' () or ' () is a writing style of
Arabic script
The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...
intended for the rapid production of texts. It is a relatively simple and plain style, used for everyday writing and often used for signs.
The
Ottoman calligraphers
Mumtaz Efendi (1810–1872) and
Mustafa Izzet Efendi (1801–1876) are credited with standardizing the writing style which has existed in slightly different styles as everyday handwriting.
It is not to be confused with the much older ''
reqāʿ'' () style.
Description and usage
''Ruqʿah'' is the most common type of handwriting in the Arabic script. It is known for its clipped letters composed of short, straight lines and simple curves, as well as its straight and even lines of text. It was probably derived from the ''
Thuluth'' and ''
Naskh'' styles.
Unlike other types of calligraphy, ''ruqʿah'' is not considered as an art form. Instead, it is a functional style of writing that is quick to write and easy to read. Every literate Ottoman was expected to be able to use the ''ruqʿah''.
The demonstration below is not typical since it uses full vowels, which are rarely used in handwriting:
If one of the ruqʿah style fonts is installed, the following text should appear as the above image sample:
خَيْر للمَرء أن يَمُوتَ فِى سَبِيل فِكرَتِه مِنْ أنْ يَعِيشَ طُولَ الدَهْرِ جَبَانًا عَن نِصْرةِ وَطَنِه
The same text without a ruqʿah style font (typically naskh):
خَيْر للمَرء أن يَمُوتَ فِى سَبِيل فِكرَتِه مِنْ أنْ يَعِيشَ طُولَ الدَهْرِ جَبَانًا عَن نِصْرةِ وَطَنِه
Gallery
File:Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem2936.JPG, Street sign in Jerusalem
File:Nasser Poster.jpg, The numerals 23 appear in Ruqʿah style (٢٣) differently from Naskh (٢٣).
File:خط جرجي زيدان.jpg, A letter hand written by Jurji Zaydan
File:حرف الألف بالرقعة.png, Height of the letter Alif
Typefaces
Examples of a modern digital typeface rendering Arabic text in this style, are:
* ''Aref Ruqaa'' by Abdullah Aref
* ''Rakkas'' by Zeynep Akay
* ''Waseem'' on iOS
* ''B Arabic Style'' by Borna Rayaneh
* ''Layla Ruqaa'' by Mohammed Isam
References
See also
*
Diwani
Diwani is a calligraphic variety of Arabic script, a cursive style developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th century - early 17th century). It reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–1566 ...
*
Naskh (script)
Naskh is a small, round script of Islamic calligraphy. Naskh is one of the first scripts of Islamic calligraphy to develop, commonly used in writing administrative documents and for transcribing books, including the Qur’an, because of its easy ...
*
Nastaʿlīq script
''Nastaliq'' (; ; ), also romanized as ''Nastaʿlīq'' or ''Nastaleeq'' (), is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write Arabic script and is used for some Indo-Iranian languages, predominantly Classical Persian, Kashmiri, Punjabi a ...
*
Taʿlīq script
The taʿlīq () script is a Book hand, calligraphic hand in Islamic calligraphy typically used for official documents written in Persian language, Persian. Literally meaning ''hanging'' or ''suspended'' script it emerged in the mid-13th century an ...
*
Cursive
Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionality and m ...
*
Handwriting
Handwriting in Italian schools (XXth - XXIst century)
Handwriting is the personal and unique style of writing with a writing instrument, such as a pen or pencil in the hand. Handwriting includes both block and cursive styles and is separa ...
Arabic calligraphy
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