Shuhda al-Katiba (Fakhr al-Nisa)
1091–1178 · Dinawar & Baghdad
Shuhda bint Ahmad al-Ibari al-Dinawari, called Fakhr al-Nisa ('pride of women') and al-Katiba ('the scribe'), was born about 484 AH (around 1091); Arabic Wikipedia places her birth in Dinawar, Turkish Wikipedia in Baghdad. Her father, a lover of hadith, took her to the leading teachers of Baghdad, among them Abu al-Khattab ibn al-Batir, al-Husayn ibn Ahmad al-Ni'ali and Tirad al-Zaynabi, and she became one of the best-known hadith transmitters of her century. Her nickname came from her writing: she wrote the proportioned script in the manner of Ibn al-Bawwab and was counted among the finest hands of her time. Students came from far away to hear and copy texts with her; Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Asakir and Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi are among those who transmitted from her. She died in Baghdad on 13 Muharram 574 AH (June 1178), nearly a hundred years old, and was buried at Bab Abraz. English Wikipedia gives 1112 as her death year, which does not agree with the other sources.
Achievements
- Wrote the 'proportioned script' (al-khatt al-mansub) in the manner of Ibn al-Bawwab and was called al-Katiba, 'the scribe', for it (Arabic Wikipedia).
- Was one of the leading hadith transmitters of 12th-century Baghdad, with a short chain of transmission because of her long life.
- Scholars such as Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Asakir and Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi heard hadith from her; al-Dhahabi praised her learning and her hand.
- A student compiled a Mashyakha of her teachers during her lifetime, with 114 narrations from 27 teachers (English Wikipedia).
Taught by: Abu al-Khattab ibn al-Batir, Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Talha al-Ni'ali, Tirad ibn Muhammad al-Zaynabi
Taught: Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Asakir, Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi
Her work
No page in her hand is known to survive in an open collection; her fame as a scribe rests on the biographers.
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
Open Mashq Studio →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi).
Sources
- Arabic Wikipedia: dates 484-574 AH, teachers, Ibn al-Bawwab manner, students, burial ar.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia: hadith teachers, Mashyakha of 114 narrations, calligraphy (gives death 1112, rejected) en.wikipedia.org
- Turkish Wikipedia: born 1091 Baghdad, died 1179 Baghdad tr.wikipedia.org
- Persian Wikipedia: names and titles fa.wikipedia.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).