Oh no that took such a bad turn :(

or just pseudo-Arabic

This is either pseudo-Kufic or it’s a script I’ve never seen before and can’t read

2/ You can follow me on twitter at the handle @islam_texts. I still post there too.

I’ll be restarting my newsletter soon and will let you know when it’s updated iA.

Hope you all are well and staying warm ✨

Lovely calligraphy from the famous “Pink Qur’an”, made in 13th-century Spain.

‏فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِۦ بَصِيرًۢا

My guess is that this hasn’t taken off yet in MENA and that’s part of it (far fewer QTs explaining or translating live updates in Arabic from the ground etc)

This is in the anthology Muʿjam al-shuʿarāʾ by Abū ʿUbaydallāh al-Marzubānī (d. 994) and in many other books.

ربما تجزع النفوس من الامر
‏له فرجه كحل العقال

The next verse (27:76) starts at the end of the bottom line, and begins with the words “inna hadha” [إِنَّ هَـٰذَا]

The calligrapher nearly runs out of space after writing “inna”, but finds a creative way to add the next word without making the line too long: write vertically!

This calligraphy was written in the 11th century using a distinctive script known as Eastern Kufic (New style).

وَمَا مِنْ غَآئِبَةٍۢ فِى
ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا فِى
كِتَـٰبٍۢ مُّبِينٍ

This is from Nahj al-balāgha, the famed collection of material attributed to ʿAlī, compiled by al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (d. 1015).

وأحسن كما تحب أن يحسن إليك

‏إذا وترت أمراً فأحذر عداوته
‏من يزرع الشوك لا يحصد به عنبا

This is from Ya ayyuha l-walad, al-Ghazali’s letter to a student (who he affectionately calls his “son” (walad))