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Taliq

Ta’liq (hanging) script is believed to have been developed by the Persians from an early and little known Arabic script called Firamuz. Ta’liq, also called Farsi, is an unpretentious cursive script apparently in use since the early 9th century.

The calligrapher Abd al-Hayy, from the town of Astarabad, seems to have played an important role in the script’s early development. He was encouraged by his patron, Shah Isma’il, to lay down the basic rules for the writing of Ta’liq. The script is currently in great favor with Arabs, and it is the native calligraphic style among the Persian, Indian, and Turkish Muslims.

The Persian calligrapher Mir Ali Sultan al-Tabrizi developed from Ta’liq a lighter and more elegant variety which came to be known as Nasta’liq. However, Persian and Turkish calligraphers continued to use Ta’liq as a monumental script for important occasions.

The word Nasta’liq is a compound word derived from Naskh and Ta’liq. Ta’liq and Nasta’liq scripts were used extensively for copying Persian anthologies, epics, miniatures, and other literary works — but not for the Holy Qur’an.

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