Waleed Basyouni – Ibn Muqlah The Scholar Who Transformed Quranic Calligraphy Sh.
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Anybody here ever heard of the name Ibn
Muqlah?
We all owe this man.
He has a favor upon all of us,
each and every one of us.
So I think he deserves to be known.
That's why I choose him to be somebody
I want to introduce to you.
Ibn Muqlah Abu Ali.
His name Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Hussain Ibn
Muqlah Al Shirazi from Shiraz, Iran.
He was born 886 in Hijri 272, 9th
century 263rd century in Islam.
And he died also in He died in
933 or 328 He is the greatest Khattab.
What Khattab means?
Anybody knows?
Huh?
Calligrapher.
The one who write, you know, calligrapher.
He's the best one ever Baghdad known.
He's the best one ever the Muslim world
known.
He's the most clever, smart artist that ever
in the history of calligraphy.
As a matter of fact, he is the
one responsible, him and his brother, for shifting
the way we write in that before his
time, before the 3rd century, we used to
write in a very different way.
He switched this to a way that me
and you use today.
That's how the Mus'haf written today.
In a completely different, if you compare any
copy of the Mus'haf before his time
and way after his time, it's completely changed.
Rahimahullah Ta'ala.
He was called Ibn Muqlah because he is
the son of Muqlah.
Muqlah, where is Nubuna?
He was looking for a girl's name.
Muqlah.
Okay, Muqlah is his mother.
And by the way, that's a common thing.
You find a lot of people are named
after their mother or grandmother, Ibn Taymiyyah, stuff
like that.
So, okay, so he's the son of Muqlah.
Why it was called Muqlah?
Because her father, he used to say to
her, Ya Muqlata Abiha.
Ya Muqlata Abiha.
You the heart of your father.
He shake her, this little girl, said you
the heart, you Muqlatu Abiki.
Yeah, the heart of your father.
So it became Muqla, Muqla, Muqla.
Then known the woman, nobody knows her name,
Muqla.
Today, one sister was telling me about her
mother's name, and she said she never used
that name.
Everybody called her different name.
And I just found out one of our
friend's family, you know, all my life I
know her name is Sabah.
Then I found out she's not even, that's
not even her name.
Sabah is just a name, I don't know.
You know, I thought that's her name.
And I found out that's not a name,
just a nickname.
So some people became that, he became Ibn
Muqlah.
Anyway, he was born in a house that
known of art and also very good calligraphers.
He learned how to write in Arabic from
his father, Ishaq Ibn Ibrahim.
And he became so good at it, okay,
him and his father, that they not only
knows how to write, they became questioning the
way Arabic is written at that time.
And this is a good point, he's not
an Arab.
He's from Iran, from Paris.
Okay, and or, you know, it's very interesting
how the care for the Arabic language is
never in history was associated with the race.
Okay, so Ibn Muqlah Rahimahullah Ta'ala, basically,
every style of writing, it used to be
known as Kufi style.
Kufi style.
Okay, he, Kufi style is very much a
style of writing that I will talk about
it tomorrow to you guys when I talk
about history of Mus'haf, writing Mus'haf,
stuff like that.
Okay, it is more of a square, the
way they write in squares.
Okay, he came and he changed the square
to circle.
So he starts making that curve, you know,
the Alif, the Ka, it's more of have
a like a circle shape more.
Then he invented, invented what we call today
the calligraphy, if you ever heard this word,
Thuluth and Naskh.
And Naskh is all the Mus'haf print
in Naskh today, the Arab Mus'haf.
Okay, in Naskh, that's, he invented that handwriting.
That's his invention, how to write the Tha,
how to write the Ka, how to write
the, that's his invention.
Okay, and a Thuluth.
Before his time, before his time, there will
be about, there were 24 different style of
writing.
He said, no, he put them together in
six.
And he invented two of them.
So he put the 24 from the 24,
he said there is six and he invented,
he kept from this 24.
Then he added a Thuluth and Naskh.
He added these two, right.
He basically, he start making, he wrote, what's
the distance from the center of the letter
to the beginning of the letter, how high
it goes, how low it goes, above the
line, below the line.
All these details, he start writing documentation for
it.
So the people who comes later on, he
doesn't need to be present in front of
them to teach them how to write.
Guys, we're talking about a very early time
in science.
This does not exist.
This is only fourth century in Islam.
For you to develop to that extent, this
is usually happened centuries and centuries, like a
10th century or something like that, where you
start developing science to that level, where you
basically document how and what's all the methodology
to do this.
He did that, rahimallah ta'ala.
And because of this, the way he teach
people how to write and he document this
in writing, his writing became so popular.
And the principle that he put, how to
start, you know how in English they tell
you, for example, A, I don't know if
you guys or F.
When you write F, where do you start?
From the bottom or from the top or
just a straight line, then you add the
two on the side.
There is a structure how to write.
He wrote that structure.
You'd start with noon.
What do you do?
You start from the left or the right?
Do you do full or no?
Where exactly?
What are the distance could be?
And he will take clear measurement.
And can you imagine the noon?
Every noon he write, it's identical to the
other one.
Not a millimeter or an inch extra.
That's just genius, rahimallah ta'ala.
Not only that, he also talk about the
different kind of inks and the impact of
the ink in the right, the different type
of papers.
He spoke about that too.
And he wrote about, he wrote like documents
about how to sharp the pen.
How to sharp it in a way that
it will make you write perfectly.
Is it this way?
Cut that way?
How much angle?
To that detail.
And that's why he is basically they call
muhendis, like an engineer.
He engineered the language.
Yaqut al-Hamawi, when he wrote about him,
he said, he became a minister.
He said, one of the unique, unique, no
one like him in the world.
The way you write, the way you make
signatures, you know.
Nobody can challenge him.
Nobody can be compared to him.
A very famous scholar in Arabic language.
He said, it's an example when it comes
to beauty.
It is the best handwriting in the dunya,
in the whole world.
No one ever have seen handwriting like his.
Okay.
He wrote many books about writing, about like
what I told you earlier.
Okay.
And he, what we have today, that's what
they said he wrote.
But the only book survived is one book.
Okay.
Risalat al-Wazir ibn Muqla fi ilm al
-Khati wal-Qalam.
It said, he wrote like a book, a
book in calligraphy and pens.
That's only one book survived that we have
left behind.
Just to show you how beautiful his handwriting.
During his time, he used to work for
the king.
So the king want to write a treaty
between the Muslims and the Romans.
And when you write a treaty, how many
Kabi you make?
Two.
Why two?
Why two?
Because they don't have a Kabi or machine.
Okay.
Or a picture.
Okay.
So you make two, one for them, one
for you.
So the king choose him to write it.
Okay.
It was so beautiful, so decorative that the
king take it and he frame it and
they put it in the church.
Why in the church?
Because everybody come to see it.
They consider it a piece of art, not
a political document.
And for generation, it remained in the church
displayed as a piece of art.
It's so beautiful.
Okay.
He lived in a time which is so
unstable.
And that led me to tell you, also
his life was very unstable.
He started as a simple writer with his
father.
Write for people letters and stuff like that.
He charged them for it.
He got some money.
Then he became famous a little bit.
He worked for the government in Kharaj.
You know the Kharaj like the one who
collect the tax and stuff like that.
Okay.
In Persia.
And he became a little bit financially better.
He became a little bit more famous.
And in the beginning of his life, during
the Abbasid Caliph, he was appointed to be
in charge of this department, you know, and
in charge of some villages and countryside where
he is in charge of the tax collectors
and the Kharaj collectors.
Like it's a form of tax that the
Muslim used to collect at that time.
Then he was asked to come back to
Baghdad.
And he worked in a D1.
A D1 is like the administration department for
the king, for the Khalifa.
Okay.
And in it were all the orders of
the king and the rules are written.
Important letters to go to, you know, other
governors or the governors or written to other
countries leaders, anything like that, you know, it'd
be written by this department.
He used to be what a writer there
because his handwriting is good.
And he will do that.
They give him six dinars, six pieces of
gold every month.
And one person discovered him high rank a
little bit.
This is right.
Then he was suggested to be the one
to write that treaty between the Muslims and,
you know, and the Romans.
Uh, guess what?
I forgot to tell you that.
Which church they put the treaty?
Ayasofya.
Ayasofya, the one that the treaty was there.
Who founded?
Muhammad al-Fatih.
So from the time of the Abbasid Khalifa,
which is the fourth century, all the way
until Muhammad al-Fatih came 1453.
That's like nine, ninth century to 14th century,
15th century.
That's how long it was framed and hang
on the church.
Generation after generation.
Anyway, he became, as I said, very famous.
Al-Muqtadir Billah, which is he was during
the fourth, early fourth century 1316.
Okay.
He was the Khalifa and he chose him
to be one of the minister.
He became wazir and very high rank.
And he stayed in this position for two
years and he became angry at him and
he sent him to Faris.
He sent him back to his country.
Okay.
And he took all his wealth, all his
money, all his properties seized.
Okay.
Then the new Khalifa came Al-Qahir.
Any Khalifa want a one who writes very
well.
He always looking for poets, for people who
calligrapher knew how to write very well.
So he heard about him and he brought
him back 320.
And he became close to the Khalifa.
People spread rumor in the court of the
Khalifa that Ibn Muqla, which is everybody look,
he's very famous when he writes something, it
became so famous for basically will be populated
very quickly.
Somebody told the Khalifa, by the way, Ibn
Muqla is plotting against you with a man.
Okay.
His name is Ali Ibn Bulaiq.
Ali Ibn Bulaiq was trying to rebel against
the Khalifa to knock the Khalifa out and
to take over.
And he said, by the way, he is
in your court and he delivering to him
information about you.
Because you know, the calligrapher knows everything the
Khalifa write.
He have all the secrets, all the orders,
all the right that you understand.
It's like in his courthouse, in the court,
in the palace.
So he said, by the way, he betrayed
you.
Then he said, the soldier go get him.
He heard that he's been ordered came to
his arrest.
He what?
Run away.
And he stayed, you know, hiding for about
a year and a half, year and a
half on the run.
And there is interesting story about him, that
how he moved from this life, luxury life,
have servants, have everything to live as a
fugitive.
He was seen wearing women clothes to hide,
to escape being arrested.
He was seen wearing Roman clothes, as if
he's not Muslim, a Roman person, you know,
just coming to the city to escape some
village, escape arrest.
He was seen wearing beggars clothes.
You know, he was seen like in many
different, many different time that where they try
to catch him and he will be undercover
wearing different clothes and escape, you know, and
run from one place to another.
He lived like that for about almost two
years.
Until this Khalifa died and someone else came,
his name Ar-Razi.
Then Ar-Razi, he heard about him.
He said, tell him that he's safe.
I know that he's not bad.
Let him come.
Oh my God.
When he came, Ar-Razi really gave him
more money than anyone else, give him more
position than anyone else.
And he became number one in front of
the Khalifa.
Obviously, that's made a lot of people so
jealous of him.
Okay, so jealous of him.
And he started talking to the Khalifa about
how he trusted him, the Khalifa before he
didn't trust him.
They fill him up and he said to
them, they made a deal.
They said, you want to know if he's
clean or not?
Let the soldier go bring him to you.
Then they went and they told him, by
the way, you're going to be arrested.
So he used to be in fugitive.
So when he saw the soldier coming, what
did he do?
He started running.
They captured him.
The Khalifa said, now I know you guys
right.
You know, he only run because he is,
he's a bad person.
So he took him and he put him
into the jail.
And he basically tortured him so much in
jail, lashed his back.
And this was 324.
Then he did the unexpected thing.
The Khalifa was so angry, in a moment
of anger, he told the soldiers, bring him.
And he stretched his right hand and he
cut off his hand.
Said, I'm going to make you never take
a place again to anyone.
That's what make you famous.
And he cut it off.
And he take the hand and he threw
it in the river of Dijla, the river
of Baghdad.
And he said to the doctors, stop the
bleeding.
The doctor who used to go to him,
his name is Hassan Ibn Thabit, Ibn Qurra.
I used to go to him in jail.
And he used to ask me about his
son.
And I tell him, your son is doing
okay.
And he will cry and cry over his
hand.
And he said, this hand that they cut
off, I serve three Khalifas with it.
I wrote for them, all their books, all
their letters.
This hand that they throw in the river,
wrote the Qur'an twice.
I wrote two full copies from the Qur
'an with my hand.
This hand that they did, did this.
And he used to mention all the things
that his hand wrote.
And he said in the end, they cut
my hand and I look like thieves.
You know how the thief, he cut the
right hand.
And I said, the doctor said, I'll tell
him, don't worry.
This is from Allah.
This and that.
Anyway, the Khalifa felt bad and regret that
he cut his hand.
And he said, he took him out of
jail.
And he said, I will appoint you as
a minister again.
And he said, I don't have a hand.
He said, I will appoint you to be
my minister even if you don't have a
hand.
You can be my minister even without a
hand.
Then he start trying to train how to
use his left hand.
So he start writing with his left hand.
In about a year or so, they said
that he start writing with left hand as
good as, not as the right hand, but
was so beautiful, so distinguished, so beautiful.
Okay.
But again, the same Khalifa became so angry
at him.
And this time, he said, you know what,
I figured out it's not your hand the
problem.
It is your tongue that you speak to,
you talk too much.
And he cut off his hand, his tongue.
So he cannot talk.
And I forgot to tell you, he also,
he used to write sometimes with his right,
you know, his hand is cut off.
So he used to put the pen in
his right side.
And he tied it with a rope to
his arm.
You know, this is, imagine this is cut
off.
Okay.
So he put the pen, long pen, and
he tied it to his arm.
Then he will write like this.
Okay.
And then he learned how to do with
the left hand.
Then after that, he put him in jail,
and he cut off his tongue, and he
put him in jail.
Then he released him to go to his
house.
And the Khalifa made an order.
No one, if anyone help him, serve him,
he will go to jail, and he will
see the same, he will be treated the
same.
I will cut his tongue as well.
So he will go, and he's not allowed
to hire a servant at home.
He needs to clean after himself, to clean
his house by himself.
Not allowed to hire a servant.
Anyone will serve him will be in trouble.
So one of the narrator, I was reading
his biography, one of the narrator, he said,
I saw him, he goes to get water,
just simple thing, how are you going to
get water?
He said, no one allowed to help him.
He said, he said another word, how to
pull, you know how the water, it's a
well, and you have the rope, and the
end of the rope, there is a container,
like a bucket, you know, you put it
in.
He said, I saw him with his left
hand, putting it, and he will pull, then
will bite, then he will pull, then he
will bite, and he will pull him until
the water comes out, and he carry it
all the way to his home.
Very rough life.
Said so dirty, nobody wash him, nobody help
him, and he became so dirty, looks so
like baggers, and they speak about how his,
look, even his wife not allowed to help
him, even his son not allowed to help
him, otherwise he will take the same distance.
Anyway, until, and he was so sad, he
made very, very moving poetry, he said, مَا
سَئِمْتُ الْحَيَاةَ لَكِنْ تَوَثَّقَتْ بِعِيمَانِهِمْ فَبَانَتْ يَمِينِي
وَلَقَدْ حُطُّ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ بِجُهْدِي حِفْظَ أَرْوَاحِهِمْ فَمَا
حَفِظُونِي I did all my best to protect
my khalifa, my leaders, but they didn't care
about protecting me.
لَيْسَ بَعْدَ الْيَمِينِ لَذَّةُ عَيْشٍ يَا حَيَاةِ بَانَتْ
يَمِينِي فَبِينِي Said there is no any joy
in life after I lost my right hand,
you know, since my right hand cut off,
I wish my life to be cut off
short as well.
Anyway, many poetries like this, and he said,
I could not regret anything more than being
close to these governors or governments.
I wish that I never came close to
them.
He enjoyed that life for a while, but
short period of time, but they flip against
him and that's what happened to him.
Anyway, he died, then he was buried, okay,
in the house that he died in.
Okay, then he was dug out from this
house because it was a rental house.
The one who owned the house, he said,
no, I don't want a grave in my
house.
So they dug him out from the house
and they buried him in his son's house.
Then after his son, I think, passed away,
they dug him out from his second house
to bury him in the cemetery.
Or the khalifa said, dig him out and
bury him in the cemetery.
So they said, it's interesting, Ibn Muqla, okay,
he became wazir three times in his life
for three different khalifa in his time.
He made three journeys in his life, three
journeys in life, traveled three times, and he
buried three times in his life, in his
death, I guess.
So this three khalifa, three journeys, three times
became wazir and buried three times, which is
something not, you know, and he wrote the
Qur'an twice in his life.
And the cubby that he wrote in the
Qur'an, we still have.
We have a lot of his students' work
that exactly cubby his work, like some of
the mushaf cubbies, like was taken, somebody cubby
his work from the mushaf.
And these cubbies still exist until today.
If you do some Google research for the
Ibn Muqla's handwriting, it is, and also the
one that was in Muhammad al-Fatih time
in Azoz, Sofia, you can see that if
you look at it, if you look it
up.
These biographies that I chose for you are
people related to the Qur'an.