Ruqʿa

Ruq'a (رقعة) is a style of Arabic calligraphy . While modern printed scripts are based on the traditional Nasch , the Ruq'a is now the standard model for common manuscripts in Arabic Mashrek .

Ruq'a example from Mehmed Izzet Efendi (1841–1904): Hutut-i Osmaniye. Istanbul: 1892, p. 27.

features

In the Ruq'a only three letter forms have descenders: the ending and isolated forms of 'ayn ﻉ / ġayn ﻍ, mīm ﻡ and ḥā' ﺡ / ḫā ' ﺥ / ǧīm ﺝ, i.e. H. In contrast to the nasch, the end and the isolated forms of nūn ﻥ, yā ' ي and lām ﻝ sit on the writing line (have no descender); rā ' ﺭ, zāy ﺯ and wāw ﻭ end on the writing line (also have no descenders).

Two points are connected to a horizontal line, three points to a circumflex-like hook. In the final and isolated forms of nūn ﻥ, qāf ﻕ, ḍād ﺽ and šīn ﺵ, the dots are usually not written separately as dots, but rather attached to the letter as a hook.

use

Books and newspapers today are mostly printed in Nasch, while titles and headlines are often printed in Ruq'a.

See also

• Nastaʿlīq
• Taʿlīq
• Thuluth
• Muhaqqaq
• Maġribī
• Kūfī

literature

• Terence F. Mitchell : Writing Arabic. A practical introduction to the Ruq'ah script . Oxford: Oxford University Press, ¹⁰ 1990.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Jane Wightwick, Mahmoud Gaafar: Mastering Arabic Script. A Guide to Handwriting . London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005, p. V.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Jane Wightwick, Mahmoud Gaafar: Mastering Arabic Script. A Guide to Handwriting . London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005, passim.