Islamic calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing using the Arabic script.
Calligraphy is the most revered of all the Islamic arts since it is through writing that the Qur'an is transmitted and preserved.
Combined with the emphasis placed on writing due to the reveration of the Qur'an, Islam's consideration of figurative art as idolatrous led to calligraphy and abstract figures becoming the main methods of artistic expression in Islamic cultures.