Shaykh Abu Salih Yusuf Abd al-Khaliq
1882–1949 · Majdal Baana
Abu Salih Yusuf Abd al-Khaliq was a Lebanese calligrapher and one of the senior shaykhs of the Druze community in the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in Majdal Baana; Arabic Wikipedia gives 27 April 1882 to 8 January 1949, while the Druze site al-Amama gives 1869 to 1937. He had only the schooling the village could offer and taught himself the rest. He mastered Arabic calligraphy and became the person his community turned to for copying and checking religious books; Arabic Wikipedia says he left more than a hundred such books in his hand, regarded as masterpieces. He knew a little Turkish, wrote verse that recorded the deaths of fellow shaykhs, and served as spokesman of the religious delegations. Political leaders of his day sought his advice. Mourners from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine attended his funeral, and a room built over his grave in Majdal Baana is visited for blessing.
Achievements
- Left more than a hundred religious books in his own hand, counted among the finest of their kind (Arabic Wikipedia).
- Was a reference for the copying and checking of the Druze community's religious books (al-Amama).
- Spoke for the Druze religious delegations on public occasions (Arabic Wikipedia, al-Amama).
His work
No photograph of a book or sheet in his hand is on Wikimedia Commons or another open collection.
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 1882–1949, calligraphy, 100+ religious books, role ar.wikipedia.org
- al-Amama (Druze community site): dates 1869–1937; reference for copying religious books al-amama.net
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).