Ahmad Najafi Zanjani (al-Ma'sumi)
1908–1982 · Najaf & Tehran
Mirza Ahmad Najafi Zanjani, also called al-Ma'sumi, was born in Najaf in 1326 AH (1908) to a family from Zanjan; Arabic Wikipedia also gives 1324 (1906). He studied at the Iranian Murtadawiyya school in Najaf and completed studies in jurisprudence before turning to the calligraphy he had loved since childhood. Persian Wikipedia names Hashim al-Baghdadi and Hamid Aytaç as his teachers, and TDV lists him among the two calligraphers who received an ijaza from al-Baghdadi. He wrote naskh, thuluth, riqa', Kufic, nasta'liq and shikasta, and was best known for his tughras. He copied the Qur'an five times, wrote Sura al-Ikhlas on grains of rice, and lettered thuluth inscriptions at holy sites in Iraq, Syria and Iran, including the tomb of Avicenna in Hamadan and the entrance of the Amir al-Mu'minin library in Najaf. He later settled in Tehran, where he trained calligraphers such as Gholamreza Khalaj, and died on 8 July 1982.
Achievements
- Known among contemporaries for the tughra.
- Copied the Qur'an five times, among them a seven-colour illuminated Qur'an printed in Tehran and a Qur'an section for schools.
- Wrote Sura al-Ikhlas on single grains of rice, four times; two grains are in the Amir al-Mu'minin library in Najaf.
- Thuluth inscriptions at the tomb of Avicenna in Hamadan, the Mirror Mosque in Qom, the shrine of Imam Reza and the shrine of Ruqayya in Damascus, and the entrance of the Amir al-Mu'minin library in Najaf.
- Received an ijaza from Hashim al-Baghdadi (per TDV).
Taught by: Hashim Muhammad al-Baghdadi, Hamid Aytaç
Taught: Gholamreza Khalaj, Amir Mirrazi
His work
He died in 1982, so his calligraphy is still under copyright (life + 50 years); no works are shown.
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 Naskh piece the store makes: Naskh collection.
Sources
- Arabic Wikipedia (citing al-Jaburi; Niroumand, Tadhkira-yi sukhanvaran va khattatan-i Zanjan 1968; ziaossalehin.ir): 1908 or 1906, Najaf, tughra, Tehran, died 8 July 1982 / 17 Ramadan 1402 ar.wikipedia.org
- Persian Wikipedia (citing Fazaeli, Atlas-i khatt): scripts, teachers al-Baghdadi and al-Amidi, students, five Qur'ans, rice grains, inscriptions fa.wikipedia.org
- TDV, Hashim al-Baghdadi: Ahmad al-Najafi al-Zanjani one of two who received his ijaza islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
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).