Basic Islamic Calligraphy

Another part of the calligrapher’s toolset is the ink. Traditionally, calligraphy ink comes in powdered form, which is then mixed with water and arabic gum before being used. At the present time, there are many brands of ink on the market. Some of these are also available in liquid form. However, not all are suitable for calligraphy. The best quality liquid inks are thicker in consistency, whereas a thinner ink will result in blotched writing, making it unsuitable for our purposes. It is important that you ink be of suitable thickness. This will help avoid a surplus building up the nib.

Often, a silk thread will be inserted inside the ink bottle to help the qalam get the right amount of ink when dipping the nib in the bottle.