Reyhan or Rayḥānī ( ar, ریحان) is one of the six canonical scripts of Perso-Arabic calligraphy. The word Reyhan means

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. Reyhan is considered a finer variant of

Muhaqqaq Muhaqqaq is one of the main six types of Islamic calligraphy, calligraphic script in Arabic.John F. A. Sawyer, J. M. Y. Simpson, R. E. Asher (eds.), ''Concise Encyclopedia of Language and Religion'', Elsevier, New York 2001, , p. 253. The Arabic la ...

script, likened to flowers and leaves of basil. Rayḥānī was developed during the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

era by

Ibn al-Bawwab Ibn al-Bawwāb (), also known as Ali ibn-Hilal, Abu'l-Hasan, and Ibn al-Sitri, was an Arabic calligrapher and illuminator who lived in Baghdad. He is the figure most associated with the adoption of round script to transcribe the Qur'an. He most ...

. Academic studies of Rayhani have included analytical study of the technical characteristics of

Yaqut al-Musta’simi Yaqut al-Musta'simi (Persian: یاقوت مستعصمی)(Arabic: ياقوت المستعصمي) (also Yakut-i Musta'simi) (died 1298) was a well-known calligrapher and secretary of the last Abbasid caliph. Life and work He was probably of Gre ...

's method.

Nassar Mansour Nassar Mansour (Arabic: نصّار منصور), (born February 2, 1967), is an artist, calligrapher, academic and designer in the field of Islamic Arts, specializing in Islamic Calligraphy. He is considered to be one of the most accomplished cont ...

''Yaqut al-Musta’simi, Analytical Study of the Technical Characteristics of his Method in Rayhani Script'', (in Arabic), 2018, Jordan Journal of History and Archaeology

References

Arabic calligraphy Islamic calligraphy {{Islam-stub