Arabic Calligraphy : Naskh style for beginners [Paperback]

Mustafa Ja'far (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0071400443 | ISBN-13: 978-0071400442 | Edition: 1

Naskh is among the most popular of the six major Arabic scripts, used in more Qur-ans than all other scripts combined. The easy-to-follow, self-study workbook Arabic Calligraphy makes it possible for you to learn and enjoy the beauty of this noble art. The first stroke-by-stroke guide for learning Arabic calligraphy, it progresses from the initial, medial, and final forms of Arabic letters to joined letters and on to complete words. Guidelines also help you determine which pens, ink, and writing angle to use for best results.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mustafa Ja'far studied Arabic calligraphy in Baghdad and conducts workshops at museums and institutions around the United Kingdom.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071400443
• ISBN-13: 978-0071400442
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #777,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Arabic Calligraphy 101, September 7, 2002

By 

Eds Word (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arabic Calligraphy : Naskh style for beginners (Paperback)

This introductory workbook is for those who have no previous knowledge of Arabic and want to try writing in Arabic writing for the first time. Writing is in this case a misnomer because as the title suggests the emphasis is on calligraphy. The workbook, which is about the size of a standard magazine, starts with how to make a reed pen for calligraphy. The next part concentrates on the mufradaat (single letters), followed by murakkabaat (joined letters) and kalimaat (words). The book finishes with a gallery of beautiful examples of naskh calligraphy taken from throughout history. The presentation within each section is jumbled and unsystematic but not so much so that the text isn't worthwhile. The book is especially good at depicting the correct stroke order and the letters are large sized which a great help when just starting out. If you are a novice you will probably be happy with this book but will have preferred a more methodical, step-by-step presentation of the material.

For those without who want to learn to read as well write in Arabic The Arabic Alphabet by Awde and Samano is about as good of an introduction as one can find, however it doesn't have the beautiful examples of scripts and the large-size lettering that Arabic Calligraphy has (both books are cheap so go ahead and get the two of them.) If Arabic Calligraphy stimulates your appetite for more check out the richly illustrated Arabic Script: Styles, Variants, and Calligraphic Adaptations by Gabriel Mandel Khan. It depicts many of the styles besides naskh, traces their historical development, and discusses the latent symbolism that is present in many of these beautiful forms.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Calligraph-a-holics!, June 4, 2002

By 

txilar "txilar" (the heart of dixie!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arabic Calligraphy : Naskh style for beginners (Paperback)

Though I've only read through this book, not yet having 'road-tested' it, I am thoroughly delighted in finding this slim volume and hope that further series (amateur, advanced, specialised) are forthcoming.

For starters, I think it should be stated that this book is not for someone who wants to gain an understanding of the Arabic alphabet, i.e. pronunciation. This is a book for someone who knows what the letters sound like and has a pretty good understanding of which letter is which. I don't see this as a fault at all and I hope no one else does. At some point, you have to stop second guessing your audience. That said, this book carefully details, just as Roman alphabet calligraphy books, the finer points of how to scribe each and every letter of the Arabic alphabet. All in all, this book is excellent for someone wanting more than the average 'how to write arabic' primer. It gives proper form as a guideline, while expressing that of course ideals cannot be exact on every writing. It gives hints on how to perfect the line of each letter and the best part: it carefully goes over possible forms and joinings of seperate letters with each other. There is a brief display of ligatures, which the author states is a whole new subject outside the scope of the book. I can only hope that is his way of hinting at a sequel!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for calligraphy beginners!, January 6, 2009

By 

Mr. M. RAYAZ HOSSANY - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arabic Calligraphy (Paperback)

For those who want to learn Arabic calligraphy then this the book you need. It is not about the Arabic language but it rather instructs you how to write Arabic in a beautiful way. People starting to learn Arabic calligraphy begin with the 'Naskh' style which is a simple and yet very beautiful script. It is a very widely used script and mostly used in writing the Holy Quran. The book can also help those who want to improve their handwriting. The instructions given are very easy to follow.