Hilmi Habbab
1909–2000 · Damascus
Hilmi Habbab was born in Damascus in 1909 and spent his life there. In 1927 he began studying with Mamduh al-Sharif, the leading Damascus master of the day, and stayed at his side until al-Sharif's death in 1934, learning ruq'a, thuluth, ta'liq, naskh, the Kufic hands and both kinds of diwani. In 1939 he won the gold medal and first prize at an exhibition held by the Ministry of Economy. He taught calligraphy for decades in state schools, the teachers' college, the commerce school and the Faculty of Fine Arts of Damascus University, and he served the courts as a handwriting expert. After Badawi al-Dirani died in 1967, Habbab became the calligrapher most often called on by the Syrian state: he wrote medal certificates, brass plaques for Syrian embassies and the diplomas of Damascus and Ba'th universities. His studio assistants Amin Diab and Muhammad Qanou' worked with him for many years. He received the Syrian Order of Merit in 1988 and the title Shaykh of Calligraphers from the Ministry of Culture in 1997. He died in Damascus in 2000.
Achievements
- Studied with Mamduh al-Sharif from 1927 until the master's death in 1934.
- Gold medal and first prize at the Ministry of Economy exhibition, 1939.
- Taught calligraphy in state schools, the teachers' college and the Faculty of Fine Arts of Damascus University, and served as a handwriting expert for the Syrian courts.
- Became the chief calligrapher of Syria's official bodies after Badawi al-Dirani died in 1967, writing medal certificates, embassy plaques and university diplomas.
- Syrian Order of Merit, first class (1988); given the title Shaykh of Calligraphers by the Ministry of Culture (1997).
Taught by: Mamduh al-Sharif
Taught: Amin Diab, Muhammad Qanou'
His work
His calligraphy is still under copyright (he died after 1975), so no works are shown. No freely licensed photograph of him is on Commons; the photos on Arabic Wikipedia are local non-free files.
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
- Arab Encyclopedia (Damascus): full biography, teachers, posts, students, awards arab-ency.com.sy
- Arabic Wikipedia: dates, teacher, official calligrapher after al-Dirani (1967) ar.wikipedia.org
- Al Bayan, 2007: Hilmi Habbab, Shaykh of Syrian calligraphers 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).