Some of the calligraphers -- the most talented ones -- would even be referred to as prophets and the general calligrapher was still better viewed than a painter. Some of these calligraphers are told to have had visions of what to write and they are highly revered in the Islamic culture (Caroll)
The Arabic calligraphy was used in all dimensions of Muslim life, such as the decoration of objects, walls, mosques or tombs. Its usage to promote the teachings of the Qur'an propelled it to it being recognized as a great Islamic art starting with the nineteenth century (Curtis, 2010)
The absence of imagery from the Islamic arts is often associated with the artistic inferiority of the Muslim world. And this is best viewed in relationship to the Renaissance in Europe, when arts flourished and paintings were created that still impress the viewer today (Hazen, 2002)
Its preeminent use is the writing of the divine message of the Qur'an, of course, which endowed it with extraordinary strength and transcendent significance. From this world's manifold possibilities, Allah had chosen Arabic as the vehicle for his final revelation" (Mubireek, 2000)
And aside from the lessons as well, the art behind the calligraphy strived to portray the symbolism in the holy book. The writings were created using various shapes and sizes of the letters and numbers and they led to the formation of pieces of art that combined the teachings of the deity with the comprehension capacity of the humans (Osborn, 2008)
¶ … Islamic art: Glorification of God and the Qur'an Islamic art is perhaps the most accessible expression of a complex civilization that often seems enigmatic to outsiders," writes Los Angeles museum curator Linda Komaroff (Komaroff, 2007, Introduction)
¶ … Islamic art: Glorification of God and the Qur'an Islamic art is perhaps the most accessible expression of a complex civilization that often seems enigmatic to outsiders," writes Los Angeles museum curator Linda Komaroff (Komaroff, 2007, Introduction)
"Gold illumination sometimes signaled the beginning of each chapter, and gold medallions were often used to denote groups of five or ten verses" on parchment, the preferred material for Qur'ans (Komaroff, 2007, Early Islamic art). The artistic significance of the word cannot be underestimated in Islam: "Qur'anic verses embellish mosques, palaces and homes, businesses, and, in some places, public areas" (Siddiqui 2009)
Here, they note that in the 7th and 8th centuries, the prophetic visions of Mohammed would produce a sudden and unifying ripple through an already self-contained Arab world. (Ettinghausen et al
Instead, Grabar tells of a cross-breeding of influences during the period of transition that can be evidenced by such Arab monuments as "the desert baths of Qasayr Amrah or the wooden beams of the Aqsa Mosque." (Grabar, p