S. M. V. MOUSAVI JAZAYERI, PERETTE E. MICHELLI, SAAD D. ABULHAB.

A HANDBOOK OF EARLY ARABIC KUFIC

SCRIPT: READING, WRITING, CALLIGRAPHY, TYPOGRAPHY, MONOGRAMS. NEW YORK: BLAUTOPF PUBLISHING. 2017
ISBN: 978-0998172743

Early Mashq and Kufic Scripts:

A Historic and Typographic
Introduction

BY: SAAD D. ABULHAB

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 Although we commonly speak today of Kufi as the earliest Arabic Calligra-
phy style, the early beginnings of this style have nothing to do with the city of
Kufa, located less than 30 miles south of ancient Babylon. The oldest document-
ed Arabic calligraphy style derived from Jazm was called Mashq (from Arabic
root word Mashaqa, to extend or stretch). This writing style was invented by the
early Muslims in Mecca and Medina, exclusively for scribing the Quran and
other Islamic religious texts. The earliest evidence of Mashq can be seen in the
inscription of Mt. Sal in Medina, dated back to around 625 CE (4 Hijri). Creat-
ing an eye-catching, unique style to write holy books was a common practice
by religious groups in the Near East. Christians, Jews, Manicheans, Mandaeans,
Zoroastrians and others, all dedicated specific script styles to write their holy
books. Mashq was not the only style that the early Muslims experimented with.
Another short-lived style, with visual similarity to both ijāzī and Mashq, was
also used to write the Quran. This style is commonly referred to as the Mā il
(slanted) script. Although the overall look and feel of Mā il seems significantly
different than Mashq at first glance, a deeper examination of individual shapes
will reveal that the two share important significant features.
The above historical summary was eloquently documented by the important
Islamic scholar, Ibn al-Nadīm (d.999CE), in the introduction to his “al-Fihrast”.
He wrote: “The first of the Arab scripts was the script of Makkah, the next of
al-Madīnah, then of al-Ba rah, then of al-Kūfah. For the Alifs of the scripts of
Makkah and al-Madīnah, there is a turning of the hand to the right and length-
ening of strokes, one form having a slight slant.” (The Fihrest of al-Nadim.
Translated and Edited by Bayard Didge. New York: Columbia University Press.
1970). Note that by script, Ibn al-Nadīm was referring in his remark to the first
Arabic calligraphy style, not the first Arabic writing script. The ancient Arabic
language that was eventually documented by the Quran was written with many
different scripts, including Cuneiform! Incidentally, the first time the Kufi Cal-
ligraphy style was explicitly named “Kufī”, was by Ibn Ibn al-Nadīm in the same
book, “al-Fihrast”.
It is clear that Mashq was introduced, at some point of time later, to the cities
of Basra and Kufa in Iraq, where it went under significant development. New,
key scriptural features were introduced. Kufic Mashq was a more simplified and
dynamic version adhering, more or less, to one baseline. This simplification was
the key factor why the Kufi style became the more popular one. However, one
should not exclude another significant factor: the relocation of the capital city of
the newly formed Islamic state to Kufa, around 656 CE (35 Hijri). The original
Mashq style continued to coexist with the Kufic Mashq style and even developed
independently for some time before fading away and merging with it. The two
styles formed what was eventually referred to as the Kufic Calligraphy with its
varied flavors. Kufi became the official Arabic script style for centuries before it
was replaced by the more developed Naskh.
Although some scholars believe, today, that the Kufi and Mashq styles were

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 invented independently, none had introduced any evidence to support such hy-
pothesis. Regarding Mashq, frequently quoted Safadi wrote the following con-
tradictory statement: “Early Mashq was first developed at Mecca and Medina
during the first century of Islam (7 Century CE) when the town of Kufa was also
developing its own Kufic calligraphic style. The complex rules which governed
the early Mashq were gradually simplified until the developed Mashq came to
resemble the Kufi Script” (Yasin Hamid Safadi. Islamic Calligraphy. Boulder:
Shambhala Publications.1978. pg: 40). Early Mashq and Kufi were very identi-
cal and can only be identified after careful analysis. They could not have been
coincidently and independently invented, at the same time. The key common
feature of both styles, the exaggerated stretching of certain letters, must have
been a unique invention by one specific group, during one specific time period,
and at one specific geographical location. Besides, the city of Kufa was founded
by the Muslims in 639 CE (17 Hijri), 30 years after the first words of the Quran
were revealed to Prophet Muhammad, in Mecca, on December 22nd, 609 CE,
and 14 years after the Mashq inscription of Mt. Sal`.
Some scholars argued that the Kufi style was independently invented in Iraq
because it was influenced by the Syriac Es rangēlā script, one of the Aramaic
scripts presumably used in writing Arabic in Iraq before Islam. The Es rangēlā
script used for Arabic is usually referred to as the Karshuni script. This is possible;
however, the earliest manuscript evidence of an Arabic-resembling Es rangēlā
script belongs to the 11th century, the century marking the start of the crusaders
war. This can indicate the Es rangēlā script itself was influenced by the Arabic
Kufi script used for centuries earlier! In fact, the Es rangēlā script resemblance
of Kufi, at first glance, is misleading, because this script slanted letters promi-
nently to the left, unlike early Arabic Jazm of ijāz which slanted letters promi-
nently to the right. Besides, even if the Mashq Kufi of Iraq was influenced by the
Aramaic Es rangēlā script, so can early Mashq of nearby ijāz.
According to the manuscript evidence from the oldest and most complete ear-
ly Quran available to us (currently in the Tobkabi Museum in Turkey), the origi-
nal Mashq style employed three complex, multi-level baseline shifting rules,
triggered by any of the medial or final ā letter group, or the final isolated Yā
letter group. According to the first rule, when freely-connecting letters (i.e. Sīn,
Bā , Ayn, ād, ā letter groups, and the Mīm, Kāf and Hā letters) are followed
by a middle ā group member ( ā , Jīm, and Khā ), their baseline would be
shifted above the common baseline. Consequently, the left-pointing sharp angle
of the medial ā group letter would be extended leftwards, under the upward-
shifted baseline, to compensate visually for the breaking of the uniform baseline.
According to the second rule, a final ā group member must shift downwards,
below the common baseline, when preceded by any freely-connecting letter.
Again, the left-pointing sharp angle of the final ā group letter must extend left-
wards, under the upward-shifted baseline, to compensate visually for the break-
ing of the uniform baseline. According to the third rule, a final Yā group letter,

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in its isolated form, must be shifted downwards, and extend leftwards below
any preceding restrictedly-connecting letters (i.e. Alif, Wāw, Rā , and Dāl letter
families). Unlike its parent Jazm script, the original Mashq style was limited to
one shape for the final and isolated Yā letters: the Retroverse Yā (Yā Barri).
The most important feature introduced by the Kufi Mashq style was its elimi-
nation of the awkward baseline breaking associated with the Haa group me-
dial shapes. Except for the ā ligatures formed with the initial shapes of any
freely-connecting letter, all other ā ligatures involving baseline shifting were
effectively eliminated. The second important feature involved the elimination of
any downward shifting of the isolated Yā Bari when following any restrictedly-
connecting letter. However, the Kufi Mashq simplification process introduced
two significant complications of its own, when it eliminated the usual one fi-
nal and isolated Yaa’ shape of early Mashq. According to the rules of the first
complication, the final letter Yā was given one distinct shape when following
any restrictedly-connecting letter: the classical Jazm Yā Ba ah shape. In some
cases it was given the Yā Barri shape with the long retroverse stem sitting on
the baseline. According to the rules of the second complication, the final letter
Yā was given the Yā Barri shape when following any of the freely-connecting
letters Ayn, Ghayn, Mīm, ā and Hā , but an alternative Yā Ba ah shape
when following the freely-connecting letters of the Sīn, Bā, ād, and ā group
letters. However, the rules of the second complication did not seem to be manda-
tory. In the early Quranic Kufi manuscripts, one can observe a mixed final Yā
shapes in similar words on a single page. Calligraphers, it seems, were given the
freedom to use whatever shape makes more sense for visual appeal. Openness
was an instrumental factor in the magnificent evolution of future Islamic Arabic
calligraphy.
Sometime after the reformed Mashq Kufi style became the most prominent
style to write the Quran, a vocalization marking system was introduced to make
sure words were pronounced uniformly. Most scholars believe this was in Kufa
between 656 to 661 CE, during the ruling of the third Islamic Caliph, Ali bin Abi
ālib. This system involved placing prominent-sized Niqā (round dots) adjacent
to letters to represent the sounds of the three Arabic short, soft vowels (Fatha,
Kasrah, Dhamma), Maddah, and Hamzah. These dots should not be confused
with the dots of Tashkīl (I jām), which were initially marked in the Mashq style
as minor slashes closely integrated with letters, as clearly evident in the samples
of the Mā il style, but were eventually given smaller round dot shapes. Although
the new vocalization system, called Tanqī , was not a perfect system, it was good
enough to preserve the key features of the Arabic language of the Quran until a
new precise vocalization system was introduced in Naskh.
The most interesting feature of Tanqī was its handling of the important Ara-
bic Hamzah. Even today, in the age of advanced typography, Hamzah is the most
challenging and unstable feature of the Arabic script. Still, it is a key feature of
the Arabic language and was even represented in the ancient Akkadian Cunei-

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 form script. The Arabic Hamzah can assume the personality of both, an inde-
pendent letter and arakah (soft vowel). The name Hamzah is derived from the
Arabic root word Hamzah. It was called that way, because it presses (influences)
the pronunciation of a consonant letter (i.e. it behaves like arakah!). Therefore,
in the early Kufic Tanqī system, it was literally treated as arakah.
Generally speaking, Hamzah was given one shape, a large dot, but three ad-
jacent positional forms: a Hamzah Fathah which was positioned above the letter,
a Hamzah Kasrah which was positioned below a letter, and a Hamzah Dhamma
which was positioned on the baseline to the left of a letter. These dots were most
of the time colored, particularly in red. In the early Mashq and Kufi, the Sukūn
arakah was not specifically accounted for. However, when it was associated
with Hamzah it assumed one of the three default representations of Hamzah.
In another words, Hamzah was always pronounced with a settled soft Fat ah,
Dhamma, or Kasrah sound. When Hamzah came in the beginning of a word, it
was always combined with the Alif letter. When Hamzah came in the middle of
a word, it was always combined with an Alif, Yā , or Wāw letters. This logical
designation is not surprising, since the sounds of Fat ah, Kasrah, and Dhammah
short vowels correspond, respectively, to these long vowel and consonant letters.
It should be emphasized that the early Tanqī system was not always an exact
consistant process. For example, the dot for Hamzah after Alif was either placed
on the left or right side of the vertical stem. Similarly, the dot for the Fat ah was
either placed on the left or right side of the vertical stems of the ā letter group
and final and isolated Kāf letter. The two dots for Tanwīn were either stacked
vertically or horizontally. In some old Quran manuscripts, additional prominent-
sized dots of various colors (i.e. green, white, yellow) were also used along with
the red ones. These likely represented one of the additional Arabic arakat (i.e.
Shaddah, Sukūn) or even Hamazah itself. Because the use of these additional
dots was never standardized, they were not utilized consistently. Probably, they
were proposed by some scribes in their efforts to reform the script with extra
arakāt. A complete, detailed arakāt system was adapted, much later, in the
Naskh style.
The Mashq font family by Arabetics includes three styles of Mashq. The first
is Mashq regular, which closely follows the script style of Mus af ‘Uthmān,
with only the initial and final ā baselines shifting. The second is Mashq Mail,
which emphasizes the features of the Mā il style shared with Mashq. The third is
Mashq Kufi, which closely follows the script style in an adequate sample from
the Quran manuscripts of the Bergstraesser Archive. All three fonts include two
styles, with and without Tashkeel. The Mashq and Mashq Kufi fonts include two
more styles, with and without arakāt (soft vowels) and Hamzah. In addition
to Maddah, they include only three soft vowels, Fat ah, Kasrah, and Dhamma,
along with their Tanwīn (double) forms. The Sukūn vowel is the default shape
before inserting a soft vowel. Hamzah was treated as a vowel just as it was
treated in the Mashq and early Kufi manuscripts. Kashīdah (Ta wīl), triggered

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by keying Shift-J on Arabic keyboards, is a zero width character. In the Mashq
fonts, inserting one Kashīda before the final Ayn glyph group will trigger alter-
native shapes. In the Mashq Kufi fonts, inserting one Kashīdah (or two) before
the final shape of Yā , Ayn, and ā glyph groups will trigger alternative shapes.
The Mashq font family by Arabetics was designed to be as compatible as pos-
sible with the Arabic keyboard and Unicode standard used in computers today.
Calligraphic variations were implemented only when they marked significant
and permanent script features.
To illustrate Hamzah handling in early Mashq and Mashq Kufi, I provided
several concrete examples taken directly from Mus af Uthman in the Tobkapi
Museum and from the Quran Manuscripts of the Bergstraesser Archive. The
two tables below show how Hamzah, Maddah, and the three main short vowels,
arakāt, were represented in these old manuscripts, compared to their represen-
tation in a typical modern day Unicode Arabic font. Additionally, I provided a
complete glyph dump from one member of the Mashq font family by Arabetics,
Mashq Kufi Tashkil Harakat font, along with a sample text utilizing it.

For a limited time, when you buy this book you acquire a license for the
private, personal, non-commercial use of the Arabetics Mashq font family on
1-3 computers. Please send an email to [email protected] with a receipt of
book purchase. The font file will then be sent to you as an attachment with the
Arabetics reply to your email.

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EARLY KUFI. QURAN: SURAT AHA 20:64-75 (BERGSTRAESSER ARCHIVE)

.ٰ ٰ .ٰ
.ٰ .ٰ .ٰ
.ٰ
.ٰ
‫ء‬ ٰ .ٰ
. ٰ

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 EARLY KUFI. QURAN: SURAT AHA 20:53-63 (BERGSTRAESSER ARCHIVE)

ٰ .ٰ ‫ء ء‬
.ٰ .ٰ .ٰ
. .ٰ
‫ﷲ‬ ٰ .ٰ ٰ .
ٰ .ٰ .ٰ
.ٰ

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EARLY MASHQ. QURAN: SURAT AL-QA A 28:70-81 (Mus af Uthman. TOPKAPI MUSEUM, TURKEY)

ٰ . ٰ ٰ . .
. ٰ .
. ٰ ٰ . ‫ء‬ .
. ‫ﷲ‬ . .
. ‫ء‬ ٰ

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EARLY MASHQ. QURAN: SURAT AL-QA A 28:21-27 (Mus af Uthman. TOPKAPI MUSEUM, TURKEY)

‫ء‬ . ‫ء‬ ٰ ‫ء‬ .

ٰ . ‫ء‬ ٰ
‫ء‬ ‫ء‬ . ٰ
. ‫ء‬
.

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20

MASHQ TASKEEL HARAKAT FONT BY ARABETICS (QURAN: SURAT AL-KAHAF 18: 96-110)

ٰ . . ٰ ٰ ٰ
. |. . ‫ء‬ ‫ء‬
. . ‫ء‬ ‫ء‬
ٰ ٰ .
. . .
ٰ .
 MASHQ KUFI TASKEEL HARAKAT FONT BY ARABETICS (QURAN: SURAT AL-KAHAF 18: 96-110)

ٰ . . ٰ ٰ ٰ
. |. . ‫ء‬ ‫ء‬
. . ‫ء‬ ‫ء‬
ٰ ٰ .
. . .
.
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 SAMPLE QURAN TEXT TYPESET WITH THE MASHQ FONT FAMILY, DUPLICATING THE KUFIC
SCRIPT CHARACTERISTICS SEEN IN AN ACTUAL EARLY KUFIC TEXT IMAGE FROM A QURAN
MANUSCRIPT IN THE an ā Codex Collection, According to Author’s Exact Observation.

QURAN: SURAT AL-KAHAF 18: 21-24

.
‫ء‬
‫ءﷲ‬ . ‫ء‬ .

MASHQ KUFI HARAKAT AND MASH KUFI TASHKEEL HARAKAT FONTS BY ARABETICS

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MASHQ KUFI TASKEEL, MASH KUFI, AND MASHQ MAAIL FONTS BY ARABETICS

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 MASHQ KUFI TASHKEEL HARAKAT FONT
©2017 ARABETICS. COMPLETE GLYPH DUMP

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