Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Clinton, and I'm very excited that you've joined me today.

I'm going to be helping you in your learning.

Today's lesson is called Calligraphy, and its importance to Muslims. And it's from the unit Spirituality, How is art used in religions and beliefs? We'll be thinking about how we can explain why and how some Muslims use calligraphy.

Some of the learning today will be hard and challenging, but I am here to help us with that learning so that we can really enjoy finding out some new information.

In our lesson today, we have some important words that are going to help us with our understanding.

The first one is calligraphy, which is visual art related to writing.

Haram, which is something that's forbidden for Muslims. And figurative art, representing forms that are recognisably taken from life.

We've got three learning cycles today, and our first one is, what art forms do most Muslims make use of? this is Noor, and she has a Muslim worldview.

and her family have told her that as Sunni Muslims, they don't use figurative art as this is haram.

Now Noor thinks this means that you can't draw people or God Allah.

In my home, we don't have any images of God, Allah, or prophets from the Qur'an.

So what is figurative art? I wonder if you can do some thinking about what that might be as we look at this picture.

It's quite a famous work of art, and I have been to see it in France and it is very beautiful and it is very clever at the time, it was painted hundreds of years ago.

And this particular piece of figurative art is of the Mona Lisa, and you can find it in Paris, in France.

But figurative art is the work that shows a recognisable human being in it, people, animals or anything with a face in it.

Now what is Qur'an? And we can see there a picture of somebody holding a Qur'an.

And you can see the ancient Arabic writing that's within it.

So haram is the special word that we use for things that are forbidden or prohibited in Islam.

And for Muslims, this includes certain foods, actions, or behaviours that go against teachings in the Qu'ran.

So Muslim people don't want to go against the things that are forbidden in the Quran.

So what does haram mean? Is it A, foods and actions and behaviours that are allowed? Is it B , foods, actions and behaviours that go against the teachings of the Quran? Or is it C, food, actions, and behaviours that go against the teachings in the Bible? You might like to pause this video and talk about this with your partner.

Welcome back.

So what does haram mean? Did you get the answer right? Was it A, B, or C? Hopefully you got B, and if you got that, great.

That's the right answer.

Haram is food, actions and behaviours that go against teachings in the Quran.

So have a look, what can you see below? It's writing, it's golden and it looks like lots of different shapes and lines.

I can see the light hitting it in different ways so it has a sort of glittery quality about it.

So what sort of art form is this? Hmm, shall we find out? So this is an example of calligraphy, and this is an actual verse from the Quran, and it's written in a decorative style and it's that decorative style that we refer to as calligraphy.

And lots of different religions use calligraphy.

So Christians and Hindus, all sorts of people will use it as a decorative way of writing, takes a lot of time.

So we could sum it up by saying that calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting.

And as I said, it takes a lot of time and practise to make it look so beautiful.

So what is calligraphy? Is it A, poetry, B, paintings or C, beautiful handwriting.

Have a talk to the person next to you and you might like to pause this video while you talk about your answer.

Welcome back.

What is calligraphy? Is it A, B or C? Shall we have a look? And it's C, well done if you got that correct.

So some Muslims use calligraphy as part of their religion.

And here's Noor, and she's telling us, "In my home we have a copy of the Qur'an which has calligraphy on the cover of it." So can you see calligraphy on the cover of Noor's Qur'an? Let's zoom in and there it is in the centre there.

So you can see there's lots of beautiful shapes and lines decorating the front of this book.

But right in the middle there is this special beautiful handwriting.

The writing is in Arabic and it's written in a beautiful way.

And that's because that was the language and the writing that happened at the time of Prophet Mohammed.

And so the book is still printed or copied out using that ancient language.

I have another question for you.

Which of these images show figurative arts? There might be more than one.

You might like to talk to the person next to you and pause this video while you have your discussion.

Welcome back.

So which of these images show figurative art? It's A and C.

And that's because figurative art shows figures, doesn't it? It shows people faces.

So in A, we can see Jesus, on the cross we can see his face as well as some people who are mourning him being on the cross.

And in C, we can see that picture of the Mona Lisa again, another piece of figurative arts.

And of course B, isn't figurative art because we have an example of calligraphy.

Noor has been speaking with her Imam, that's the person who often is the special teacher at mosque about calligraphy.

And this is what she's found out from them.

In the Quran, Muslim people are told not to make any images of God, Allah.

And of people who are named in the book in the Quran.

So this is haram, only God, Allah can create living things.

So many Muslims have calligraphy as a way of using their art skills to express their devotion to God, to Allah because as we've heard, it takes a lot of time to do calligraphy and a lot of practise.

So some Muslims will take a verse from the Quran and then use their art skills to write it in decorative ways.

And this shows the beauty of the words from the Quran.

And here we have that image again.

So let's find out what this verse is actually saying.

So it's taken from the first verse of the Qur'an called the Shahada, and it translates from the Arabic as, "I bear witness that there is no God but God, Allah." Okay, so that's what those shapes that beautiful handwriting is showing us.

Is somebody saying, "I bear witness that there's no God but God, Allah." And that's the point of calligraphy.

It is to help you notice beautiful words in a book because you're presenting them in a beautiful way.

I have a quick check for your understanding.

Can you identify the two correct beliefs for Sunni Muslims? So is it A, only God, Allah can create living things? B, calligraphy is an allowable use of art.

And C, Qur'anic words cannot be decorated in any way.

So which two of those, A, B, C are correct? You might like to talk with a partner.

And you might want to pause this video to give you time to have that discussion.

Welcome back.

So did you get the correct two answers? Shall we have a look and see which they are? So only God, Allah can create living things and also calligraphy is allowable use of art for Muslims. No problem with that at all.

Izzy is unsure why most Muslims would use and appreciate calligraphy as an art form.

Andeep tells her that one reason is because calligraphy makes words from the Quran more beautiful to look at.

Can you help give another two reasons why most Muslims would not use figurative art but they'd use calligraphy.

You might like to pause this video to give you chance to answer this question on your own, to work with somebody or to work in a group.

Welcome back, shall we have a look at some potential answers? So possible reasons for using calligraphy and not figurative art is most Muslims believe only God, Allah can create living things.

The Quran tells Muslim people not to make images of God, Allah And people who're mentioned in the Quran.

Calligraphy takes time and practise and shows someone's devotion and love for God, Allah.

And calligraphy can make a verse from the Quran look beautiful.

So I wonder if you had any other answers that you can add to this list of correct answers.

If you got any of the points above.

Well done.

I'm really proud of your thinking on this topic.

And let's go on to what we're going to do next.

So part two of our lesson is where would you find Muslim calligraphy? Here's a picture of Noor's Quran again.

And many Muslims will decorate the outside of a Quran with calligraphy.

And this is a common place to find calligraphy.

In the British library, there are very old Qu'rans and they have calligraphy on their covers and they have calligraphy within them.

And the Muslims took a lot of time and care to create those sacred words.

It's somewhere you could go and have a look at.

And also those copies are online so that you can see them on a computer screen as well.

So what might this building be? I wonder if that tall tower is giving you a clue.

It's got a special name.

I wonder if you know it.

It's called a minaret, and that's often a sign on the outside of a building that this is a mosque.

Yes, and this mosque is in East London.

It has Muslims from many different nationalities that attend it.

And the moss design has been influenced by Turkish culture and many people visit the moss to enjoy its calligraphy and its tiles that are done in a Turkish style.

So here we're beginning to see the inside of the mosque and you can see it's highly decorated.

The mosque has beautiful Turkish tiles that decorate the walls.

It also has calligraphy tiles on the walls.

And these are all important verses from the Qu'ran for Muslim people to read and take note of and remember.

And these remind all the Muslims who attend this mosque that God, Allah is one and all people should worship him.

So let's check on your understanding.

Is this statement true or false? True or false? Calligraphy is just pretty writing.

You might like to talk to the person next to you and pause this video in order to give you time to have that conversation.

And welcome back.

So true or false, calligraphy is just pretty writing.

It's false.

And why is that? Because calligraphy is much more than just pretty writing.

It's an art form that Muslims use to bring glory to God, Allah.

Here's another picture.

I wonder if you can see where the calligraphy is on this entrance.

It's the entrance to a mosque in Cambridge, and it's an ecology eco mosque.

And so you can see it has pillars that come up and they look a little bit like trees and you can see the greenery around it.

Have you spotted where the calligraphy is in that image? It is actually over the entrance.

So you can see it's quite white in writing.

Now that looks different, doesn't it? Its style looks different from the golden writing we saw earlier, which was very curvy.

Whereas this writing is much more angular.

So you can often find calligraphy at the entrance to a mosque.

So we've noticed that you can sometimes see it in a mosque, on the walls, you can see it on a Qu'ran, but you can also often find it on an entrance to a mosque.

Because it's an allowable artistic way to welcome people into this sacred building, into this special building into the mosque.

You can often find calligraphy inside mosques as well.

And we've looked already at that mosque in East London.

But here's another example.

And on this one you can see the 99 names of God, Allah in the mihrab, which is like a little place which shows the direction of Mecca of the Kaaba.

And so it gives you the direction in which to pray in.

And you can see each one of those little golden tiles has different Arabic writing in it.

And each of those you can see are different forms of calligraphy.

And there's one in the middle that's about six times bigger than all the others.

And that's because it's the name of God, Allah in Arabic.

So the mihrab, as I've said, is the alcove the prayer hall, which shows the direction in which to pray in.

And the calligraphy in the mihrab is a special reminder of the character of God.

'Cause here are the 99 names of Allah, the 99 different characteristics of what Muslims believe God is like.

The calligraphy in the mosque give the 99 different names of Allah and here's what some of those 99 names refer to in English.

So you can see that one for Allah and this one is Allah the most high.

And this one over here is The Wise Judge, but there's 99 of those which allow people to think about this.

You can see in this mosque, they're in English, they're in Arabic, and they're also in calligraphy.

So where would you find Muslim calligraphy? Let's check on your understanding.

Is it A, in a mihrab, B, on a Qu'ran, C, in a church? So where would you find Muslim calligraphy? You might like to talk to the person next to you and pause this video while you have that discussion.

Welcome back.

So where would you find Muslim calligraphy? In a mihrab and also on a Qu'ran.

Really well done if you got both of those right, that's great.

Now this is Iqbal, and he is on his local mosque committee and he'd like to talk to them about adding some calligraphy to the mosque.

Now I'd like you to help Iqbal to think of some reasons why this edition could make a positive difference at his mosque.

Let's pause the video and come back when you have done this task.

Welcome back.

So what reasons could Iqbal give his mosque committee about why they should add calligraphy to their mosque? It could be inspirational to have important verses from the Qur'an around the mosque.

It would provide focus points in the mosque.

E.

g.

an important verse from the Qur'an.

Calligraphy takes time and skill.

It could provide an opportunity for someone in the mosque to show their devotion to God, Allah by using their skills and their artistic ability.

Did you have any more reasons? If you had any of these three ideas in your answer then that's fantastic, very well done.

So now we are going to go onto the third part of our lesson today.

Why is calligraphy important to many Muslims? This is Nadia and she's a Sunni Muslim, and she loves calligraphy.

And she tells, "Us we have calligraphy in my home.

My sister gave me a gift of the Shahada, the first verse from the Qu'ran as an art piece that uses calligraphy." And here she is with that piece of artwork that her sister gave her.

And she tells us, I like looking at the calligraphy as it's beautiful and it reminds me of my beliefs.

Zameer is a Shi'a Muslim, and he says calligraphy is an important art form for him along with other art forms. Writing the word of God is central to my Islamic beliefs.

Calligraphy is a beautiful way of bringing God's words to life.

So true or false, calligraphy can help a Muslim to appreciate the words of the Qu'ran.

Is that true or is that false? You might like to talk to the person next to you.

Pause this video while you have that discussion.

Welcome back.

So did you think the answer was true or false? Let's have a look.

It's true.

Calligraphy can help Muslims to appreciate the words of the Qu'ran because it's shown to be beautiful through an artist's work on them.

Now this is Ru, and Ruh is a British born Muslim.

He trained as an artist and designer at Central St.

Martins College of Art and Design, with a focus on illustration.

He works hard to create artwork that inspires devotion to God, Allah, and expresses his beliefs.

This is a piece of artwork created by Ruh called "Falaq." It's the first line of Surah Al-Falaq in a calligraphy style.

In fact, it's very stylized.

It says," I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak." The style and use of colour makes it very memorable, doesn't it? It stands out.

I wonder why it is so stylized, why it stands out? Should we have a think a little bit more about that? So I think it's because Ruh has created it So he uses that dark red, rustic colour and black.

So that makes it stand out quite a lot, doesn't it? The red and black are simply used on a cream background, so they stand out but compliment each other.

That's a good word.

They do compliment each other.

Their tone is very similar.

The calligraphy is a lyrical style and because of its lyrical nature, it's creating a beautiful piece of art that somebody could look at at the start of each of their day and be inspired to start their day with God, Allah.

And Ruh makes art to express what's important to him.

Let's check your understanding.

A Muslim would never be a professional artist.

Is that true or is that false? You might like to think on your own or with a partner and you might want to pause this video while you do your thinking.

Welcome back.

Shall we see what the correct answer was? It's false.

A Muslim can be an artist like Ruh, as long as they follow their religion's teachings and ensure what they create is not haram.

Lucas and Izzy are discussing why calligraphy is important to many Muslims. Who has the better explanation and why? Lucas says, "I think Muslims use calligraphy 'cause they aren't allowed to use figurative art." Izzy says," I think some Muslims create calligraphy to show their devotion to God, Allah.

And it allows them to use their artistic skills." So you might want to pause this video to give you time to think about who has the better explanation and why.

Welcome back.

So your answer might have included, Izzy has the better explanation, because she talks about calligraphy being an allowed form of art in Islam that shows people's devotion to God, Allah.

Lucas is also correct, but his answer doesn't really explain why calligraphy is loved by many Muslims. In our lesson today, Calligraphy and its importance to Muslims, we have learned that calligraphy is decorative writing.

In fact, I like it being called beautiful writing.

And it's often used by Muslims as a form of art.

This is because most Muslim people believe it's wrong to depict a living being.

So this would make it haram if you used figurative art.

There are many great Muslim works of calligraphy and these can be found in mosques and people's homes and even in the British library.

Thank you for being with me.

I've really enjoyed doing this lesson with you.

I hope you've learned lots of new things that you can remember and take forward into more RE lessons.

So goodbye from me and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye.