Uthman Taha
1934– · al-Bab, Syria
Uthman Taha was born in 1934 in Sandi, a village near al-Bab in the Aleppo countryside of Syria. His father, the village imam, taught him ruq'a, and in Aleppo he studied with Muhammad Ali al-Mawlawi and Ibrahim al-Rifa'i. In Damascus, where he took a degree in Islamic law in 1964, he studied with Muhammad Badawi al-Dirani and received exercises from Hashim al-Baghdadi; in 1973 Hamid al-Amidi granted him an ijaza. He wrote his first complete Qur'an in 1970 for the Syrian Ministry of Endowments. In 1988 he became calligrapher of the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an in Medina; the Medina mushaf in his hand has been printed in more than 200 million copies. He ends every page with the end of a verse and sets letters side by side so each vowel mark sits clearly over its letter. He has judged IRCICA's competition since 1988, and Saudi Arabia granted him citizenship in December 2021.
Achievements
- Wrote his first complete Qur'an in 1970 for the Syrian Ministry of Endowments.
- Calligrapher at the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an in Medina since 1988.
- The Medina mushaf in his hand has been printed in more than 200 million copies.
- Has written more than twelve complete copies of the Qur'an in several readings.
- Ijaza from Hamid al-Amidi in 1973; member of the jury of IRCICA's calligraphy competition since 1988.
- Granted Saudi citizenship by royal decision in December 2021.
Taught by: his father, Shaykh Abduh Husayn Taha, Muhammad Ali al-Mawlawi, Muhammad al-Khatib, Husayn Husni al-Turki, Abd al-Jawad al-Khattat, Ibrahim al-Rifa'i, Muhammad Badawi al-Dirani, Hashem al-Baghdadi, Hamid al-Amidi
His work
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Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
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Sources
- Arabic Wikipedia: birth 1352/1934 Sandi near al-Bab, father, Aleppo teachers, Damascus degree 1964, al-Dirani 1960-1967, al-Baghdadi exercises, al-Amidi ijaza 1973, IRCICA jury from 1988, first mushaf 1970, KFCPHQ 1988, method, 4 mushafs >200 million copies, citizenship Dec 2021 ar.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia: birth 1934 Sandi, teachers, first mushaf 1970, KFCPHQ 1988, 12 masahif by 2020, citizenship Dec 2021 en.wikipedia.org
- Arab News (15 Aug 2020): birth 1934 Aleppo, teachers, ijaza 1973 from al-Amidi, KFCPHQ 1988, 12 copies, scripts (ruq'a, thuluth, naskh, Farsi), page-ends-with-verse method arabnews.com
- Arab News (27 Dec 2021): Saudi citizenship by royal decision arabnews.com
- Al-Ain: first mushaf 1970, over 30 years at the Complex, more than 10 copies al-ain.com
- Al-Madina (3 Aug 2026): named guest of honour of the first 'Arsh al-Harf calligraphy forum, i.e. living in August 2026 al-madina.com
- Wikidata: b. 1934, Aleppo; teachers incl. al-Baghdadi and al-Amidi 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).