Kufic - WikiHQ

thumb|300x300px|The classical Kufic script of the [[Blue Quran]]

The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It developed from the Arabic alphabet in the city of Kufa, from which its name is derived. Kufic is characterized by angular, rectilinear letterforms and its horizontal orientation. There are many different versions of Kufic, such as square Kufic, floriated Kufic, knotted Kufic, and others. Furthermore, the Kufic script plays an important role in the development of Islamic calligraphy. In fact, "it is the first style of Islamic period writings in which the manifestation of art, delicacy and beauty are explicitly evident", says Salwa Ibraheem Tawfeeq Al-Amin. The rule set for this writing was about the angular, linear shapes of the characters. In fact, "the rules that were defined at the outset of the Kufic tradition essentially remained the same throughout its lifespan", says Alain George.

Usage of Kufic script

The Quran was first written in a plain, slanted, and uniform script but, when its content was formalized, a script that denoted authority emerged. This coalesced into what is now known as Primary Kufic script. Until about the 11th century it was the main script used to copy the Quran. Professional copyists employed a particular form of Kufic for reproducing the earliest surviving copies of the Quran, which were written on parchment and date from the 8th to 10th centuries. It is distinguished from Thuluth script in its use of decorative elements whereas the latter was designed to avoid decorative motifs. In place of the decorations in Kufic scripts, Thuluth used vowels. Moreover, it was characterized by figural letters that were shaped in a way to be nicely written on parchment, building and decorative objects like lusterware and coins. Kufic script is composed of geometrical forms like straight lines and angles along with verticals and horizontals. Originally, Kufic did not have what is known as a differentiated consonant, which means, for example, that the letters "t", "b", and "th" were not distinguished by diacritical marks and looked the same. Its use in transcribing manuscripts has been important in the development of Kufic Script. Earlier kufic was written on manuscripts with precision which contributed to its development. For instance, "the precision achieved in practice is all more remarkable because Kufic manuscripts were not ruled", says Alain George. Moreover, he explains that Kufic manuscripts were laid out with a stable number of lines per page, and these were strictly parallel and equidistant. The Kufic script is inscribed on textiles, coins, lusterware, building and so on. Coins were very important in the development of the Kufic script. In fact, "the letter strokes on coins, had become perfectly straight, with curves tending toward geometrical circularity by 86", observes Alain George. As an example, Kufic is commonly seen on Seljuk coins and monuments and on early Ottoman coins. Its decorative character led to its use as a decorative element in several public and domestic buildings constructed prior to the Republican period in Turkey. Also, the current flag of Iraq (2008) also includes a kufic rendition of the takbir.

thumb|Hafsids with ornamental Kufic, Bougie, Algeria, 1249–1276

Similarly, the flag of Iran (1980) has the takbir written in white square kufic script a total of 22 times on the fringe of both the green and red bands. Kufic inscriptions were important in the emergence of textiles too, often functioning as decoration in the form of tiraz bands. According to Maryam Ekhtiar, "tiraz inscriptions were written in Kufic or floriated Kufic script, and later, in naskhi or throughout the islamic world". Those inscriptions include the name of God or the ruler. As an example, the inscription inside the Dome of the Rock is written in Kufic. Throughout the text, we can notice the calligraphic line created by the reed pen which is usually a steady stroke with various thicknesses based on the changes in direction of the movement that has created it. Square or geometric Kufic is a very simplified rectangular style widely used for tiling. In Iran sometimes entire buildings are covered with tiles spelling sacred names like those of God, Muhammad and Ali in square Kufic, a technique known as banna'i. Moreover, there is "Pseudo-Kufic", also "Kufesque", which refers to imitations of the Kufic script, made in a non-Arabic context, during the Middle Ages or the Renaissance: "Imitations of Arabic in European art are often described as pseudo-Kufic, borrowing the term for an Arabic script that emphasizes straight and angular strokes, and is most commonly used in Islamic architectural decoration".

Square Kufic

Square Kufic (), also sometimes known as banna'i (, "masonry" script), is a bare Arabic writing form that developed in the 12th century. Invented in Iraq, it was prominently used in Iranian architecture with bricks and tiles functioning as pixels.

File:مصحف عباسي بالخط الكوفي المشرقي 01.jpg|Abbasid Quran, Persia, late 11th / early 12th century

</gallery>

Kufic script elsewhere

File:Bowl with Kufic Inscription.jpg|Bowl with Kufic Inscription, 9th century – Brooklyn Museum

File:Bowl with Kufic Calligraphy, 10th century.jpg|Bowl with Kufic calligraphy, 10th century – Brooklyn Museum

File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art pot 0850.1.jpg|Bowl with Kufic calligraphy, 10th century – Khalili Collection of Islamic Art

File:11th century gold Fatimid armlet (Syria).jpg|11th-century gold Fatimid armlet, inscribed with good wishes in the Kufic script (Syria)

File:Edmund Fry - Arabic alphabet in Kufic script, Pantographia (1799).jpg|Kufic alphabet, from Fry's Pantographia (1799)

File:المنبر المرابطي 21 44 01 519000.jpeg|Almoravid Kufic adorning the Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque

File:Al-Walid ibn Abdul-Rahman - Inscribed Pound Weight - Walters 476 - Top.jpg|Inscription in Kufic (743). The Walters Art Museum.

File:Basmala kufi.svg|Drawing of an inscription of Basmala in Kufic script, 9th century. The original is in the Islamic Museum in Cairo (Inventar-Nr. 7853).

File:Flag of Iraq.svg|The flag of Iraq (Used since 2008)

File:Flag of Iraq (2004–2008).svg|The flag of Iraq (2004–2008)

</gallery>

Typefaces

Google Fonts:

Noto Kufi Arabic
Reem Kufi
Qahiri
Cairo
Almarai
Mada
Kufam
Fustat

Windows:

Andalus

iOS:

Diwan Kufi

Other Free Software fonts:

Rana Kufi
Raqq

Sample text from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 1:

<div title="if one of the typefaces is not installed, a monospace font will appear instead" dir="rtl" style="font-family: 'Noto Kufi Arabic', Cairo, Almarai, Mada, Kufam, 'Reem Kufi', Andalus, 'Diwan Kufi', 'Courier New', monospace; font-size:140%; line-height:1.5; letter-spacing:normal;"> يولد جميع الناس أحرارًا متساوين في الكرامة والحقوق. وقد وهبوا عقلاً وضميرًا وعليهم أن يعامل بعضهم بعضًا بروح الإخاء. </div>

Citations

General references

Kosack, Wolfgang: Islamische Schriftkunst des Kufischen. Geometrisches Kufi in 593 Schriftbeispielen. Deutsch – Kufi – Arabisch. Christoph Brunner, Basel 2014, .
Mack, Rosamond E. Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300–1600, University of California Press, 2001,

External links

Square Kufic lectures: alphabet (stylized), examples, square designs
Kufic manuscript alphabet
On the Origins of the Kufic Script
Kufic Script
Square Kufic Script
Square Kufic
Square Kufic explained