red for the names of God, brown for the names of angels, and green for the names of the prophets

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

The pigments are used as colored inks within the consonantal body of the Qur'anic text, following a semantic scheme: red for names of God, brown for names of angels, and green for names of prophets (p. 314). The calligrapher also uses 'colourful decorations' and larger writing to distinguish the name of Prophet Muhammad (p. 314).

Evidence

"his choice to use different colours in the consonantal body of the text: red for the names of God, brown for the names of angels, and green for the names of the prophets, in addition to the customary black ink used for ordinary text (Fig. 16)."

Remarks

This use of multi-colored consonantal text is described as one of the most curious innovations in the local tradition, reportedly inspired by a dream and the calligrapher's exposure to Middle Eastern editions of the Qur'an (p. 314). Despite the innovation, it is noted that the local public ('gardawa') may not accept such changes easily (p. 314).