Naskh
OriginMiddle East
Earliest800
TypeCalligraphic Style
About Naskh
A compact cursive hand that became the standard for books and everyday Arabic writing. Legibility made it the model for printed Arabic typefaces. Quran copies are traditionally set in naskh. Refined by Ibn Muqla into a system of letters measured in dot proportions. The default script of modern Arabic newspapers.
More Calligraphic Styles
Nastaliq Calligraphy
The predominant calligraphic style for Urdu and Persian. Words hang below an imaginary bas...
Kufic
The oldest calligraphic form of the Arabic script, named for the city of Kufa. Angular and...
Thuluth
A monumental style whose name means one third, possibly from the proportions of its letter...