Ibrahim Zarrin-Qalam
1905–1994 · Zanjan
Mirza Ibrahim Asemi Zanjani, known as Zarrin-Qalam, was born in Zanjan in 1905 (1323 AH) and had his first schooling there. He turned to calligraphy, studying first with Abd al-Jabbar Khamsa'i and then with Muhammad-Vali Kimiya-Qalam, who gave him the name Zarrin-Qalam, 'golden pen'. He became known for nastaliq, shikasta and shikasta-ta'liq, taught at the Sa'adat school, and later opened a calligraphy school in Tehran. In 1938 he joined the royal court office and then the Foreign Ministry as a clerk and scribe. From 1951 he served in Iran's consulates in Karbala and Najaf and later in Baghdad, where sources say he was deputy head of the embassy until 1969. In Iraq he wrote the inscription over the entrance of the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, which remained until the Iran-Iraq war, and calligraphy at the entrance of the shrine of Imam Husayn. He also wrote out printed editions of Hafez and Khayyam. He died on 30 July 1994 (22 Safar 1415).
Achievements
- Given the title Zarrin-Qalam (golden pen) by his teacher Kimiya-Qalam.
- Excelled in nastaliq, shikasta and shikasta-ta'liq; taught at the Sa'adat school in Zanjan and opened a calligraphy school in Tehran.
- Wrote the inscription at the entrance of the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, which stayed in place until the Iran-Iraq war, and calligraphy at the entrance of the shrine of Imam Husayn in Karbala.
- Wrote out editions of the Divan of Hafez (ed. Khanlari) and the quatrains of Khayyam (Ettela'at).
Taught by: Abd al-Jabbar Khamsa'i, Muhammad-Vali Kimiya-Qalam Zanjani
His work
His calligraphy is still under copyright (he died after 1975), so no works are shown. No freely licensed photograph of him was found on 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 Nastaliq piece the store makes: Nastaliq collection.
Sources
- Arabic Wikipedia: dates, teachers, career, shrine inscriptions ar.wikipedia.org
- Persian Wikipedia: same, plus Hafez and Khayyam editions; death 8 Mordad 1373 fa.wikipedia.org
- Ensani.ir: article on Ostad Ebrahim Zarrin-Qalam by M.K. Zarrin-Qalam, Honarha-ye Tajassomi no. 7 (1378 SH) web.archive.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).