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The Science of the Etiquette of Writing the Qur'aan

Aboo al-Khayr mentions it among the branches of the science of Qur'aanic exegesis, although you know that it more closely resembles a branch of the science of calligraphy.

He says in Madeenat al-'Uloom: It is the science by which one learns how to write the mushaf so that it accords with the etiquettes recognized in the law and approved by the early generations.

Its benefit is not hidden from people of insight: it improves, clarifies, elucidates, and perfects its writing. It is considered reprehensible to write it on a small object. When 'Umar, God be pleased with him, saw a mushaf written with a fine pen, he struck its scribe; when he saw a large mushaf, he was pleased by it.

'Alee ibn Abee Taalib, may God ennoble his countenance, disliked having mushafs made small. The Shaafi'ees said: It is reprehensible to write it on walls, structures, and ceilings, and even more reprehensible on ceilings because it will be trodden upon. End.

The Science of Calligraphic Instruments

Its treatment will come under the science of calligraphy, God willing; so it is stated in Kashf al-Dhunoon.

Al-Arneeqee says in Madeenat al-'Uloom: It is the science of calligraphic instruments, including pens; the method of distinguishing good ones from poor ones; the methods of sharpening them; the conditions of opening, carving, splitting, and cutting the reed pens; how to join their parts; the kinds of ink, how they are made and corrected; the kinds of paper, distinguishing good from poor, and the means of correcting it; and other writing instruments.

Among its works is the eloquent raa'iyya by 'Alee ibn Hilaal ibn al-Bawwaab al-Baghdaadee. Among the early and later writers, none produced anything like it or even approached it. Although Aboo 'Alee ibn Muqla was the first to transfer this method from the Koofic script and present it in this form, Ibn al-Bawwaab refined his method, polished it, and clothed it in grace. His

teacher in writing was Ibn Asad al-Kaatib al-Bazzaar al-Baghdaadee. Ibn al-Bawwaab died in 423 AH, or 410 AH, in Baghdad and was buried beside Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. There is also a fine epistle by Aboo al-Durr Yaaqoot ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Musta'simee, who had been one of the caliph's mamlooks, wrote a beautiful script, and perfected it; he died in 498 AH.

Among its works is the single chapter of Aboo al-'Abbaas Ahmad al-Qalqashandee, later the Egyptian, in Subh al-A'shaa fee Kitaab al-Inshaa'. In that chapter he presented everything related to calligraphy and did so exceedingly well, transmitting most of it from Yaaqoot al-Musta'simee. End of its substance.

The Science of Marvellous Musical Instruments

It is the science by which one learns how such instruments are devised and assembled, such as the 'ood, pipes, the qaanoon, especially the organ, and other instruments. Their inventor displayed remarkable crafts and extraordinary devices in them.

Aboo al-Khayr says: I witnessed and listened to them many times, and each viewing and hearing increased only my amazement and perplexity. He then says: I have discussed them, despite their being forbidden in our law, because they are branches of the mathematical sciences.

I say: The wisdom of the prohibition of music will be explained later. Madeenat al-'Uloom says: We shall not lengthen the discussion by listing the kinds of musical instruments, since they are forbidden in our law, and the person seeking the hereafter is too noble to waste his time on such things. I have mentioned them here only to complete the kinds of sciences. End. I say: The practitioners of this science have said this verse:

From every delicious thing I drank a cup,

And every speaking thing in the cosmos delights me.

Among those instruments are the koos, drum, naqaara, and daa'ira.

Among the kinds of pipes are the naay, surnaa, nafeer, mithqaal, fawwaal, and an instrument called booree and doodook.

Among the stringed instruments are the tanboor, shashtaa, rabaab, and instruments called qiyoozoojank, among others.

The shaykh included illustrations of them in al-Shifaa', as did the learned al-Sheeraazee in Durrat al-Taaj.

The Science of Orthography

It is the science that treats, according to configuration and quantity, the incidental features of the forms of Arabic writing—not in terms of their beauty on the line, but in terms of their indication of Arabic words through the technical instruments of the pen and similar tools, after attending to the condition of the elementary letters insofar as they signify the letters that constitute words.

Insofar as it concerns producing letter forms with an instrument, this science is a type of the science of calligraphy.

Insofar as those forms signify words, it is a branch of the Arabic language. This is the substance of what Aboo al-Khayr mentioned, classifying it among the sciences concerned with the orthography of isolated letters. The best compilation in this science is al-Mataali' al-Nasriyya li-l-Mataabi' al-Misriyya, compiled in our own time by the learned shaykh Nasr al-Wafaa' al-Hawreenee and now printed in Cairo.

The Science of Beautifying Letters

Its treatment will come under the science of calligraphy, as stated in al-Kashf. In Madeenat al-'Uloom it says: It is the science by which one learns to beautify those forms and the related manner of using writing instruments, distinguishing beautiful forms from poor ones, and the causes of beauty in letters as instruments, in use, in arrangement, and in structure. This art is founded on aesthetic judgments arising from sound dispositions. Their forms vary according to familiarity, custom, temperament, and even each individual; hence two scripts scarcely exist that are identical in every respect. End.

The Science of Arranging the Letters of the Alphabet

Its explanation will come under calligraphy. Madeenat al-'Uloom says: It is the science that investigates how the letters of the alphabet are arranged in

writing, according to the arrangement customary among us; how some share a graphic form with others; how their ambiguity is removed by dots; and how those dots differ, being below in some cases and above in others, doubled or tripled, and so forth, together with everything related to this subject.

The subject, principles, purpose, goal, and benefit of this science are evident. Ibn al-Jinnee and al-Jazaree each have an epistle on this subject, and al-Qalqashandee also included sufficient material in Subh al-A'shaa.

The Science of Composing Forms

That is, the forms of the elementary letters. Its explanation will come under calligraphy.

It is the science that investigates the composition of the forms of elementary letters in general, not in terms of their indication of words, but in terms of their beauty on the line. Just as letters have a beauty in their elementary form, they also have a particular beauty when composed, arising from the proportion of form and dots and the proportion within words and lines.

The subject, purposes, and goals of this science are evident.

Its principles are matters of aesthetic judgment, all or most of which return to the utmost natural proportion in forms.

It draws upon geometry. Ibn al-Jinnee wrote an epistle on this art, and al-Qalqashandee devoted a separate chapter to it in Subh al-A'shaa.

The Science of Composing Ink

It is the science that investigates the composition of kinds of ink—black, red, yellow, and the other colors, such as gold, lapis lazuli, ruby, emerald, and brilliant black, which they call peacock ink—and other delicate, marvellous colors. This is stated in Madeenat al-'Uloom. Aboo al-Khayr mentioned it in the fifth division of the branches of natural science. It is evident that this amounts to multiplying blackness and wasting paper and ink, since it is a particular industrial matter that does not merit being called a science; otherwise the sciences would number in the thousands.

The Science of Constructing Dwellings

It is also called the science of building vaults, as will be mentioned under the letter 'ayn. Dwellings protect people from the effects of the atmosphere, which are among the strongest means of changing accidental conditions.

Discussion of it is confined to two aspects:

First: choosing locations.

Second: choosing building materials, the methods of constructing dwellings with them, and related precautions.

The first has levels: the elevation of locations, which varies according to the people concerned, the defects of the site, and its proximity to forests, seas, rivers, and towns.

The second also has levels: the height and depth of houses, their openings, the measurement of houses, and precautions specifically intended to preserve health in houses.

Dwellings are of several kinds:

Among them are bathhouses; a discussion of cold and hot bathing and its ancillary matters would be lengthy.

Among them are the places in which buildings are arranged.

Among them are latrines.

Among them are cemeteries.

Among them are public places: buildings containing many people, such as hospitals, prisons, temples, schools, ribaats, government offices, gathering places, and military barracks. The book The Law of Health, called al-Manha fee Siyaasat al-Sihha, by the skilled physician Muhammad al-Haraawee, addresses these places and dwellings in the finest style and most ingenious form. It contains enough to comprehend the realities of the health of air, dwelling, clothing, ships, and other things.

The Science of Calligraphy

It is knowing how to represent a word through its spelling letters as the names of letters when those names are intended to signify the named entity. Thus, in the phrase “fee bi-ahdaakum raheem mu'een,” the form Ja'far is written because it has been called both script and utterance. For this reason al-Khaleel, when they asked him, “How do you pronounce the jeem in Ja'far?” and they replied, “Jeem,” said: You have pronounced the name, not the thing asked about; the answer is “j-h,” because that is the named entity. If another entity is given that name, it is written like other words, as in Yaa Seen and Haa Meem, written YS and HM. This is what they mentioned in defining it.

Its purpose and goal are evident, but they went on at length about the conditions and kinds of script. We shall present a summary of what they mentioned in sections.

Section on the Excellence of Calligraphy

Know that God—glorified and exalted is He—attributed the teaching of writing to Himself and bestowed it as a favor upon His servants in His saying: “He taught by the pen.” That is sufficient honor for it.

'Abd Allaah ibn 'Abbaas said: Writing is the tongue of the hand. It has been said: There is no matter over which writing is not entrusted to govern it and express it. Through it, the distinctive potential of the human species emerged into actuality, and through it humanity was distinguished from the other animals.

It has been said that writing is superior to speech because speech is understood only by one present, whereas writing is understood by the present and the absent. Its virtues are numerous and well known.

Section on the Reason for Its Necessity

Know that, since the benefit of communication becomes clear only through words and their conditions, and scholars have taken care to regulate those conditions, they have likewise taken care with the conditions of what indicates words: scripts and forms that signify words. They therefore investigated the conditions of writing, whose forms remain through every age, its vowels and pauses, its dots, vocalization, and rules, including its doubling and lengthening, as well as its composition and lineation, so that observers might pass from them to words and letters, and from these to the meanings formed in the mind.

Section on How It Was Established and Its Kinds

It is said that the first to establish writing was Adam, peace be upon him. He wrote it in clay and fired it so that it would remain after the Flood. It is also said to have been Idrees. Ibn 'Abbaas related that the first to establish Arabic writing were three men from Boolaan of the Tayy tribe who settled in the city of al-Anbaar. The first, Maraaz, established the forms; the second, Aslam, joined and separated them; and the third, 'Aamir, established the dotting; then it spread.

It is also said that the first to invent it were six people from Talasm, whose names were Abjad, Hawwaz, Huttee, Kalaman, Sa'fas, and Qarashat. They established writing and script, adding the letters absent from their names. It is related that these were the names of the kings of Madyan.

In Ibn Hishaam's Seera: The first to write Arabic script was Himyar ibn Saba'.

Al-Suhaylee says in al-Ta'reef wa-l-A'laam: The soundest view is what we transmitted through Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, who traces it back to the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—who said: “The first to write in Arabic was Ismaa'eel, peace be upon him.”

Aboo al-Khayr says: Know that all the writings of the nations are twelve: Arabic, Himyaree, Greek, Persian, Syriac, Hebrew, Roman, Coptic, Berber, Andalusian, Indian, and Chinese.

Five of them have disappeared, and those who knew them are gone: Himyaree, Greek, Coptic, Andalusian, and Berber.

Three remain in use in their own lands, while no one in the lands of Islam knows them: Roman, Indian, and Chinese.

Four remain in use in the lands of Islam: Arabic, Persian, Syriac, and Hebrew.

I say: His statement is open to criticism in several respects:

First, the restriction to the stated number is incorrect, since the scripts now circulating among the nations are more numerous, apart from those that have died out. Anyone who examines the ancient books written in Greek and Coptic, and the books of the craftsmen who described the varieties of scripts and writing in them, will know that what we have said is correct. This enumeration reveals limited investigation.

Second, his statement that five have disappeared is also incorrect, since Greek is used by the elite of the Christian community—that is, the people of the renowned academies in Spain, France, and Austria. These are numerous realms, and Greek is the foundation of their sciences and books.

Third, his statement that no one in the lands of Islam knows Roman is also unsound, for those who know Roman in the lands of Islam are too numerous to count. One should understand that the Roman used in our time is Greek altered by slight changes, whereas the script used among the unbelieving Romans is not the Greek script.

Fourth, his classification of Syriac and Hebrew among the scripts used in the lands of Islam is not appropriate. Syriac is an ancient script, indeed one of the oldest scripts, attributed to Syria, the lands of al-Shaam. Its people have disappeared, and no trace of them remains established in the historical and civil records. The script used among the Jews is the source of the Arabic language and its script. Hebrew resembles Arabic slightly in pronunciation and script.

Section

Know that all scripts are arranged according to the order of Abjad except Arabic. All are disconnected, except Arabic, Syriac, Mongolian, Greek, Roman, and Coptic; these run from left to right, while Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic run from right to left, as do Turkish and Persian.

The Syriac Script:

It has three kinds: the open, precise script, called asterikhaalaa, which is the most eminent; the rounded form, called the heavy script, or askooleenaa, which is the finest; and the shurtaawee script, used for correspondence. Syriac is the origin of Nabataean.

The Hebrew Script:

The first to write in it was 'Aamir ibn Shaalih. It derives from Syriac and was given this name because Abraham crossed the Euphrates intending to go to al-Shaam. Jews and Christians claim, without disagreement among them, that Hebrew writing was on two stone tablets and that God—glorified and exalted is He—gave them to him.

The Roman Script:

It has twenty-four letters, as we mentioned in the introduction. They have a script known as al-masmiyaa, for which we have no equivalent; a single letter in it can signify meanings. Galen mentioned it in one of his established works.

The Chinese Script:

It is a script that cannot be learned in a short time, for it exhausts even its skilled writer. A light-handed person cannot write more than two or three pages with it in a day.

They write their religious and scientific books in it. They also have a form called composite writing, in which each word is written with three or more letters in a single form, and every lengthy statement has a form of letters that conveys many meanings. When they wish to write what would fill one hundred pages, they write it on a single page in this script.

The Manichaean Script:

It is derived from Persian and Syriac; Mani extracted it, just as his doctrine is composed of Magianism and Christianity. Its letters exceed those of Arabic. The ancient people of Maa Waraa' al-Nahr used this script for their books of religious laws, and the Marcionites have a script of their own.

The Indian and Sindhi Script:

These are several scripts. It is said that they have about two hundred scripts; some write with the nine numerals in the sense of Abjad and place two or three dots beneath them.

The Zanjee and Ethiopian Script:

Despite their scarcity, they have a script whose letters are joined, like Himyaree letters. It begins from the left toward the right, and they distinguish each of its names by three dots.

The Arabic Script:

It is extremely curved toward the right hand. Ibn Ishaaq said that the earliest Arabic scripts were the Meccan, followed by the Medinan, then the Basran, and then the Koofic. The Meccan and Medinan scripts have a slight reclining form. al-Kindee said: I know of no writing from which the letters can be analyzed and precisely examined as they can from Arabic writing; it permits a speed impossible in other scripts.

Section on the Practitioners of Arabic Calligraphy:

Ibn Ishaaq said: The first person in the early period to write mushafs and be described for the beauty of his script was Khaalid ibn Abee al-Hayyaaj. Sa'd appointed him to write mushafs, poetry, and historical reports for al-Waleed ibn 'Abd al-Malik. At that time Arabic script was the script now known as Koofic, and the scripts were derived from it, as stated in the commentary on al-'Aqeela.

Among the writers of mushafs were Khashnaam al-Basree and al-Mahdee al-Koofee, who lived in the time of al-Rasheed.

Among them was Aboo Hady, who wrote mushafs in the time of al-Mu'tasim and was one of the leading and most skilled Koofic writers.

The first to write in the time of the Umayyads was Qutba. He extracted the four scripts and derived some from others; he was the finest writer of his age.

After him came al-Dhahhaak ibn 'Ajlaan, a secretary at the beginning of the 'Abbaasid caliphate, who added to Qutba's work.

Then came Ishaaq ibn Hammaad during the caliphates of al-Mansoor and al-Mahdee. He had several students who wrote the original, proportioned scripts, twelve pens: the jaleel, sijillaat, deebaaj, large astoormaar, thirty, zanboor, muftat, haram, mudaamaraat, 'uhood, qisas, and harfaaj pens. When

the Haashimites appeared, a script called Iraqi emerged, namely the precise script. It continued to develop until the matter reached al-Ma'moon, who had his scribes perfect their scripts. A man known as al-Ahwal al-Muharrir then appeared, discussed their forms and rules, and made them into distinct types.

Then the murdha', nussaakh, and riyaasee pens appeared. The last was invented by Dhoo al-Ri'aasatayn, al-Fadhl ibn Sahl. There also appeared the riqaa' pen and the ghubaar al-hilya pen.

Then came Ishaaq ibn Ibraaheem al-Tameemee, known as Aboo al-Hasan, the tutor of al-Muqtadir. His sons were the finest writers of their time. He had an epistle on calligraphy entitled Tuhfat al-Waamiq.

Among the vizier-scribes was Aboo 'Alee Muhammad ibn 'Alee ibn Muqla, who died in 328 AH and was the first to write the beautiful script. Then appeared the master of beautiful script, 'Alee ibn Hilaal, known as Ibn al-Bawwaab, who died in 413 AH. Among earlier writers none produced anything like him or approached him.

Although Ibn Muqla was the first to transfer this method from the Koofic script and present it in this form, thereby possessing the merit of precedence, and although his own script was also supremely beautiful, Ibn al-Bawwaab refined and polished his method and clothed it in sweetness and radiance. His teacher in writing was Muhammad ibn Asad al-Kaatib.

Then Aboo al-Durr Yaaqoot ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Roomee al-Hamawee appeared; he died in 626 AH.

Then Aboo al-Majd Yaaqoot ibn 'Abd Allaah al-Roomee al-Musta'simee appeared; he died in 698 AH. His reputation spread throughout the world, and people acknowledged their inability to approach his rank.

The six pens then became famous among later writers: thuluth, naskh, ta'leeq, rayhaan, muhaqqaq, and riqaa'.

Among the masters of these types were Ibn Muqla, Ibn al-Bawwaab, Yaaqoot, 'Abd Allaah Arghoon, 'Abd Allaah al-Sayrafee, Yahyaa al-Soofee, Shaykh Ahmad al-Suhrawardee, Mubaarak Shaah al-Suyoofee, Mubaarak Shaah al-Qutb, and Asad Allaah al-Kirmaanee.

Among those famous in the lands of Room were Hamd Allaah ibn al-Shaykh al-Aamaasee, his son Dede Çelebi, al-Jalaal, al-Jamaal, Ahmad al-Qurra al-Hisaaree, his student Hasan, 'Abd Allaah al-Qirimee, and other copyists.

Then the ta'leeq, deewaanee, and dashtee pens appeared. Those famous for ta'leeq included Sultaan 'Alee al-Mashhadee, Meer 'Alee, and Meer 'Imaad; for deewaanee, Taaj and others. They are recorded in detail elsewhere, and we shall not discuss them here because our purpose is to explain the science of calligraphy.

Aboo al-Khayr, for his part, presented in the first division of Miftaah al-Sa'aada sciences related to the manner of the calligraphic craft. We shall mention them briefly in a section.

Among what he mentioned is the following:

First: the science of calligraphic instruments, including the pen, how to sharpen it, the conditions of splitting and cutting it, the inkwell, ink, and paper. I say: These matters belong to the conditions of the science of calligraphy, so there is no reason to treat them separately. If such a matter were a science, the situation would become difficult.

Ibn al-Bawwaab composed an eloquent raa'iyya on it, exhaustively discussing writing instruments, and Yaaqoot also wrote an epistle on it. Among them is the science of the rules of writing: knowing how to reduce the forms of elementary letters, how the pen is positioned, from which side one begins writing, and how to make the representation of those letters easy.

Among its works is the single chapter of Subh al-A'shaa; that is nothing other than the science of calligraphy.

Another is the science of beautifying letters, already mentioned under the letter taa'. It too belongs to the multiplication of blackness. He says: This

art is founded on aesthetic judgments arising from sound dispositions according to familiarity, custom, and temperament, and even according to each individual, as well as everything else that affects the approval or disapproval of forms. Hence this science varies from one people to another, and thus two scripts scarcely exist that are identical in every respect.

I say: What he said about aesthetic judgment is accepted, but its variation does not follow from that. The failure to find two identical scripts does not result from aesthetic judgment; rather, it is a customary matter, close to the innate, like the other habits and traits of the writer. It contains a divine secret disclosed only to exceptional individuals.

Another is the science of how scripts arise from their origins through abbreviation, addition, and other kinds of alteration, according to different peoples and known purposes in its art. The most accomplished calligraphers composed many epistles on it, especially Subh al-A'shaa, which is sufficient on this subject; but this too belongs to the same category.

Another is the science of arranging the letters of the alphabet according to the familiar order among us, how some share a graphic form with others, how their ambiguity is removed through dots, and how those dots differ. It was mentioned earlier under baa' and taa'.

Ibn al-Jinnee and al-Jazaree have an epistle on this subject. The arrangement of letters belongs to the conditions of the science of letters, while their dotting belongs to the conditions of the science of calligraphy.

The Mention of Dotting and Diacritical Marking in Islam

Know that the first generation received the Qur'aan and hadeeth by dictation from the mouths of men. When the Muslim population increased, they were compelled to establish dotting and diacritical marking. It is said that Muraad established the dots and 'Aamir the diacritical marks; it is also said that al-Hajjaaj did so, or Aboo al-Aswad al-Du'alee under the instruction of 'Alee, may God ennoble his countenance. The apparent view, however, is that both were established with the letters, since it is unlikely that letters with similar forms would remain without dots until the mushaf was dotted. It is related that the Companions stripped the mushaf of everything, even dots; had dots not existed in their time, it would not have been possible to strip them away.

Ibn Khallikaan, in the biography of al-Hajjaaj, records that Aboo Ahmad al-'Askaree stated in Kitaab al-Tasheef that people continued reading the mushaf of 'Uthmaan—God be pleased with him—for more than forty years, until the days of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwaan. Then textual corruption multiplied and spread in Iraq, so al-Hajjaaj turned to his scribes and asked them to place marks on these ambiguous letters.

It is said that Nasr ibn 'Aasim, or Yahyaa ibn Ya'mar, undertook this task and introduced the dots. Since textual corruption still occurred, they then introduced diacritical marking. End.

Know that in our time dotting and diacritical marking are obligatory in the mushaf. In other writing, they are certainly obligatory when ambiguity is feared, since they were instituted only to remove it. When ambiguity is not feared, leaving them out is preferable, especially when the recipient is qualified.

It is related that a scribe's handwriting was shown to 'Abd Allaah ibn Taahir, who said: How beautiful it is, were it not for so much shooneeza.

It is said that excessive dots in a letter indicate mistrust of its recipient.

Dotting can also cause harm. It is related that Ja'far al-Mutawakkil wrote to one of his governors: Castrate those protected subjects who are under your authority,

[Edition footnote 1] al-Qalqashandee likewise included sufficient material in Subh al-A'shaa. May his lofty shadow endure.

and inform us of their number. A dot was placed on the haa', so the governor gathered all the protected subjects in his jurisdiction and castrated them; all died except two. This applies only to letters that cannot bear another reading, such as the isolated yaa', noon, qaaf, and faa', and even in these there is a choice.

He then presented, in the second division, sciences related to the orthography of isolated letters, which are likewise like the first division.

Among them is the science of composing the forms of elementary letters in terms of their beauty. Just as letters have beauty in their elementary state, they have a particular beauty in composition, arising from the proportion of form. Its principles are aesthetic judgments that return to observing natural proportion in forms, and it draws upon geometry.

That beauty is of two kinds. The beauty of formation in letters consists of five things:

First, completion: giving each letter its due share of measures in length and shortness, fineness and thickness.

Second, fulfillment: giving each letter its due share of measures in length, shortness, and thickness.

Third, leaning forward and reclining.

Fourth, saturation.

Fifth, dispatch: moving the hand quickly.

The beauty of arrangement in words consists of six things:

Alignment: joining one letter to another.

Composition: bringing together a letter that is not joined.

Lineation: adding one word to another.

Separation: the placement of approved extensions, observing the pauses of speech, and skillfully managing the division of a single word when it reaches the end of a line—separating the complete word and joining it by writing part at the end of the line and part at its beginning.

Another is the science of Arabic orthography: the incidental conditions of the forms of Arabic writing, not in terms of their beauty but in terms of their indication of words. It too belongs to the multiplication of blackness.

Another is the science of the script of the mushaf, according to the convention adopted by the Companions when they collected the Noble Qur'aan, following the choice of Zayd ibn Thaabit. It is also called the early convention.

Although this science is a branch of calligraphy insofar as it investigates one type of script, the author of Madeenat al-'Uloom discussed it among the sciences related to the Noble Qur'aan. We have mentioned it here only to complete the divisions.

It includes al-Shaatibee's al-'Aqeela al-Raa'iyya.

Another is the science of prosodic script: the convention adopted by prosodists in scanning poetry, relying on what is heard rather than on meaning. The matter in prosody concerns only wording, because they seek the number of letters by which the meter is established, whether vocalized or quiescent. They write tanween as a quiescent noon and do not observe its omission at pause; they write assimilated letters as two letters and omit the laam assimilated into the following letter, as in al-Rahmaan, al-dhaahib, and al-dhaarib. They rely on the letters' portions of the metrical feet and scan the letters of words according to their divisions, as in the poet's verse:

The days will reveal to you what you did not know ... and one who was not supplied by you will bring you reports.

They write it in this form:

The days will reveal to you what you did not know ... and he will bring you reports from one not supplied by you.

In al-Kashshaaf it says: In the script of the mushaf there are things that depart from analogy. This causes neither defect nor deficiency, because the wording remains sound and the script endures; following the script of the mushaf is an inviolable sunna.

Ibn Durustooya says in Kitaab al-Kuttaab: Two scripts are not subject to analogy: the script of the mushaf, because it is a sunna, and prosodic script, because it records what pronunciation establishes and omits what pronunciation omits. This is a summary of what they mentioned about the science of calligraphy and its branches. [Edition footnote 1]

As for the books composed on it, some epistles have already been mentioned. Apart from these, they are extremely rare, except for leaves and abridgements such as the urjooza of 'Awn al-Deen.

[Edition footnote 1] Among them is a valuable work by one of the learned figures, which I encountered but whose author I could not identify. Its author called it Lamhat al-Mukhtataf fee Sinaa'at al-Khatt al-Salf. Aboo Eeloo mentions chapters in it: a chapter on choosing pens and the knife; a chapter on sharpening the pen; a section on how to cut the pen; a section on the manner of cutting; a section on the disagreement among scribes concerning cutting the pen, according to five schools; a section stating that cutting has only three conditions; a section stating that pens are of two kinds, wet and dry; a section stating that each of the seven pens has something distinctive; a section on holding the pen while writing; and other matters. It also contains a section stating that writing has seven divisions; a section stating that letters are of two kinds, isolated and joined; a chapter discussing isolated forms; a section on extensions; and other matters. This completes the epistle mentioned, by Mawlawee Muhammad Yoosuf 'Alee, the Lucknowee, may God, the Guardian, preserve him.

The Science of the Orthography of Qur'aanic Writing in Mushafs

Although this science is a branch of calligraphy, the author of Madeenat al-'Uloom classified it among its branches because it is specifically concerned with the script of the mushaf.

Its subject is the orthography of the mushaf: omission, addition, substitution, separation, joining, and cases in which there are two readings, where it is written according to one of them.

Its purpose is to preserve the authoritative mushaf. It is related from Maalik that he did not permit writing the mushaf according to the orthography used by people and required following the authoritative mushaf. It is related from Ahmad that he forbade contradicting it.

Aboo 'Amr al-Daanee composed al-Muqni' on it; Aboo al-'Abbaas al-Marraakushee composed 'Unwaan al-Daleel fee Marsoom Khatt al-Tanzeel; and Shaykh al-Shaatibee composed the raa'iyya known as al-'Aqeela. Burhaan al-Deen Ibraaheem ibn 'Umar al-Ja'baree, who died in 733 AH, commented on it and called his commentary Jameelat Arbaab al-Maraasid.

The Science of Archery and Shooting

Al-Kashf adds nothing beyond this. Madeenat al-'Uloom says: The science of shooting, such as shooting with bows and firearms, is the science by which one learns to shoot the things mentioned through practice, so that the action is performed accurately. Its benefit is great in every matter. End.

I say: Cannon and similar weapons are included with firearms. The British rulers are the most accomplished people in this science in our time, as are the Turks. This is indicated by the Exalted One's saying: “Prepare against them whatever force you are able,” because consideration is given to the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the occasion.

The Science of Swimming

This is a branch of the science of navigation. It is acquired through practice and persistence, and sailors have the greatest need of it, as stated in Madeenat al-'Uloom.

I have seen people highly skilled in this science. It has many forms, including swimming in seas and rivers upright, swimming seated, swimming on one's back, and other forms known to its practitioners.

The foundation of knowing this science is something beyond merely naïve knowledge.

The Science of Tracking

It is also called the tracking of footprints. It is a science that investigates following the traces of feet, padded feet, and hooves, in contrast to the mark itself, which is formed in soft soil in the shape of the foot.

The benefit of this science is clear: through it, the tracker finds fugitives and lost animals by following their traces and tracks with the strength of sight, imagination, and memory. It is even related that some who devoted themselves to it could distinguish the footprint of a young man from that of an old man, and a man's footprint from a woman's. This is strange, as stated in Madeenat al-'Uloom. Yet what al-Misbaah and al-Qaamoos indicate is that 'iyaafa means augury by birds; this should be investigated.

The Science of Removing Traces

Its definition is apparent from its name, but it is a noble science by which a person can remove oils, gums, and colors that are difficult to remove from clothing and similar objects, using the smallest means or slightest trick. One can also remove writing from papers without scraping and without leaving any trace. This is among the greatest stratagems, and it must be kept secret, since it could lead to the annulment of deeds, registers, and the like.

Madeenat al-'Uloom says: The tanning of Syrian mulberry is removed by its leaves; likewise, the tanning of sweet mulberry is removed by the leaves of the sweet mulberry. The tanning of white grapes is removed by black grapes, and vice versa. Unknown stains on clothing are removed by soaking it overnight in pigeon droppings and washing it in the morning with soap; they will come off. End.

The Science of the Rules of Writing

Aboo al-Khayr says in his Ma'dhoo'aat: It is the science by which one learns how to form the shapes of elementary letters, how the pen is positioned, from which side one begins writing, and how to make the production of those letters easy. Among its works is the single chapter of Subh al-A'shaa. End. The same appears in Madeenat al-'Uloom.

The author of Subh al-A'shaa made it seven volumes. al-Arneeqee says: He omitted neither small nor great matter related to the science of composition, but included it all. He claimed that a prose stylist must know all sciences, reports, and conditions, so he included in his book whatever he was able to address. End.

The Science of Detecting Fraud and Clarifying Doubt

In Miftaah al-Sa'aada it says: It is the science by which one learns stratagems related to particular crafts, including commerce, the manufacture of clarified butter, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and ruby, and deceiving people in these matters. Since its basis is forbidden by the law, we have refrained from detailing it. If you wish to learn about it, consult al-Mukhtaar fee Kashf al-Astaar, which went to great lengths in exposing these secrets. End. The same appears in Madeenat al-'Uloom.

The Science of Navigation

It is the science that investigates how ships are built, how their rigging is arranged, and how they are operated at sea; how far a weight of this amount moves under wind of this strength in a given number of hours; and it depends on knowing the bearings of seas, countries, and regions, the hours of days and nights, and the points from which winds blow, together with their storms, calms, rain-bearing and rainless conditions.

Among its principles are the science of timekeeping and the science of geometry.

Knowledge of it depends on the wonders of the sea, its natures and properties, the forms of regions, and other matters known to its practitioners. This science is of immense benefit, and its practitioners possess books on it; most of its principles rest on experience.