Fath-Ali Hijab Shirazi
d. 1853 · Shiraz
Mirza Fath-Ali, son of Aqa Muhammad Ja'far of Shiraz, signed his calligraphy 'Fath-Ali' and his poems 'Hijab'. He was born in Shiraz and studied with Vesal Shirazi, whose best pupil he became, learning from him letters and manners as well as the pen. He ranks among the leading nastaliq writers of the Qajar period. He wrote all six sizes of the nastaliq pen, from the tiny ghubar to the large jali, and his hand was so close to Mir Emad's that it was sometimes taken for it, so he later changed some features of his style. Persian sources also describe him as a skilled engraver. His works include a copy of Rumi's Masnavi in six books and other manuscripts in the Golestan Palace, ten pieces in the National Library and Archives in Shiraz, and a book in Tehran's Museum of Islamic Art. He left a divan of about 6,000 verses. He died young, apparently before fifty, in Shiraz in 1269/1853 (some say 1260) and was buried at the Shah Cheragh shrine.
Achievements
- One of the first-rank nastaliq masters of the Qajar period, writing all sizes of the pen from ghubar to jali.
- His hand was at times mistaken for Mir Emad's, which led him to change his manner.
- Works in the Golestan Palace (a six-book Masnavi of Rumi), the National Library and Archives in Shiraz (ten pieces) and the Museum of Islamic Art in Tehran.
- A poet under the pen name Hijab, with a divan of about 6,000 verses.
Taught by: Vesal Shirazi
His work
about 1260 AH (1844) · National Library of Iran, Fars branch, Shiraz
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
about 1260 AH (1844) · National Library of Iran, Fars branch, Shiraz
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
about 1260 AH (1844) · National Library of Iran, Fars branch, Shiraz
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
about 1260 AH (1844) · National Library of Iran, Fars branch, Shiraz
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
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 Nastaliq piece the store makes: Nastaliq collection.
Sources
- Persian Wikipedia (after Fazaili, Bayani, Forsat al-Dowleh's Asar-e 'Ajam, Yasavoli): son of Muhammad Ja'far, pupil of Vesal, six sizes of nastaliq, mistaken for Mir Emad, engraver, divan of 6,000 verses, d. 1269 AH Shiraz, Shah Cheragh, works in Golestan, Shiraz, Tehran fa.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia: poet and calligrapher of Shiraz, d. 1269 AH or 1260 AH ar.wikipedia.org
- Reed College: Fath-Ali Hejab was Vesal's best pupil, in nastaliq reed.edu
- Commons category: siyah-mashq sheets in the National Library of Iran, Fars commons.wikimedia.org
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).