The Story of Islamic Calligraphy

In sync with the artist's breath and thoughts, the pen must move smoothly at a precise angle with right amount of pressure to continue writing the words of God. Fatih Özgaf practices Islamic art of decorative handwriting, similar to calligraphy, but with a deeper philological meaning. A tradition revered and considered sacred by Muslims for centuries. Calligraphy is the Islamic way of artistic expression. What is calligraphy? Calligraphy is a type of script invented after the revelation of the Quran in the Arabic language to make the words look more beautiful. Before that, the Arabic script wasn't considered artistic, but after the Quran was revealed, Muslims made it their mission to write it in a beautiful way. Okay, what are you going to draw today? I'll write in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Magnificent. Okay, this was the first verse of the Quran. Okay. From one of the caves overlooking Mecca, Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation of the Quran, and it continued in pieces for the next 23 years. In the beginning, there were the Arabs, which were having the Prophet within their community and started converting. But by the time the verses of the Quran was coming in pieces, in longer short pieces, most of them were memorizing it because their culture was on memorization. They didn't leave any written material about their culture. After the passing of Prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century, Muslims compiled and transcribed the holy book, marking a shift from an oral to a written religious tradition. Muslims were faced with another challenge. They could not use figurative arts to illustrate the essence of their preaching. When the Quran came, in Arabic society, we were all idol worshippers. So this is the advice for the Muslim community not to have the risk of going back to the earlier faith or beliefs. Traditionally, calligraphy is used for writing verses from the Muslim holy book, the Quran. And its significance stems from the essence of the religion that forbids depicting God in any human form or living creature. And they didn't want the Prophet himself as an imaginary, valuable item. So they avoided strictly not to draw any images of him. As a result, the script itself became a work of art. It is in the words of God, his verbal attributes, written down beautifully that Muslims feel his presence. The time of Caliph Uthman, they invest on paper and whatever the material needed for book making. So they made seven copies of the first text. So this is the first attempt in terms of providing people some calligraphic samples. So is this a particular style in calligraphy? This is what we call Sulus. One of the six very traditional calligraphy styles, which are called as either which means six different styles. Okay. So this is one of them. Tell me something about the lines you've drawn here. How does this work in terms of symmetry, the thickness, the distance? So if we are talking about this particular style and particular composition, all over the world, if you show this line, most of the people, if they are within that Islamic tradition and culture, they could recognize this. Even though they don't remember or they don't recognize the letters one by one, they could just say this possibly be Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Okay. And this is a great success of the calligraphers in terms of creating one image out of a sentence, out of a whole sentence. Islamic calligraphy came to Turkey with Islam in the 10th century. The deep love for the Quran and the language of its origin became an artistic and spiritual inspiration for the Turks, allowing Islamic calligraphy to prosper and reach new artistic heights like never before. The medallions of Hagia Sophia, the walls of Sulaymaniyah Mosque, the Kapi Palace and the Blue Mosque stand testament. I started doing calligraphy back in 1994. I thought I could learn this art in three, four months. But once I started, I realized it's not like that. It took seven years for me to get the diploma from my master. I have practiced it since. It's been about 24 years. So I'm struggling to write a particular composition. I was wondering if you could show me the best way to develop that composition. Okay. Did you have any time? Yeah, I thought to do it in this way. To become a calligrapher, like all the other scientific things, you have to sit down with the master. First, you learn these tools. And also, you learn how to respect, how you show your respect. What do you think the best way to write it would be? I came to Istanbul to study with Eftaliddin Hoca, who is a master of this Ottoman style of calligraphy. And I tried to learn as much as I could from this man. And essentially, it was about how this knowledge of calligraphy was transmitted from master to student in the Ottoman Empire. And we can leave this space empty. Okay. Even though calligraphy existed in the early period of Ottoman Empire, we can say that it starts with Sheikh Hamdullah, the calligraphy teacher of Sultan Bayezid II. After he ascended the throne, he showed the works of Iraqi calligrapher Yakut el-Mustasimi to Sheikh Hamdullah and asked him how they could transform those Arabic style scripts into a distinct Ottoman style. Sheikh Hamdullah took this offer very seriously and dedicated himself to creating a brand new style. So it can be said that he founded the Ottoman School of Calligraphy. So is this your typical method to first practice how to do it with a normal pen for that? Okay. Sami Efendi, for example, when he was commissioned a work, he would generally delay it some six months or so. So when people would say, why don't you just write in a shorter time? He said, in the future, they will never ask how long it took to make the composition. They will right away ask who wrote it. So I don't want to spoil my fame, he said. Only because of going faster. So with that start, you can just carry on like this. Okay. With the composition? Yeah, with the composition. So let's see. If you have the respect, then you have the patience. Then you have all other good manners. The Ottoman dynasty were intending to keep the people in society with Koran, with the tradition, with their culture, to unite them. So they were taken to the calligraphy teacher. If they are in the school environment, they are right away starting learning these skills, writing skills, also the meaning. It's much easier, isn't it? Yeah. It's much easier when you started it for me and prepared it. Practicing calligraphy has made me a calmer person. I think that's the benefit of studying with someone with an incredible degree of knowledge. The first time I came here, five years ago, I'd never seen someone write calligraphy before. And Eftaduddin Hoja wrote the Rabi Yasir for me, this initial dua that all the princes have to write. And I will never forget how he wrote it on his lap. He didn't even use a table, he wrote it on his lap. And it was like watching a conductor orchestrate a symphony. So when I went home, I thought that I could imitate his writing. So I tried and I tried. So when I brought it to the lesson, I thought he was going to tell me, wow, you're the chosen one, you're my successor. And he looked at it and he was like, this is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong. You need to work on this, you need to work on this. Here, do it again, please. But I think I love that, that honesty, and I love that hard work and that ethic that he had, because it was clear that he was trying to protect something and pass that on to me. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Kemal Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey, abolished the Arabic script in 1928 at the Third Grand Assembly. He said, we must free ourselves from these incomprehensible signs that for centuries have held our minds in an iron vice. The evening, the script reform became law. Main buildings in Ankara displayed new lightning alphabets in colored lights. Today, more than 80 years after the reform, there are centuries-old books no Turks can read. But despite the reforms, war, and other setbacks, calligraphy is still practiced in Turkey, masters continue to tend to the tradition, passing it down to apprentices. Calligraphers have to break out of their shells and make new experiments. We also need to introduce this art to the whole world, not only limited to the Islamic society. We need to be more caring with the work we do. The history and philosophy of Islamic calligraphy must be told to the students. This way, our future generations will go forward confident. It's definitely been a life-changing experience for me. He's just about to get the diploma. I'm very happy about that. Finally, I'll be able to sign my own name and hopefully pass this knowledge on to the next generation. Islamic calligraphy has been on an adventurous journey for 1400 years. The art needs money, art needs support, art needs audience. Also, the patronage is important. The sincerity is okay, but they have to be supported by the government. Now, calligraphers in Turkey are coming out of their shadows to practice an art that spiritually connects them with their religion and culture, with a renewed hope that the word of God will set them free.