UQU Arabic Calligraphy Contest

Overview

From Makkah (Umm Al-Qura), the cradle of the Message and light, we launch the “Umm Al-Qura Contest for Arabic Calligraphy” to showcase the art of Arabic calligraphy in an atmosphere of fair competition. The contest aims to attract talented university students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, encourage them, and reinforce their Arabic Calligraphy skills in the language of the Holy Qur’an. Another aim of the contest is to inculcate positive values and ethics that contribute to refining behavior and self-evaluation through Quranic texts, hadiths, and poetry related to the theme of the contest.

Theme

• Texts that reinforce the positive values and ethics of society in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• The contest involves the following scripts: the Naskh script, the Diwni script, the Diwani Jali script, and the Rquaa script.

Terms and Conditions

• The contestant should be a student at one of the Saudi universities, residing inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and should provide proof of that.
• The contestant is entitled to participate with a maximum of two types of Arabic script, and is confined to the proposed texts in each script type.
• The contestant must write the work according to the traditional rules of Arabic calligraphy; the contestant is not allowed to combine more than one script type in one painting.
• The winning script works are chosen based on the quality of writing, compliance to the traditional calligraphy rules, and homogeneity of structures that reveal the skill of the calligraphers.
• The works should be handwritten; no computer use, or other non-manual tools are allowed.
• The contestant is completely free to make designs that they deem appropriate.
• The university, represented by the Saudi Scientific Association of Arabic Calligraphy, has the right to use the works it receives by printing, publishing, etc.
• The jury has the right to share the award equally between two calligraphers if it deems it necessary.
• The jury has the right to withhold some prizes if it deems it appropriate.
• The jury has the right to call the contestant to confirm their writing level.
• Paper size should be 60 x 40 cm; it is preferable to use Muqahhar paper.
• Traditional Arabic calligraphy tools and quality inks of any suitable color should be used in the implementation of the painting.
• Participating works shall be sent in cylindrical, flat, non-sticky, or folded form.
• Participating works should be sent by registered express mail to the following Association address: Makkah, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Scientific Association of Arabic Calligraphy.)
• The contestant should fill in the participation form (attached) on the page of the Saudi Scientific Association of Arabic Calligraphy on the website of Umm Al-Qura University.
• All participants shall be awarded certificates of participation via email. The winning and distinguished paintings will be displayed in a special exhibition held by the Association.

To register for participation, please click here.

Contest Texts

Naskh script:

النــــــــاس بالنـــاس مادام الحيـــــــــــــاء بهم      *   والسعــد لا شك تـــــارات وهبـــــــــــات

وأفضـــل النـــــــــــاس ما بين الورى رجـــــــــــل     *      تقضى على يــده للنـــــاس حـاجات

لا تمنعن يـــد المعـــــــــــــروف عن أحـــــــــــــــــد    *   مــا دمت مقتـــدرا فالسعـــــــــــد تارات

واشكر فضــائل صنـع الله إذ جعــــــــــــــــــــلت     *   إليــك لا لك عنــــــــــــد النــاس حــاجات

قـــــــــــــد مـات قوم ومــــــا ماتت مكارمهــــــم   *    وعاش قوم وهم في الناس أموات

(الإمام الشافعي)

Diwani script:

قال تعالى {يَا بُنَيَّ أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَانْهَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ * وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ * وَاقْصِدْ فِي مَشْيِكَ وَاغْضُضْ مِنْ صَوْتِكَ إِنَّ أَنْكَرَ الْأَصْوَاتِ لَصَوْتُ الْحَمِير}) لقمان: 12-19)

Diwani Jali script:

عن أَبي الدَّرداءِ: أَن النبيَّ ﷺ قالَ:  "مَا مِنْ شَيءٍ أَثْقَلُ في ميزَانِ المُؤمِنِ يَومَ القِيامة مِنْ حُسْنِ الخُلُقِ، وإِنَّ اللَّه يُبْغِضُ الفَاحِشَ البذيءَ".    (رواه الترمذي)

Ruqaa script:

قال تعالى {إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا} (الأحزاب:35)

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