Reyhan or Rayḥānī () 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 hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...
in
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and
Persian. 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 Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
era by
Ibn al-Bawwab. Academic studies of Rayhani have included analytical study of the technical characteristics of
Yaqut al-Musta’simi's method.
[ Nassar Mansour ''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