Adnan al-Shaykh Uthman
1959– · Homs
Adnan al-Shaykh Uthman is a Syrian calligrapher, born in Homs in 1959. His father practised Islamic ornament, and the boy grew up reciting the Qur'an. At twelve he was given Hashim al-Baghdadi's copybook Qawa'id al-khatt al-'Arabi, and it changed the course of his life. He had no single teacher; instead he studied the work of Muhammad Badawi al-Dirani, Abd al-Hadi Zayn al-Abidin, al-Baghdadi and the Turkish and Persian masters, comparing schools on his own. He began entering IRCICA's international competitions in Istanbul in 1986 and has since won thirteen international prizes, among them IRCICA's award for excellence in layered jali thuluth in 2001 and a first prize in jali diwani in 2004. He has taught calligraphy at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Damascus University, lectured across the Arab and Islamic world, sat on juries, and written on imitation and invention in the calligrapher's craft. He wrote two parts of the Qatar Qur'an and lettered many book titles. In 1998 the Syrian Ministry of Culture and the Syrian Calligraphers' League held an exhibition in his honour.
Achievements
- Largely self-taught from the copybooks and works of the masters, starting with Hashim al-Baghdadi's Qawa'id al-khatt al-'Arabi at the age of twelve.
- Taught Arabic calligraphy at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Damascus University.
- Won 13 international prizes, among them first prize in jali diwani (2004) and IRCICA's award for excellence in layered jali thuluth (2001).
- Took part in IRCICA's international competitions from 1986.
- Wrote two parts of the Qatar Qur'an; honoured with an exhibition by the Syrian Ministry of Culture in 1998.
His work
He is living, so his calligraphy is not shown; no free photograph of him was found on Wikimedia Commons.
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
Write in this tradition now →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi) — or every Thuluth piece the store makes: Thuluth collection.
Sources
- Homs, Damascus University, IRCICA from 1986, Beirut 2000, Algiers 2009, Qatar Qur'an, 13 prizes, 1998 exhibition, 2001 IRCICA award ar.wikipedia.org
- SANA: born 1959 Homs, self-taught, influences, scripts, father's ornament, 13 prizes sana.sy
- Al Bayan 2007: al-Baghdadi copybook at 12, no direct teacher, 2001 IRCICA award albayan.ae
Written by the MASHQ studio · last updated 2026-10-05. Further reading, the standard references in English: Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) · Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York University Press, 1984) · Yasin Hamid Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (Thames and Hudson, 1978).