بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillah Al-Rehman Al-Raheem
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”

This Crazy Blue-Gold Silk can change color depending on how the light hits it.

I chose this silk because it gives the artwork a sort of Byzantine flair.

The Arabic word بِسْمِ اللّٰه (Bismi-llāh) means “in the name of God”, which is the first word in the Qur’an.
الرحمن (Al-Rahman) means “The Most Gracious.” Al-Rahman is one of the names of God, and its deeper meaning is that God is endowed with massive mercy, and God’s mercy extends to all people.
الرحيم (Al-Rahim) means “The Most Merciful.” It is yet another name of God, with the deeper meaning, the one who conveys his mercy to whomever he wills from among the believers.
To simplify the meaning of “Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim,” it means that we should seek help from God and rely on His assistance in all our endeavors.

This is printed on handmade paper with a high-fiber content (you will see lots of natural husks and fibers pressed into this paper). The artwork was then mounted to a handmade silk brocade wall scroll.

The result is a beautiful and elegant presentation of this Islamic calligraphy.

I do not currently have a contact for a calligrapher who can write Arabic script like this by hand. If you are a Thuluth (ثلث ṯuluṯ) calligrapher, please contact me. I would love to be able to offer hand-painted versions of Arabic calligraphy (of course, that will cost more, so prints like this will always be a lot cheaper).