Macit Ayral (Majid Bey Zuhdi)
1891–1961 · Istanbul
Macit Ayral, who signed as Mâcid or Mâcid b. Zühdî and is known in Arabic as Majid Bey al-Zuhdi, was born in Beylerbeyi, Istanbul, on 11 April 1891 (Arabic Wikipedia gives 1890). Ill health ended his schooling, and he turned to calligraphy: thuluth and naskh with Ali Efendi, then lessons with Ahmed Rakım Efendi and the Medresetü'l-Hattatin, where Hulusi Efendi gave him a ta'liq ijaza in 1923. He refined jali thuluth with İsmail Hakkı Altunbezer. He worked mostly in thuluth, following Şefik Bey, and in jali thuluth, in the manner of Sami Efendi. After years as a civil servant in Istanbul and Ankara, he was invited after 1955 to teach at the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad, where he trained Iraqi calligraphers such as Ihsan Ibrahim Adham and Salman Ibrahim al-Isa. He came back in July 1959 and died in Istanbul in March 1961; TDV gives 19 March, Arabic Wikipedia 17 March. He is buried in Karacaahmet.
Achievements
- Ta'liq ijaza from Hulusi Efendi at the Medresetü'l-Hattatin, 1923.
- Ran his own calligraphy office on Babıali Street in Istanbul from 1923; it became a meeting place for the calligraphers of the day.
- Taught calligraphy at the Academy of Fine Arts in Baghdad for about four years, returning to Turkey in July 1959.
- Jali inscriptions in Istanbul mosques, among them Şişli, Levent, Bebek, Yeşilköy and the Arap Camii.
- Known as an expert at identifying the hand and period of unsigned calligraphy.
Taught by: Ali Efendi, Ahmed Rakım Efendi, Mehmed Hulusi Yazgan (Hulusi Efendi), İsmail Hakkı Altunbezer
Taught: Ihsan Ibrahim Adham, Salman Ibrahim al-Isa, Hashem al-Baghdadi
His work
He died in 1961, so his calligraphy is still under copyright (life + 70 years in Turkey); 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 Thuluth piece the store makes: Thuluth collection.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (M. Hüsrev Subaşı): born 11 April 1891 Beylerbeyi, teachers, ta'liq ijaza 1923, Babıali office, Baghdad c. 1955-July 1959, died 19 March 1961, mosque inscriptions, signatures islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- Arabic Wikipedia: born 1307/1890, teachers, Baghdad Institute of Fine Arts, students Ihsan Ibrahim Adham and Salman Ibrahim al-Isa, died 17 March 1961 ar.wikipedia.org
- Wikidata: 11 April 1891 - 17 March 1961 wikidata.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).