Arabic calligraphy glossary
The four words a calligraphy lesson uses most, each answered in one sentence first. Every sentence after it stands on a source, named at the foot of its page.
- Qalam, the reed pen — A qalam is the calligrapher's reed pen: it is made from a cut, dried reed and used for Islamic calligraphy.
- The measure in dots (mizan) — The mizan is the measure of the letters in dots: the dot, the mark the pen leaves when drawn its own width, is the unit, and the alif is the yardstick.
- Tashkeel, the Arabic diacritics — Tashkeel is the set of supplementary diacritics of the Arabic script, which include the short-vowel marks called ḥarakāt.
- Kashida (tatweel) — Kashida, also called tatweel, is the lengthening of the line that joins Arabic letters, used to justify a line by elongating letters rather than widening the spaces.