al-Tavrqt'and rarely uses serifs qalam al-Janah and Irqnian Arr end Archeologt,,5 (1937)'pp. 146-147;Idem, p. 115). At-Ghubar is also known as messagesdilivered 'What was the Badi' script'. Ars Islamit'a,a 0931), pp'232- qalam al-Bara'iq becauseit was used for 'The and al-l{askh (a1- 248; M.Minovi. so-calledBadi' script', Bull. Am. Inst' by pigeon-post.It is derived from at-Riqa' p' Ibn al-Sá'igh,Tufu.fah, Iran.Art,5 (1937),pP.143-146. Qalqashandi,op. cit.,vol.3, 128; ro Also known as Ibn al-Sitn (d' 413i1022) , seeEncyclo' p.100). 'Ibn 20 al-TTbi' op. cit', paedia of Istam, new ed., vol.3, pp' 736-731,s.v. al- For a specimenol ul-Muqtarrn see Bawwáb'; see also The unique lbn al-Batt'ttab manuscript, p.41. 21 Al-Tatraqr' and at-Riqa' are very much a pair of complete .facsimile edition o.f the earliest surviving naskhi scriptswith close affinities;the joining of letters.especially Qur'an.2vols. Graz, 1983. joined. being their major 1r The word muhaqqaq(not muhaqqiq)was used in the those which are not normally variousletter-shapes, senseof a standard of excellence.as well as a script (see characteristic.Al-Hïtl. when discussing and àl-Tax'aqí' al- N. Abbott. The riseo/' the llorth Arttbic sctipt. pp'28-29. refers to al-Tctwaqí' al-thuluthtvah 12 abused riqa'n'ah.clearly linking togetheral-Thuluth, al-Tav'àqí' and Al-l,la.skh.not ÀasÀftr.This rs one of the most 'Lmdah, With al-Ghuharthey words in Arabic calligraphy.No Arabic sourcewhich I have ut-Riqa'(seehis pp. 12, 11,21). al-aqlant al-lavyínah (also consulted usesthe term .Ày'a.sk/tl form a group of scripts known as 'soft' curvilinear 13 Al-Qalqashandi(Suhh ul-a'sha. vol.3. p. I l5) is more murattahah or nluqaí'\'arah). i.e. the or (also mahsutah), explicit when he says that the name is derived from small scripts,as opposed lo al-aqlantul-t'ahisah 'dry' main representative piecesof paper (ruq'ah, pl. riqa') usedfor short messages. i.e. the or rectilinearscripts whose ta Al-Qalqashandiuses the Íerm ql-Taw'qí'b:ut saysthat is al-Muhaqqaq. 22 ar is a hybrid of al- somepeople refer to this script in its plural form, namely rzl- According to al-Tibr ul-Ash knorvn as ul-Mu'annaq Tau'qt'at(ihid.,vol.3. p.100). The brokenpluralis alsoused Muhaqqaq and al-lrleskftand is also 'Someobservations on the by Ibn al-Sá'igh,al-Hiti and al-Tíbi. As regardsthe appella- (op.cit., p. 18).See also D. James. Koran of Rukn al-Din tion al-Qalqashandlstates that the name is associatedwith calligrapheran Appnxorx 8. kswÀN AL-SAFÁ',4/10th cent. A sslncr BIBLrocRApHy oF CLASSICALAND Rasà'il lkhv,an al-$a.fa', various editions, see e.g. POST-CLASSICALTEXTS ON PENMANSHIP Beirut, 1957,vol. 1, pp.219-222.English translation: 'An H. G. Farmer, early Arabic treatise on calli- N.B. Those works which have been used by N. Abbott 'Arabic graphy', Glasgow (Jniversity Oriental Society Transac- in her Rise of the North Arabic suipt and tions,l0 (1940-41),pp.2l-26. paleography' have been marked with an asterisk. *1. 9. IsN A,r--BewwÀs,AIT ibn Hilál, d.41311022 IsN II--MuDABBIR,Ibráhim ibn Muhammad, fl.3/9th 'Al-Qas-rdahal-rá'ryah', Musawwar al-khatt al-'arabí cent. by Zayn al-Drn NájT(Baghdad, 1968), p.372. Also in al- 'Risálat al-'adhrá', Rasa'ilal-bulagha', ed. M. Kurd Trbï's (q.v.) Jami' mahasin.pp.l9-20. English transla- Alr (Cairo, 1946),pp.236-238. See also Zaki Mubarak, tion in The calligraphl' of Islam; reflectionson the state L'art d'ëcrire chezles arabesau III' siècle,étude critique of the art by Mohamed IJ.Zakarrya (Washington, sur la Lette vierge d'lbn el-Mudahbir (Cairo. 1931), 1979),p. 14.For commentarieson al-Ra'iyah seeSharh pp.22-25. 'ala Ibn al-Wal.tíd Ra'tyat lbn al-Bav,wab,ed. Hilál Náji 2. (Tunis. 1967),and'Sharlr al-manzfimahal-mustatábah 'ilm Ar-BacsoÀoi. Abd Alláh ibn Abd al-AzTz,fl.3 9th iT al-kitábah' (an anonymous compilation com- cent. prising the commentsof Ibn al-Wahrd and Ibn Basrs), 'Kitáb al-kuttábwa-sifat al-dawáh wa-al-qalam ua- ed. Hilál Ná1Í.al-Max'rid. 15, no.4 (1986),pp.259-270. 'Risálah tasrrfuhá'.ed. Hilál Nàji. ai-Mav'rid. 2. no.2 (1973). Seealso farïdah li-Ibn al-Bawwábfï siná'atal- pp.43-78.Also D.Sourdel.'Le < t4. 22. Ar--Hrunwï,Yàqlt ibn Abd Alláh,d.62611228 Ar-T-reI,Mulrammad ibn Hasan,d. after908/1502-3 Mu'jam al-udaba'(: Irshadal-arrb ila ma'rifat al- Jami' mahasin kitabat al-kunAb (: The kinds of adïb), ed. Ahmad Farrd al-Rifá'ï (Cairo, 1936-38), Arabic calligraphy according to the method oJ'Ibn al- pt.6,p.60. Bawwab), ed. Saláh al-Dln al-Munajjid (Beirut, 1962). 15. 23. Ar--Nuwnvnr,Ahmad ibn Abd al-Wahháb(Sharaf al- TÀsurusruzllo*t (Tashkóprilzade),Ahmad ibn Mus- Dïn),d.733 1333 tafá,d.968/1560 Níhayatal-arah fiJunun al-adab (Cairo, 1933-, repr., MiJïah al-sa'adahwa-misbah al-siyadah fi mawdu'at n.d.),vol.5, pt.9, pp.220-223. al-'ulum(Hyderabad , 1977), vol. 1, pp. 75-91. 16. x24. Ar--ZrrrÁwI,Muhammad ibn Ahmad (Shamsal-Dtn HÁrlr KslI-ïE*r (KÁnn Órlret), Mustafá ibn Abd Ab[ AIT)d.806/r403-4 Allàh,d.1067 'Minhàj 11657'an al-isábah Íi ma'rifat al-khutut wa-álát al- Kasllf al-zunun asamral-kutub wa-al-Junun.ed. kitábah', ed. Hilál Nàjl. al-Max'ricl, 15. no.4 (1986), G. Fliigel(Leipzig, 1835), vol.3, pp. 149-.157. Another pp.185-248. edition:Istanbul, 1941 (repr. Beirut, n.d.), vol. l, *ll. col.'707-7l4 1418 25. Ar--QnI-qnssaNor.Ahmad ibn Ali. d.82li 'Abd Subhal-a'sha.fr sina'at al-insha'(Cairo, 1963, repr., Al-SlvoÁwl, al-Qádir,fl. before12/l8th cent. 'Waddáhat n.d.), vol.3, pp l-222; vol.6. pp.194-195.See also al-usll fi al-khatt',ed. Hilál Nàjï. aË Daw' al-subh al-ntusalfar (abridgement of Subh al- Mawrid,l5, no.4 (1986),pp.159-172. Also extracts in a'sha),ed. Mahmld Salámah(Cairo 1906,pp. l8l-191 Musawwaral-khatt al-'arabtby Zayn al-Drn NájI (in particular). (Baghdad,1968), pp. 388-391. 18. 26. Ar-AurÁnr el-QunasnT, Sha'bán ibn Muhammad Ar--ZAeIor.Muhammad Murtadá. d. 1205r1790 'Hikmat (Zayn al-Drn Ab[ Sa'ïd),d.828,'1425 al-ishrilqiln kuttáb al-áfáq'.l\iatradir al' A1-'Ináyah al-rabbániyah Íï al-tarlqah al- ntuklttilttTt.ed. Abd al-SalàmHárln (Cairo:Baghdad. sha'bánTyah',ed. Hilál Nájï. af Mril riri.8. no. 2 (1979). 1951).rol.,i. pp.50-99. A studl on theabove work is pp.22l-284. under preparationb1 David James.It is to be x19. publishedshortly by Oxford UniversityPress in the series'Oxford Studiesin IslamicArt'. IsN A,I--SÀ'rcn,Abd al-Rahmán ibn Yfisuf, d.845r r441-2 21. Tuftfat utï at-albabfï sina'atal-khatt wa-al-kitab, ed. Ar-RIpÀï lr--QnsrÀlt,Ahmad ibn Muhammad(Abu HilálNáji (Tunis,1967). This work, underthe title'al- al-Abbás),d. 1256I 1840 Lum'ah ÍÏ'ilm al-khatt',was ascribed to Muhammad 'Nazm la'áli' al-simtÍÏ husntaqwrm badï' al-khatt', ibn Abd al-Rahmánal-Bakn (d.95211545)and trans- ed.Hilál Naj1, al-Mawrid,15, no.4 (1986), pp. 173-184. 'Mullammad lated by Edward Robertsonin his ibn Abd al-Ralrmánon calligraphy',Studia Semiticaet Wonr rN PRocRESS Orientalia(Glasgow Univ. OrientalSociety) (Glasgow, 1929),pp. 57-83.Robertson's translation used by a N.Abbott coverspp.23-76 (of the aboveArabic edition) Al-NannÀs, Ahmad ibn Muhammad (Abu Ja'far), foundin Mízanal-khatt (: d.338,950 only.The sametext can be 'Umdat Mizaníi'l-hall),six treatiseson calligraphyby Mustafá al-kuttáb'. being edited by Abd al-Qadd[s Hilmï Afandr, known as Hakkák zádah,a Turkish Ab[ Sálih of Jámi'at Mutrammad ibn Sa'[d al- calligrapherwho died 1268i1852 (Istanbul, 1986), pp.1- Islámryah, Riyád (see Akhbar al-Turath al-'Arabí, 39. no.23,1986, p.21). 20. b Ar-SrNrÀnt,Muhammad ibn al-Hasan,fl.84611442 Min Ari al-Tabnzr,d.819/1416 'Bidá'at 'Al-Mashq al-mujawwidÍï al-khal wa-as[lih,ed. Hilál fi khatt al-Nasta'hq' (a late lTth century Nà11,al-Mawrid, 15, no.4 (1986),pp.249-258. Also in Arabic translation), being edited by Bashrá Abd al- Musav,waral-khatt al-'arabï by Zayn al-Dïn Nájí Mahdï of al-Mu'assasahal-Ámmah lil-Athár wa-al- (Baghdad,1968), pp.392-395. Turàth bi-Baghdád(Akhbar, no. 16, 1984,p.2l). 21. c 'Amm Ar-Hrrr,Abd Alláh ibnAh, d.891/1486 ibn Khald[n fi siná'at al-kitábah', being edited Al-'Lrmdah,risalah fi al-khattwa-al-qalam, ed. Hilál by Mahmud Ali Makki of the University of Cairo Náji (Baghdad,1970). (Akhbar,no.3, 1982,p l9)