Introduction to Qur'anic Script — Page 3
INTRODUCTION find this book not only refreshingly different from such conventional books but also, because of its use of material from the Qur'an, can learn something more than any one book on script can teach. This book will add a new dimension to the study of classical or modern Arabic. PERSIAN AND URDU SCRIPT The Qur'anic art of calligraphy, as we have already noted, occupies the central place in Muslim visual culture. Its script unites believers all over the world, and the designs and decorative motifs based on the Arabic alphabet have permeated every level of Muslim society. Today in spite of the recession of the Arabic language to the borders of Arab states, as opposed to its medieval role as a lingua franca, the Arabic script still expresses two great Indo-Aryan cultures, the cultures of Urdu and Persian-speaking peoples. In fact, the largest number of Arabic scribes in the world are today trained in the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent. The new generation of Indo-Pakistani Muslim immigrants in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe still understands Urdu, though some of the young boys and girls may not be able to speak it. The Urdu and Persian adaptations of the Arabic script are explained in the Appendix. This explanation is primarily meant for those lndo-Pakistani and Iranian immigrants who still retain some know ledge of their native languages. It is hoped that the presentation of these two scripts will help to restore the broken links with their cultural heritage. Even those readers who have no knowledge of Urdu or Persian should find this material useful as an introduction to these two forms of the Arabic script. One of the most wasteful things in the world today, H. G. Wells once observed, is the school textbook. is neither a text book nor a teach-yourself sort of manual. It is a programmed book in which the Arabic script is presented in a series of steps. A teacher is not needed to take you step by step, but there are no short-cuts. If the approach is to be successful, every step must be thoroughly mastered before proceeding to the next. A foreign language, especially when a sacred text is involved, however, does require some initial help by a native speaker-in this case by a trained qiiri. As a qiiri need not be a trained teacher of Arabic an explanatory note is given for his benefit at the end of the book. But students who are interested need not deprive themselves of the note. It would, however, be better if they read it after the first reading of the book. Learning to read is the easiest skill in acquiring a foreign language. It is possible to proceed at one's own pace. One can always go back to read what one has not understood or forgotten. But it is not possible to learn without effort. It requires practice, and the more the student puts into it the more he will get out of it. 3