No mosque in the entire Islamic world contains a representation of a human figure. In the secular world, the prophet's stricture against visual representations was less firmly applied. It was able to overcome these restrictions brilliantly with at least two innovations which provided just as much visual interest and inspiration as any representational art. These are:
The Arabesque
Islamic artists were led to improvise with patterns and shapes of differing varieties and gradually evolved the stunning geometric decorations now associated with mosque art. The patterns are usually built up from one or two figures inscribed in a circle, which are then repeated according to various geometrical proportions. They are very often based on the division of a circle by six, eight or five.
Calligraphy
It is perhaps not so suprising that calligraphy should have developed to the level it has in Islamic culture, given the seriousness with which Muslims regard the word (as seen in their reverence for the Qur'an). The first major calligraphic script was developed in Kufa in Iraq. However, it was very angular and not easy to read and Ibn Muglah a minister in the Abbasid dynasty worked out a more evenly proportioned cursive script. This ultimately evolved into Naskhi the mostly widely used script from which evolved other forms such as Thuluth and Nastaliq.
Miniatures
Since these were mainly produced for secular purposes, often as illustrations on manuscripts the figurative style was more acceptable. Some of the finest were done in the Persian style, which was widely copied in the Mughul Empire of north India.
