'God, there is no god but He' affirms Allah's Oneness; that which is One is essentially alone (wahid), indivisible (‘ahad) and sole (farid) and these qualities manifest as singleness, wholeness, and uniqueness.
Mustafa Râkim was born in Unye on the Black Sea in 1758. When he was very young, his father, Mehmed Kaptan, took him to Istanbul to live with his brother, İsmail Zühdi Efendi, who was an established calligrapher. After Ismail was appointed as an instructor of calligraphy at the Imperial Palace, the young Râkim received his formal training there studying under his brother. Mustafa Râkim would become Ismail Zühidi's most celebrated pupil.
Ismail Zühidi and Mustafa Râkim went on to develop their own style of calligraphy based on the work of Hâfiz Osman. They were able to develop a style of
jali-thuluth that was aesthetically pleasing, something that other calligraphers had not been able to do. Râkim also reformed the calligraphic shape of the tughra script.
With the revolutionary changes brought about in calligraphy by Mustafa Râkim, scholars treat Turkish calligraphic art history into two key eras: "Pre-Râkim" and "Post-Râkim". He was able to accomplish what nobody before him could in the
jali-thuluth script and tughras of sultans. By finding the ideal measurement between the letter thickness and pen (writing tool) thickness, he established the style and form for the ideal beauty of tughras.
He is regarded as the first great Turkish painter in the Western sense of painting. His bird, parrot, painting is considered to be the first realist work of Turkish painting. He drew a portrait of Sultan Selim III who was amazed by his work and recited a poem in his honor in return.
