Adnan Al-Sheikh Othman is one of the shining names in the world of Arabic calligraphy, having achieved distinguished international accomplishments since his early youth, thanks to his passion for authentic Arab art and unique skills.

Al-Sheikh Othman’s career is marked by his determination to acquire knowledge through self-learning and his dedication to developing his artistic and craft skills, making him one of the most prominent calligraphers in Syria and the Arab world.

Each piece he creates is unique, involving various stages ranging from direct improvisation to sketching before improvisation. Sometimes he studies the composition carefully, especially for artistic paintings, while for writing pieces like newspaper headlines, he opts for speed.

In his early years, he was passionate about the Arabic language, composing poetry and prose attempts, winning top positions during his school years. During this period, he developed an interest in Islamic jurisprudence and Quranic recitation, studying under the great sheikhs of Homs and listening to renowned Quran reciters and chanters, influenced also by his father’s teachings in this art.

The downside of not having a direct teacher was the extended learning period, as he had to experiment with everything himself.

However, Al-Sheikh Othman carefully studied works of great calligraphers without apprenticing under or meeting them, such as Muhammad Badawi Al-Derani, founder of the Levantine school, Abdul Hadi Zain Al-Abidin, and Hashim Muhammad Al-Baghdadi, whose book “The Rules of Arabic Calligraphy” was the sole reference for Al-Sheikh Othman in his early stages.

At age 27, he participated in the first international Arabic calligraphy competition in Turkey, winning an honorary award. He continued to participate and earned 13 international awards, mostly first place, the latest in 2007 in a Turkish competition where he competed against 1000 calligraphers worldwide, winning honorary awards in Thuluth and Naskh scripts.

Al-Sheikh Othman attributes the excellence of Syrian calligraphers to the kind nature of the Syrian people who love beauty and diversity and do not rigidly adhere to a single opinion, school, or teacher, unlike their peers in Iraq and Turkey. He points out calligrapher Muhammad Farouk Al-Haddad, under whom he studied and who won 55 international awards, mostly first place, a pride not only for Syria but for all Arabs.

He believes calligraphy sometimes carries both aspects of craft and art or may focus on one side. Arabic calligraphy, in his view, is a craft if considered as such, and an art if considered as art. The great masters Muhammad Badawi Al-Derani and Abdul Hadi Zain Al-Abidin, and other great calligraphers embody both aspects, being artists and craftsmen simultaneously. They took calligraphy as a craft because it has financial benefits. The issue is not the classification but the fact that a calligrapher is an artist wherever placed.

He concluded with verses he composed referring to some late Syrian luminaries and the excellence of Syrian calligraphers internationally:

Thuluth scripts are gardens of the eyes
Witnesses pleasing to the elite tastes
Badawi, Hashim, and all the greats
Shed tears for the laughing papers

It is noted that calligrapher Sheikh Othman was born in Homs in 1959, worked as a teacher of Arabic calligraphy arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University, and is a model of a world calligrapher who combines authenticity and modernity, emphasizing that the eloquence of the hand complements the eloquence of the tongue.