Viqar Shirazi
1816–1881 · Shiraz
Mirza Ahmad, who wrote poetry under the name Viqar, was the eldest son of Vesal Shirazi, the Qajar-era poet and master of naskh. He was born in Shiraz in 1232 AH (1816–17). Like his father, and like his five brothers, he combined poetry with calligraphy. Persian sources say he wrote nastaliq, naskh, riqa and shikasta-nastaliq with real skill, but that his name rests above all on his naskh. In 1266 AH he went to India with his brother Mahmud Hakim, and his verse romance Bahram va Bahruz was printed in Bombay. He also put the Qur'anic story of Moses and Khidr into verse, and a modern edition of his divan was published in Kerman in 2004. His younger brother Abu al-Qasim Farhang studied poetry and letters with him. A small copy of Nathr al-La'ali, a collection of sayings of Ali ibn Abi Talib, written in naskh and signed by Viqar in 1294 AH, is kept in the Malek National Museum in Tehran. He died in Shiraz; the date is given as 1298 AH (1880–81) on his own Persian Wikipedia page and as 1289 AH on his father's.
Achievements
- Eldest son of the poet-calligrapher Vesal Shirazi, and one of six brothers who were all poets and calligraphers.
- Wrote nastaliq, naskh, riqa and shikasta-nastaliq, and was best known for naskh.
- Travelled to India in 1266 AH (1850) with his brother Mahmud Hakim.
- Left a Persian divan and verse works, among them Bahram va Bahruz, printed in Bombay, and a masnavi on Moses and Khidr.
- A copy of Nathr al-La'ali in naskh, signed by him and dated 1294 AH (1877), is in the Malek National Museum, Tehran.
Taught by: Vesal Shirazi
Taught: Mirza Abu'l-Qasim Farhang Shirazi
His work
1877 (1294 AH) · Malek National Library and Museum, Tehran
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Only one manuscript in his hand is on Wikimedia Commons; the pages there by Vesal and his other sons are not his.
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 Naskh piece the store makes: Naskh collection.
Sources
- 1232–1298 AH, eldest son of Vesal, calligrapher and poet; nastaliq, naskh, riqa, shikasta; best in naskh; Bahram va Bahruz (Bombay); divan ed. Kazemi 1383 SH; Khidr and Moses masnavi fa.wikipedia.org
- six sons all poets and calligraphers; Viqar d. 1289 AH (conflict); India trip 1266 with Mahmud Hakim; Farhang studied with Viqar fa.wikipedia.org
- dates 1232–1298 AH, full name, works ar.wikipedia.org
- Malek National Museum record: scribe Ahmad b. Muhammad Shafi Viqar Shirazi, 1294 AH, 22 × 15 cm commons.wikimedia.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).