Calligraphic Decorations in Mosques

It is customary among Muslims to decorate and ornament the walls of mosques with calligraphic decorations, which include the names Allah, Muhammad, and those of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali, and the two grandchildren of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Hassan and Hussein. These are written in large letters on the walls of mosques or on plaques located on the top portion of the walls where the people attending the prayers can see them. Although in some historic mosques, especially in Central Asia, these names are written in different compositions with the kufi style, in most mosques they are written with either the jali sulus or jali taliq styles. In addition to these names, such phrases as the Qalima al- Tawhid and the Qalima al- Shahada, as well as some hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (depending on the nature of the particular place) can also be found among the calligraphic works on the walls of mosques in the Muslim world.

The name of Prophet Muhammad is usually written (or painted) in mosques either above the mihrab (the niche) or at the intersection of the square plan of the mosque and the dome. It is usually composed within a pentagonal star form, which also resembles an opened rose. For centuries his name has been a true work of art in itself, and was composed and decorated by the masters of Ottoman calligraphy who displayed with it all the talent and esthetic taste they had. The true esthetic criteria for the word "Muhammad" were fully established with a special style found in the work of Mustafa Rakim, and the best examples were provided by such masters of calligraphy as Kazasker Mustafa Izzet, Mehmed Sefik, and Sami Efendi. In addition to being found on walls or plaques, the name Muhammad has also been written, together with Allah, on the ornamented or stained glass of mosques, usually above the mihrab; here it functions as a colorful decoration. Such glass decorations can be found, most notably, in the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.