Editing Arabic (section)

=== Calligraphy ===
{{Main|Arabic calligraphy}}
After [[Khalil ibn Ahmad al Farahidi]] finally fixed the Arabic script around 786, many styles were developed, both for the writing down of the Quran and other books, and for inscriptions on monuments as decoration.

Arabic calligraphy has not fallen out of use as calligraphy has in the Western world, and is still considered by [[Arabs]] as a major art form; calligraphers are held in great esteem. Being cursive by nature, unlike the Latin script, Arabic script is used to write down a [[ayah|verse]] of the Quran, a [[hadith]], or a [[proverb]]. The composition is often abstract, but sometimes the writing is shaped into an actual form such as that of an animal. One of the current masters of the genre is [[Hassan Massoudy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hassan Massoudy |url=https://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/artist/iraq/hassan-massoudy/ |access-date=2024-06-01 |website=Barjeel Art Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>

In modern times the intrinsically calligraphic nature of the written Arabic form is haunted by the thought that a typographic approach to the language, necessary for digitized unification, will not always accurately maintain meanings conveyed through calligraphy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Osborn|first=J.R.|year=2009|title=Narratives of Arabic Script: Calligraphic Design and Modern Spaces|journal=Design and Culture|volume=1|issue=3|pages=289–306|doi=10.1080/17547075.2009.11643292|s2cid=147422407}}</ref>