QALAM

ancient reed pen still used in Arabic calligraphy and formerly used for all writing. The qalam was cut from between two nodes of the stem of a reed chosen for its straight fibres. As thick as a finger and 8 or 10 inches (20 or 25 cm) long, the reed segment was soaked and sun-dried, and a nib, somewhat resembling that of a steel pen, was fashioned by slicing off the thicker end at an angle and cutting an ink-slot in the tip. Separate nibs were shaped for different calligraphic styles, their points varying in width, sharpness, angle or concavity, and position of the ink-slot. As did the quill pen in some western societies, the qalam depicted in military insignia came to represent administrative as distinct from combat personnel. One Islamic tradition had it that God created the qalam first, in order to record what was to come.