158 Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam responsible for her initial exposure to masters of this trade as well. Yaqut asserts that there was no one in that age who could write like Shuhda, and notes that she wrote in the style of another female calligrapher, Bint al-Aqra‘ (d. 480/1087).’ Al-Safadl, in quoting a poem attributed to Shuhda, adds that she probably did not compose it. It was nevertheless ascribed to her because it was written with an elegant hand. Shuhda was a master of the school of Ibn al-Bawwab (d. 413/1022), the renowned calligrapher of the Buyid period whose illuminated reproduction of the Qur’an continues to elicit widespread admiration. In a discussion of the role of female calligraphers, Annemarie Schimmel notes that Shuhda was among those who formed a link between Ibn al-Bawwab and Yaqut al-Musta‘simI (d. 698/1298). The latter was a calligrapher at the court of the last ‘Abbasid caliph, al-Musta‘sim, and his talents earned him the title “ qiblat al-kuttdb,” that is, the qibla for all calligraphers. ' Shuhda ’s skills had aesthetic as well as practical value. Al-Khatlb al-Baghdadl devotes a section to the improvement of handwriting in his al-]dmi‘ li-Akhlaq al-Rdwi wa-Adab al-Sami‘, an etiquette manual for aspiring hadith students. Here he cites traditions from the Companions and Successors regarding the importance of clear, legible handwriting, which is indispensable for accurate hadith transmission. It is likely that Shuhda’s talents drew the approbation of her contemporaries across the fields of Islamic learning. A final aspect of Shuhda’s life further nuances our understanding of her unusual career. Her husband, ‘All b. Muhammad b. Yahya (d. 549/ 1154f.), was her father’s protege and was also associated with the ruling class of Baghdad, a connection that probably gave Shuhda greater access to this social class.” According to Ibn al-Athlr, Shuhda’s father, Ahmad b. al-Faraj, took charge of ‘All b. Muhammad’s upbringing ( rabbdhu ), such that the latter eventually came to be called Ibn al-Ibrl. Eventually, Abu Nasr married ‘All b. Muhammad to his daughter Shuhda. Al-Sam‘anl 35 Yaqut, Mu' jam al-Udaba’, 3:1422-23. The full name of Bint al-Aqra‘ is Fatima bint al-Hasan al-Baghdadiyya; for her biography, see al-Dhahabl, Siyar, 18:480-81. 36 al-Safadl, al-Wdfi, 16:111-12. 37 Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York: New York University Press, 1984), 47. 38 J. Sourdel-Thomine, “Ibn al-Bawwab,” in El2, and David Rice, L 'Unique manuscrit d 'Ibn al-Bawwab d la Chester Beatty Library (Paris: Club du Livre, 1981). See also Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture, 21. 39 His biography is available in Ibn al-jawzl, al-Muntazam, 18:100, Ibn al-Athlr, al-Kdmil, 11:200, and al-Safadl, al-Wdfi, 22:96-97. 40 Ibn al-Athlr, Kamil, 11:200.