Så er det tid til at slå sig løs med sin pen! Man bør være opmærksom på at man ikke bør efterlade papir på jorden eller gulvet, hvorpå der står skrevet vers fra Koranen, hadith, Allahs ophøjede Navne, Profetens salla Llahu 'alayhi wa sallam og hans ledsagers navne eller noget andet som er ophøjet. Man bør behandle det med det ypperste respekt og lægge det et højt sted. Det er praktisk med en skitse-bog således at alle ens tegninger er samlet et sted.
Det følgende digt om kalligrafi er angiveligt blandt de gode om kalligrafi.
O you who want to write a calligraphic hand
And desire to write and draw (the letters) well:
If you are truly desirous of mastering the art of writing,
Pray that your Master make it easy (for you)!
Prepare a calamus that is straight
And strong, capable of fashioning elegant writing with craft.
If you propose to nib the calamus, aim
At applying to it the greatest symmetry.
Look at both ends of it, and then nib it
At the end where it is thin and narrow.
Give the part of the calamus that is nibbed a moderate size,
Neither too long nor too short,
And make the split precisely in the middle of the calamus so that the space nibbed
On both sides of it will be exactly equal.
Eventually, when you have done all this as carefully
As the careful craftsman who knows what is wanted,
Then, turn all your attention toward cutting the point,
For cutting the point is the crux of the procedure.
Do not beg me to reveal its secret.
I am chary of its secret, a thing concealed.
But the sum total of what I want to say is that
The (point) should be something between oblique and round.
Stir the (ink in the) inkstand with soot that is treated
With vinegar or verjuice.
Add to it red pigment that has been diluted
With orpiment and camphor.
Eventually, when (the ink) has fermented,
Go to the clean, pleasant, tested paper.
After cutting it, press it with a press, so as
To remove all trace of crumpling and soiling.
Then, make patient imitation your habit.
Only a patient person achieves what he desires.
Begin by writing on a wooden slate, wearing it out
With a resolution kept free from haste.
Do not be ashamed of your bad writing
When you begin to imitate (the letters) and draw lines.
The matter is difficult (at the beginning), and then becomes easy.
Many a thing that is difficult (at the beginning) turns out later on to be easy.
Eventually, when you have achieved what you have hoped for,
You will be filled with joy and gladness.
Then, thank your God and do His pleasure!
God loves all those who are grateful.
Furthermore, pray that the fingers of your hand will write
Only what is good for you to leave behind in the house of deception.198
Everything a man does, he will be confronted with on the morrow,
When he is confronted with the written decree (on the Day of Resurrection).
Ibn Bawwab
Må Allahs fred og velsignelser være med vor Mester, Profeten Muhammad, hans rene familie og alle hans ædle ledsagere.