A CALLIGRAPHIC COMPOSITION OF SURAT AL-NAS, BY MUHAMMAD QAMAR AL-DIN ALI KHAN BAHADUR, INDIA, POSSIBLY HYDERABAD, 18TH CENTURY

Text: Surat Al-Nas (cxiv)
Ink on paper, signed at upper left "katabahu Muhammad Qamar al-Din Ali Khan Bahadur"

Calligraphy in the Arts of the Muslim World, The Asia House Gallery, New York; the Cincinnati Art Museum; the Seattle Art Museum; and the St. Louis Art Museum, 1979

Welch A. 1979, no.86, p.195
Schimmel 1970, pl.45

This is a highly inventive calligraphic design incorporating the final chapter of the Qur'an - Surat al-Nas (CXIV). The calligrapher has utilized the rhythmic repetition of certain letters that occur frequently in this mesmerising sura, such as the sin (in the words al-nas, al-khannas, al-waswas and yuwaswas) and the verticals of lam and alif to create a calligraphic composition which visually echoes the aural and onomatopoeic rhythm and beauty of the verses. The visual manner also echoes architectural epigraphic styles of the Sultanate period in India (for examples see Begley 1985; Michell and Shah 1988, pp.124-127).