The cosmic script

"A fully illustrated, landmark study of Islamic calligraphy traced back to its deepest historical and cultural roots Explores the sacred geometry of each letter form of the Arabic alphabet as attributed to renowned 10th-century scribe Ibn Muqla Traces Ibn Muqla's system to the cross-cultural encounter between Greek learning and the scientific, artistic, and philosophical pursuits of classical Islam A richly illustrated, two-volume presentation of decades of research with more than 430 full-color illustrations Calligraphy is the central visual art of Islam. At its core resides a perennial challenge: What letter shapes traced by human hands are rightful bearers of the divine message? The answer lies in the "Proportioned Script" of Ibn Muqla, renowned scribe, man of letters, and minister under the great Abbasid Caliphate in 10th-century Baghdad. Emphasizing harmony and geometry, Ibn Muqla's system has governed the practice of Arabic scribal art up to the present day. In this two-volume, richly illustrated study, Ahmed Moustafa and Stefan Sperl analyze each letter form of Ibn Muqla's perfected penmanship and share their decades of research on Islamic letter shapes, revealing the histor