My Tongue is my Horse

The calligram: My tongue is my horse

Calligraphic khayamiah demonstrate the uniquely Islamic influence on tentmaker work.

The arrival of Islam in Egypt saw the taking up of Arabic language with its fluidly beautiful letter and word forms.  In terms of Islam's influence on existing art, Islam discouraged the depiction of human forms and particularly the depiction of human forms on items concerning spiritual and religious matters, as the depiction of the human form could be an act of idolatry or shirk. 

The Ninety-Nine Names of Allah

As the language in which the Qur'an was received and first written, Arabic script holds and retains a unique status in relationship to religious and spiritual concerns.  Seyyed Hossein Nasser, Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University describes the status of Arabic as 'visual sacrament'. (Islamic Art and Spirituality, p. 27)

By the 10th century, a range of Arabic scripts had developed with complex rules governing their use and these scripts became artistic mediums in themselves. Elaborately decorated Qur'an's in which sura and aya't are enclosed in a decorative border, became a standard feature of Islamic religious art, from this period onwards.

Mimicing this, tentmakers began to produce works incorporating Qur'an, hadith, poetry and proverbs. 

The Ninety-Nine Names of Allah is an example of a calligraphic work created by transferring a religious-artistic motif into khayamiah.  Highly popular as a religious decorative item, the Ninety-Nine Names express the qualities of Allah and represent the human inability to fully know the mystery of Allah.  To know 100 or all of Allah's names would be to have full knowledge of Allah through human means, and thus place human abilities on an equal footing with Allah. 

Calligraphic works containing Qur'an, hadith, the names of Allah and other important religious notations are treated as sacred items and are not allowed to touch the floor, be thrown out with normal rubbish, hung in a bathroom or privy or be sat upon. These works should be hung in places that bring recognition and worthy consideration and when sold, a translation should be provided with the work. 

Under Ottoman rule, calligraphers refined the calligram, a profoundly elegant Islamic art form in which Arabic text forms an image in itself and of itself. The image created by the text, evokes the message contained in the text. 

A particularly unique form of calligramic work is that influenced by the tughra or official seal of the Ottoman rulers.  The second Ottoman ruler, Orhan 1st (1284 - 1359) required an individual mark for official use and the tughra was created as a calligramic combination incorporating and representing the name, signature, position and title of the ruler. Prayers or honorifics could also be added.  Reaching its peak in the tughra of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520 - 1566), the tughra was a demonstration of the authority and power of the ruler, similar to the wax seal used in Medieval Europe, and still in use today. 

The graceful and fluent combination and intersection of vertical lines and ovate curvilinear forms shows the influence of the tughra in calligramic works.  This calligram which demonstrates tughra-like lines and forms, incorporates the Sura al'Isra or Night Journey and contains a du'a or supplicatory prayer. The du'a requests the assistance of Allah to enable humans to become powerful and good and the repeated strong and sharp vertical lines in conjunction with rounded curves underpinning the verticals, invokes the combining of strength with an appealing flexibility and suppleness. 

Calligraphic works are often produced for visual effect rather than for their literacy value.  As images have been reproduced again and again over time, diacritical markers expressing letter sounds and giving grammatical indications have often been deleted.  Letters and sometimes full words in phrases, poetry or verse have been omitted either accidently or to create better visual fit.  Sometimes unreadable, calligrams remain potent visual works bringing a verbal and visual concept into organic unity.  

Arab desert life which was primarily an oral culture, also revered the power and beauty of the horse.  The proverb My tongue is my horse conveys the central place of speech and oral tradition in Arabic culture through this simile which compares the beauty, movement and impressiveness of powerful speech to the impressiveness and freedom of a beautiful and powerful horse.  However with the power of the tongue comes the need for control, if like the horse, the tongue is to be manageable, beneficial and productive.

A khayamiah depicting Ayat al Kursi, or the Throne Verse in Kufic script describing Allah's oneness and supreme command over all. Kufic script was one of the first formally developed Arabic scripts, coming out of Kufa, Iraq in the 9th century.

Acknowledgements and Additional Information 

• Images on this page are taken from the Flikr photo gallery of Jenny Bowker.

• Islamic Calligraphy, 

• The Kufic Script - an extended, informative examination with examples