Sayed Ibrahim Ali, one of the greatest contemporary calligraphers of the Muslim world, was deceased in January 1994.

Born in 1897 in Egypt, Sayed Ibrahim learned the art of calligraphy at a very young age from famous calligraphers of his time and from the exercise books of well-known Turkish calligraphers. He received the diploma (ijaza) of Al-Azhar; between 1917 and 1920 he followed free courses at the National University of Egypt. Sayed Ibrahim was also a poet and Council of Arts and Letters. He also participated in the cultural circles of Ahmed Shawqi and Abbas Mahmoud Akkad. Many poems he wrote were published in literary journals.

Sayed Ibrahim taught calligraphy at the school for the Development of Calligraphy, Cairo, form the 1920's until the 1990's. He trained a number of calligraphy, including Mohamed sherifi (Algeria), Abdul llah Al-Arab (Bahrain),Mustafa bin Nakhi (Kuwait), and Mohamed Mendi (United Arab Emirates). He also taught at the Faculty Dar ul Ulum the Department of Arabic Studies of the American University, and the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts of the League of Arab States. He prepared an exercise book comprising all styles of calligraphy which was published in Saudi Arabia under the title Art of Calligraphy. Sayed Ibrahim left a great number of calligraphy plates; his inscriptions on the walls of Jamia mosque in India are well known.

IRCICA Newsletter