Study of Calligraphy Structure of Persian Naskh Script in The Method of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi and Vesal Shirazi

From the beginning of the advent of Islam, the art of calligraphy had a special place among Muslims. The Naskh script at first stood on a par with Kufic script, but as an incomplete Naskh known as the Old Naskh script. This script was used in the past for correspondence and ordinary writing. After the spread of Naskh script in Iran, it was accepted by calligraphers in the Islamic world and was used in all Islamic countries. From the end of the third century and the beginning of the fourth century AH, with the principles and rules that Ebn Moqla laid down and by defining the geometric shapes of the letters, Naskh script advanced beyond its primitive phase and attained such a degree of progress and beauty and was legalized; as it was used to write Qurans and prayers and religious books. The Naskh script, after evolution, was considered to be suitable for writing according to the proportion of components and was mostly used in writing the Quran and other texts, and as its name suggests, transcription of other items. Therefore, each Iranian calligrapher made innovations in their writing, and as a result, the Persian Naskh script was created. The most important feature of the Persian Naskh script is the fluency and readability, which was developed by Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi. Ahmad Ibn Shamsuddin Mohammad or Mirza Ahmad Nirizi nicknamed Soltani is one of the greatest calligraphers and scribes of the Qur'an who lived in the twelfth century AH at the end of the Safavid period. His fame and dominance in Naskh and Sols is like the fame of Mir in Nastaliq and Darvish in Shekasteh. Mirza created a new evolution and movement in the method of Naskh and Sols, which lasted until the fourteenth century AH. Neyrizi paid special attention to the way of Yaqut Mostasemi. Using his method in the Yaquti Naskh ​​style, he created a version in the Safavid period called the Persian Naskh, which later calligraphers, including Vesal Shirazi, one of the calligraphers of the thirteenth century AH in the Qajar period, made it the pattern of their work. "Abu Muhammad Shafi'i ibn Muhammad Ismail”, nicknamed Mirza Kuchak and Vesal, was born and trained in Shiraz. He was a mystic and a dervish, and although the elders of the time were eager to talk to him, he chose the isolation and spent his time to poetry and writing. He was skilled in Naskh, Nastaliq and Shekasteh, but his skill was more in the Naskh. Vesal Shirazi was able to combine the nuances and different angles of Nastaliq in his method of Naskh, which resulted in a style and form of Persian Naskh and very similar to the method of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi.
The aim is to study the characteristics in the calligraphy style of Naskh script of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi and Vesal Shirazi, also in comparison with the calligraphy of Arabic Naskh (Ottoman). What is the structure of Iranian calligraphy in the method of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi and what are the differences and similarities of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi and Vesal Shirazi as the two great calligraphers of the Naskh script, in the method and style from the perspective of calligraphy principles? The research method is descriptive-analytical and data collection method is documentary and library. The samples selected for the comparison are the first pages of Quran 129 and 3337 of Astan Quds Razavi, entitled Surah Fatiha al-Kitab by Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi and Vesal Shirazi. Another issue is the stylistic study of the calligraphic structure of Persian Naskh in the methods of Neyrizi and Vesal Shirazi. The aim is to study the visual structure of the script, the features and written form of the letters and the composition of the pieces in the methods of the two mentioned artists. Expressing the differences and similarities between the Safavid and Qajar periods in the Naskh script and structural changes between these two great calligraphers (Neyrizi and Vesal) from the perspectives of layout, formation, proximity of letters and words, composition and shape changes in the Persian Naskh script reveal the necessity of the research. An overview of the two writing styles of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi and Vesal Shirazi shows that both the calligraphers of the Safavid and Qajar periods followed the rules of calligraphy according to the writing style and Persian Naskh method. Dot, one of the principals and rules of calligraphy which was the mean of measuring the Naskh script, is measured and settled in the best way and moderation of letters and words is established by Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi. Accordingly, Neyrizi's writing style is distinct from the others. In other words, the Naskh script, which was seen as mixed and inclined to Sols script and Muhaqqaq script, converted to the Persian Naskh method by Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi using the Nastaliq script, which Iranian calligraphers, including Vesal in the Qajar period, have followed until now. The visual structure of the letters in relation to the letters, seatings, compositions and circular forms in his calligraphy has a proper arrangement. Although these rules of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi were followed in the calligraphic structure of Vesal Shirazi method, according to the arrangement of its letters and words; But the characteristics and the inner sense of the Qajar period have also been influential in the style and structure of Vesal Shirazi calligraphy. In response to the second question, it can be said that each of the two writing methods in the works of two calligraphers showed that both have unique features in terms of letter structure. It should be noted that the cut of the pen in Neyrizi method has a lower slope than Vesal. In terms of boldness and faintness, the width of a part of the letter or word is equal to the actual width of Mirza Ahmad Neyrizi's nib, and at the end parts of the words it ends from the width of the nib to the tip of the nib, so it is more delicate than the Vesal method. Due to the movement of the nib, the Straightness and the roundness are strong in horizontal shape and weak in vertical shape, which was less observed in Mirza's pen. Blackness and whiteness in the lines which are the positive and negative atmospheres, are clearer and more explicit in the Neyrizi method than the Vesal method. Diacritic in the Neyrizi pen has a good visual balance and in the Vesal pen, it is mostly performed as an alternating beat. The location of the dots in Mirza's pen has a special coordination and they are all placed in a same direction.