In this article, readers will be introduced to the contemporary Islamic calligrapher of India, Professor Muhammad Ahrar Hindi.
Ustad Muhammad Ahrar Hindi is a contemporary Islamic calligrapher from India who specializes in Nastaliq and writes in most of the major styles. Ustad Muhammad Ahrar Alam was born in Dihanbad (Jharkhand). His father Babujan Ashiq was fluent in Urdu and Persian. Muhammad Ahrar Hindi retired as a first-class officer from the Jharkhand government.
He had a deep interest in the rare art of Islamic calligraphy from his youth. He initially practiced calligraphy himself but later refined his own style by analyzing and imitating the works of eminent calligraphers like Mir Imad, Agha Rashid and others at the Khodabakhsh Public Library in Patna, India. Later, he met Rasool Moradi, his Iranian friend and mentor, who rose like a sun in his life.
Ustad Moradi and other Iranian calligraphers provided him with valuable suggestions and information.
Ustad Ahrar gained great fame in India and abroad for his works in Islamic calligraphy. He has written numerous articles on the history of Islamic calligraphy, the different scripts that have developed over time and the spiritual dimension of these rare arts.
It is worth mentioning that he has lectured on the art of calligraphy in various cities of India such as Aligarh, Patna, Varanasi, Delhi and has organized various online and offline exhibitions of his amazing calligraphy samples at the Maulana Azad Library (Aligarh), Moinuddin Art Gallery (Aligarh, India), Reza Library (Rampur, India), Khodabakhsh Eastern Public Library (Patna, India), Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (New Delhi, India), Iranian Cultural House (New Delhi, India) and… Several libraries and institutions in India and abroad preserve his original and printed calligraphy manuscripts.
In addition, he has participated in the IRCICA International Calligraphy Competition (Turkey) many times. He won the first prize in the 2020 Calligraphy Competition, which was evaluated by calligraphy masters from Iran. He also participated in the first virtual international exhibition and calligraphy conference of the Silk Road countries organized by the UNESCO National Commission in January 2021.
Muhammad Ahrar Hindi has extensive studies in Islamic sciences, Islamic arts, Quranic interpretation, Islamic teachings, Urdu language and Persian literature and is fluent in English, Persian, Urdu and Hindi. Several poets have praised his calligraphy by composing poems in Persian, Urdu and Hindi. He has been admired and encouraged by prominent scholars, artists and calligraphers of Iran, Turkey and India such as the late Ali Alp Arslan, the late Shams-ur-Rehman Farooqi, Javed Iqbal (son of the famous poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal), Vito Salerno (an orientalist with an Italian background), Professor Zail-ur-Rehman Gholam-Hossein Amirkhani, a legendary Iranian calligrapher, etc.
He signs his calligraphy pages as a miracle. Professor Ahrar Hindi is currently working as the vice president of the Indian Calligraphy Association in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
Source: Islamic Alumni Association of the Indian Subcontinent