Broug Ateliers for Islamic Art & Architecture-Polygons

Polygons

Nowadays, when we need to draw a square we will use a protractor and measure the angles of the corners. Although this might seem an accurate method, it is usually less accurate than drawing a circle using a compass and a ruler. This is even more true when trying to draw a hexagon or a pentagon. For centuries, craftsmen all over the world drew polygons with a compass and a ruler because it was easy, fast and accurate.

How to draw a square with a compass and a ruler

1. Draw a horizontal line and place a circle on the line.

2. Draw 2 arcs of equal size, the diameter is not important. Place the compasspoints in the intersections indicated with red circles.

3. Draw a line that connects the intersecting arcs.

4. Draw 4 circles of equal size. Place the compasspoints in the indicated intersections. The circles meet each other at the intersection of the horizontal & vertical lines.

5. Draw a square by connecting the 4 indicated intersections.

How to draw a pentagon(5-sided polygon)with a compass and a ruler
There are different ways to draw a pentagon, the method shown here is one of the quickest and uses the least amount of steps.

1. Draw a circle & 2 lines as seen in steps 1-3 of "how to draw a square".

2. Draw 2 arcs of equal size, the diameter is not important. Place the compasspoints in the intersections indicated with red circles.

3. Draw a line that connects the intersecting arcs.

4. Place the compass- point in the indicated intersection & draw an arc that intersects the vertical line & the circle

5. Place the compass- point in the upper indicated intersection & draw an arc that intersects the lower indicated intersection.

6. Draw 2 lines that connect the 3 indicatted intersections. These 2 lines from the 'roof' of the pentagon.

7. Place the compass- point in the indicated intersections & draw 2 arcs that intersect the top of the 'roof'.

8. Draw 3 lines that connect the four indicated intersections

How to draw a heptagon(7-sided polygon)with a compass and a ruler

For many centuries, mathematicians and geometrists have tried to find a method to divide a circle into seven equal parts. The consensus now is that it is impossible. However, we can see occurrences of geometrical designs in Islamic architecture that use 7-pointed stars, such as the twinned stars on the right in the minbar panel in the mosque of Qiqmas al-Ishaqi in Cairo.
This means that there were very skilled Islamic craftsmen who were able to divide a circle into 7 parts with a compass and a ruler. Mathematicians cannot accept anything less than 100% accuracy but craftsmen can accept a more or less equal division of a circle into more or less equal parts.
The method shown here is devised by me and shows a possible approach to the division of a circle into 7 equal parts. The margin of error is less than 2%.

1. Draw circle on a horizontal line and divide it into six equal parts.

2. Draw a pentagon as indicated.

3. Find the halfway point on the circle between the indicated points of the pentagon and hexagon.

4. Draw a line that connects the point from the previous diagram with the intersection of the circle with the horizontal line. Draw a circle that touches this line as indicated.

5. Draw a vertical line that touchces the circle as indicated.

6. Find the halfway point on the circle between the two intersections indicated by red circles.

7. Draw two lines that connect the indicated intersections with the halfway point from the previous diagram, these are the first two sides of the heptagon.

8. Draw 3 arcs with the compasspoint on the indicated intersections. The radius is the length of one of the sides of the heptagon.

9. Draw the five remaining sides of the heptagon

10. A heptagon drawn with a compass and a ruler.
The margin of error is less than 2%