All this played a central role in the development of the...

All this played a central role in the development of the script- simultaneously encapsulating clarity, legibility at beauty. Thus at this stage Arabic script ceases to be merely the script but becomes „Islamic calligraphy‟ embellished by trained and creative artist-scribes.

The word „Islamic‟ is used with calligraphy to symbolize that the Arabic script had a spiritual or metaphysical foundation because it was the language of the Qur‟an and the followers of Islam developed it in several variants, well thought-out it „sacred‟ and regarded it as an expression both of art and of religion. The Islamic calligraphy has a metaphysical basis due to which it is well thought-out as „Sacred Art‟ in Islamic culture. It has a distinctive spiritual message to convey.

The foundation of the sacred calligraphy is the visual incarnation of the Sacred Word.21 Highlighting the importance of comprehension and pen the Qur‟an says: Recite: In the Name of your Lord who created, created man from clots of blood.21 Recite: And your Lord is the Most Generous, He who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know.22 The above verses of the Qur‟an lay emphasis on the importance of ‘ilm (knowledge) and qalam (pen). In the…