As an example of Muslims’ care for and mastery of Arabic calligraphy, its types have become numerous and numerous, including Kufic script, Naskh script, Thuluth script, Andalusian script, Ruq’ah script, Diwani script, Ta’liq (Persian) script, and Ijazah script. Other branches have branched off from these scripts, making this art rich and capable of giving, carrying the ability to adapt, to play its role in all conditions and occasions. For example, Kufic has branched off from: leafy Kufic, floral Kufic, confined Kufic, and interlaced, triumphant, or embroidered Kufic. Diwani script has also branched off from: Jali Diwani, and Thuluth script has branched off from: Jali Thuluth, and other branches in the long and numerous paths of Arabic calligraphy.
However, the most famous types of Arabic fonts known and used today are: Kufic, Thuluth, Naskh, Farsi, Ruq’ah, and Diwani.
There are two other types added to it: the Jali Diwani, which is the same Diwani script with the addition of the shape, and the Ijazah script, which is a mixture of the Thuluth and Naskh scripts. It was called so because the master calligraphers used to write the “Ijazah” (certificate) for their students in it. It is noteworthy that Ijaza confers the student right to practice Arabic calligraphy.
Each script was distinguished and known by the names of the countries in which Islam entered it. There were: the Persian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Moroccan, and Andalusian scripts, and each one had characteristics that the other did not have, because in each of these countries it acquired local characteristics that distinguished it.
Thuluth script
Thuluth script, in which a third of the letter is inclined.
Naskh script
Naskh script, for copying or erasing manuscripts. It has spread since the ninth century AH – thirteenth century AD with the spread of parchment and leather.
Al-Muhaqqaq script
Al-Muhaqqaq script, which is clear and carefully drawn, elegant and lofty. It is less inclined than the Kufic script and more distant and broad.
Al-Rayhani script
Al-Rayhani script, which is similar to Thuluth script, but is more intertwined and integrated.
