Al-Qalam: Arabic Calligraphy

Al-Qalam is an Arabic calligraphy workshop for iPhone and iPad. You learn the gesture before the form: the angle of the nib, the width of the stroke, the order and direction of every line.

LEARN THE LETTERS
All 28 letters of the alphabet, first on their own, then in their three positions: initial, medial, final. Each letter is written on a slate that guides your hand at first, then fades step by step until you write freely.

THE JOINS
Six essential ligatures (lām-alif, jīm-mīm, sīn-rā…) broken down step by step: placing the nib, the join, the exit curve, animated before you write them.

NIB EXERCISES
• Al-Mīzān: the rhombus dot, the calligrapher's unit of measure, set down in one stroke at the right angle.
• Thick and thin: hold the full width of the nib, then the finest hairline, and move from one to the other.
• The Plate, in three levels (guided, fading, blind), followed by an X-ray of your strokes: the angle and precision gap, letter by letter.

TWO SCRIPTS, MEASURED ANGLES
Naskh, with the Amiri typeface, and Thuluth, with Apple's Diwan Thuluth, downloaded by the system. The nib angles are not assumed: they were measured on the strokes of these typefaces, 73° for naskh and 75° for thuluth. With Apple Pencil, the nib follows the tilt of your hand.

TEXTS TO WRITE
• The 99 Names of Allah.
• Poetry, proverbs and wisdom: 60 pieces of classical Arabic literature, from Zuhayr's Mu’allaqa to the verses, proverbs and sayings quoted by al-Māwardī. Each text is extracted from its source without retyping a single letter, fully vocalized, and carries its source.

THE WORKSHOP
A free space to compose: surfaces (walnut, parchment, lapis), inks (India, gold, lapis), and export of your page as PNG, PDF or SVG, signed with a seal dated in the Hijri calendar.

FREE, AND PREMIUM
The letters and their positions, the ligatures, the nib exercises, the 99 Names, the workshop and the guided level of the plate are free, without limit. Premium unlocks the three collections (poetry, proverbs, wisdom) and the two upper levels of the plate, fading and blind. No account, no ads, no data collected.

PREMIUM
Al-Qalam Premium: yearly subscription (7-day free trial for new subscribers) or a one-time lifetime purchase, never renewed; your country's price is shown before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. The subscription renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings.
Suite Pass: yearly subscription or lifetime purchase, on the same terms; it unlocks Al-Qalam Premium and the other apps in the suite that accept it.
Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/