Tracing the Development of Arabic Khat from the Land of Origin to Indonesian Archipelago

Abstract

Several studies showed that Arabic khat had been widely developed in countries with a Muslim majority population. However, many previous studies have not examined the origin of the Arabic khat and its development from different periods. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the source of Arabic khat, the product and the figures from different periods, and several other things related to Arabic khat. This research was done in qualitative research with a descriptive historical approach through a literature-based study to examine data and information. The research was conducted by limiting the study's scope on Arabic khat development from the Umayyad dynasty to its expansion in Indonesia. The results showed that the Arab Khat began to develop centuries ago during the Umayyad dynasty. Three factors caused calligraphy to increase: the influence of power expansion, the kings and social elites' role, and the influence of science development. Moreover, the encouragement coming from the verses of al-Qur'an, the motivation to write al-Qur'an, and the use of Arabic as al-Qur'an language are also the factors in the development of Arabic khat. Hence, it is no wonder that the term Arabic khat is synonymous with al-Qur'an's khat.