Ajay Kumar at 19:24, 28 September 2023

2023-09-28T19:24:33Z

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{{Short description|Style of Arabic script}}
[[File:Unknown, North Africa or Southern Spain, 9th or 10th Century - Blue Qur'an Page - Google Art Project (cropped).jpg|thumb|300x300px|The classical Kufic<ref>[[François Déroche|Déroche, François]]. ''Catalogue des manuscrits arabes''. Deuxième partie: ''manuscrits musulmans'', Tome I, 1. ''Les manuscrits du Coran. Aux origines de la calligraphie coranique'' (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1983), pp. 41–45.</ref> script of the [[Blue Quran]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=D'Ottone Rambach |first=Arianna |date=January 2017 |title=The Blue Koran. A Contribution to the Debate on its Possible Origin and Date |journal=Journal of Islamic Manuscripts |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=127–143 |doi=10.1163/1878464X-00801004 |s2cid=192957200|doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
{{Arab culture}}
{{Calligraphy}}'''Kufic script''' ({{Lang-ar|الْخط الْكوُفِي}}; <small>Romanized</small>: {{transl|ar|''‘Al-khat ‘al-Kūfī''}}) is a style of [[Arabic script]] that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for [[Quran]] transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It developed from the [[Arabic alphabet]] in the city of [[Kufa]], from which its name is derived.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kūfic script {{!}} calligraphy {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kufic-script |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Kufic script is characterized by angular, rectilinear letterforms and its horizontal orientation.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |author= |date=2020 |title=The Development and Spread of Calligraphic Scripts |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/unit-two/the-development-and-spread-of-calligraphic-scripts# |access-date=20 August 2020 |website=Metmuseum.org |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |location=[[New York City|New York]]}}</ref> There are many different versions of Kufic script, such as [[Kufic#Square Kufic|square Kufic]], floriated Kufic, knotted Kufic, and others.<ref name=":3" /> The artistic styling of Kufic led to its use in a non-Arabic context in Europe, as decoration on architecture, known as [[pseudo-Kufic]].

== History ==

=== Origin of the Kufic script ===
Calligraphers in the early Islamic period used a variety of methods to transcribe Quran manuscripts. Arabic calligraphy became one of the most important branches of Islamic Art. Calligraphers came out with the new style of writing called Kufic. '''Kufic''' is the oldest [[Islamic calligraphy|calligraphic]] form of the various [[Arabic script]]s. The name of the script derives from [[Kufa]], a city in southern Iraq which was considered as an intellectual center within the early Islamic period. Kufic is defined as a highly angular form of the Arabic alphabet originally used in early copies of the Quran. [[Sheila S. Blair]] suggests that "the name Kufic was introduced to Western scholarship by [[Jacob George Christian Adler]] (1756–1834)".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Islamic Calligraphy|last=Blair|first=Sheila S.|authorlink=Sheila Blair|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7486-1212-3|pages=104}}</ref> Furthermore, the Kufic script plays an important role in the development of Islamic calligraphy. In fact, "it is the first style of Islamic period writings in which the manifestation of art, delicacy and beauty are explicitly evident", says Salwa Ibraheem Tawfeeq Al-Amin.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Al-Amin|first=Salwa Ibraheem Tawfeeq|title=The Origin of the Kufic Script|journal=Magazine of Historical Studies and Archaeology |year=2016 |issue=53 |url=https://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=134854|pages=3, 6}}</ref> The rule set for this writing was about the angular, linear shapes of the characters. In fact, "the rules that were defined at the outset of the Kufic tradition essentially remained the same throughout its lifespan", says Alain George.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=The Rise of Islamic Calligraphy|last=George|first=Alain|year=2010|isbn=978-0-86356-673-8|pages=55, 56, 57, 65, 72}}</ref>

=== Usage of Kufic script ===
The Quran was first written in a plain, slanted, and uniform script but, when its content was formalized, a script that denoted authority emerged.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A Handbook of Early Arabic Kufic Script: Reading, Writing, Calligraphy, Typography, Monograms|last1=Jazayeri|first1=S. M. V. Mousavi|last2=Michelli|first2=Perette E.|last3=Abulhab|first3=Saad D.|publisher=Blautopf Publishing|year=2017|isbn=9780998172743|location=New York|pages=8}}</ref> This coalesced into what is now known as Primary Kufic script.<ref name=":0" /> Kufic was prevalent in manuscripts from the 7th to 10th centuries. Around the 8th century, it was the most important of several variants of Arabic scripts with its austere and fairly low vertical profile and a horizontal emphasis.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Islamic Designs for Artists and Craftspeople|last=Wilson|first=Eva|publisher=Dover Publications|year=1988|isbn=048625819X|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/islamicdesignsfo00wils/page/11 11]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/islamicdesignsfo00wils/page/11}}</ref> Until about the 11th century it was the main script used to copy the Quran.<ref name="brmu">{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/museum_and_exhibition/arabic_script/arabic_scripts.aspx|title=Arabic scripts|publisher=British Museum|access-date=13 March 2013}}</ref> Professional copyists employed a particular form of Kufic for reproducing the earliest surviving copies of the Quran, which were written on parchment and date from the 8th to 10th centuries.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Spirit of Islam: Experiencing Islam through Calligraphy|url=http://www.moa.ubc.ca/spiritofislam/unity/kufic.html|publisher=UBC Museum of Anthropology|access-date=13 March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021108152157/http://www.moa.ubc.ca/spiritofislam/unity/kufic.html|archive-date=8 November 2002}}</ref> It is distinguished from [[Thuluth|Thuluth script]] in its use of decorative elements whereas the latter was designed to avoid decorative motifs.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Kufic Inscriptions of the Historic Grand Mosque of Shoushtar|last1=Jazayeri|first1=S. M. V. Mousavi|last2=Ringgenberg|first2=Patrick|last3=Michelli|first3=Perette E.|last4=Chaharmahali|first4=Ali M.|last5=Jazayeri|first5=S. M. H. Mousavi|publisher=Blautopf Publishing|year=2015|isbn=9781511537995|location=New York|pages=120}}</ref> In place of the decorations in Kufic scripts, Thuluth used vowels.<ref name=":1" />

== Characteristics of Kufic script ==
[[File:Folio from a Koran (8th-9th century).jpg|300px|thumbnail|Kufic script, 8th or 9th century (Surah 48: 27–28), [[Quran]]]]

The main characteristic of the Kufic script "appears to be the transformation of the ancient cuneiform script into the Arabic letters", according to Enis Timuçin Tan.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tan|first=Enis Timuçin|date=1999|title=A Study of Kufic Script in Islamic Calligraphy and Its relevance to Turkish Graphic Art Using Latin Fonts in the late twentieth century|url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2749&context=theses|pages=42}}</ref> Moreover, it was characterized by figural letters that were shaped in a way to be nicely written on parchment, building and decorative objects like lusterware and coins.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/qura/hd_qura.htm|title=Early Qur'ans (8th–Early 13th Century)|last=Cohen|first=Julia|date=May 2014|website=www.metmuseum.org|access-date=2019-11-04}}</ref> Kufic script is composed of geometrical forms like straight lines and angles along with verticals and horizontals.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal|last=Al-Amin|first=Salwa Ibraheem Tawfeeq|title=The Origin of the Kufic Script|journal=Magazine of Historical Studies and Archaeology |year=2016 |issue=53 |url=https://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=134854|pages=3, 6}}</ref> Originally, Kufic did not have what is known as a differentiated consonant, which means, for example, that the letters "t", "b", and "th" were not distinguished by diacritical marks and looked the same.<ref name=":03" /> However, it is still used in Islamic countries. In later Kufic Qurans of the ninth and early tenth century, "the sura headings were more often designed with the sura title as the main feature, often written in gold, with a palmette extending into the margin", comments Marcus Fraser.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Ink and Gold Islamic Calligraphy|last=Fraser|first=Marcus|year=2006|isbn=0954901487|location=London|pages=28, 46}}</ref> Its use in transcribing manuscripts has been important in the development of Kufic Script. Earlier kufic was written on [[Manuscript|manuscripts]] with precision which contributed to its development. For instance, "the precision achieved in practice is all more remarkable because Kufic manuscripts were not ruled", says Alain George.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=The Rise of Islamic Calligraphy|last=George|first=Alain|year=2010|isbn=978-0-86356-673-8|pages=55, 56, 57, 65, 72}}</ref> Moreover, he explains that Kufic manuscripts were laid out with a stable number of lines per page, and these were strictly parallel and equidistant.<ref name=":13" /> One impressive example of an early Quran manuscript, known as the [[Blue Quran]], features gold Kufic script on parchment dyed with indigo. It is commonly attributed to the early Fatimid or Abbasid court. The main text of this Quran is written in gold ink, thus the effect on looking at the manuscript is of gold on blue. According to Marcus Fraser, "the political and artistic sophistication and financial expense of the production of the Blue Quran could only have been contemplated and achieved by a ruler of considerable power and wealth".<ref name=":2" />

== Ornamental use of Kufic script ==
The Kufic script is inscribed on textiles, coins, lusterware, building and so on.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Arabic & Islamic Inscriptions: Examples Of Arabic Epigraphy|url=https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/inscriptions/|access-date=2021-02-08|website=www.islamic-awareness.org}}</ref> Coins were very important in the development of the Kufic script. In fact, "the letter strokes on coins, had become perfectly straight, with curves tending toward geometrical circularity by 86", observes Alain George.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book|title=The Rise of Islamic Calligraphy|last=George|first=Alain|year=2010|isbn=978-0-86356-673-8|pages=55, 56, 57, 65, 72}}</ref> As an example, Kufic is commonly seen on [[Seljuk Turks|Seljuk]] coins and monuments and on early [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] coins. Its decorative character led to its use as a decorative element in several public and domestic buildings constructed prior to the [[History of the Republic of Turkey|Republican period]] in [[Turkey]]. Also, the current [[flag of Iraq]] (2008) also includes a kufic rendition of the [[takbir]].

[[File:Hafsids Bougie Algeria 1249 1276 ornemental Kufic.JPG|thumb|Hafsids with ornamental Kufic, Bougie, Algeria, 1249–1276]]

Similarly, the [[flag of Iran]] (1980) has the takbir written in white square kufic script a total of 22 times on the fringe of both the green and red bands. Kufic inscriptions were important in the emergence of textiles too, often functioning as decoration in the form of tiraz bands. According to Maryam Ekhtiar, "''tiraz'' inscriptions were written in Kufic or floriated Kufic script, and later, in naskhi or throughout the islamic world"''.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tira/hd_tira.htm|title=Tiraz: Inscribed Textiles from the Early Islamic Period|last=Ekhtiar|first=Maryam|date=July 2015|website=www.metmuseum.org|access-date=2019-11-04}}</ref> Those inscriptions include the name of God or the ruler. As an example, the inscription inside the Dome of the Rock is written in Kufic. Throughout the text, we can notice the calligraphic line created by the reed pen which is usually a steady stroke with various thicknesses based on the changes in direction of the movement that has created it.<ref name=":16">{{Cite book|title=The Rise of Islamic Calligraphy|last=George|first=Alain|year=2010|isbn=978-0-86356-673-8|pages=55, 56, 57, 65, 72}}</ref> Square or geometric Kufic is a very simplified rectangular style widely used for tiling. In Iran sometimes entire buildings are covered with tiles spelling sacred names like those of God, Muhammad and Ali in square Kufic, a technique known as ''[[banna'i]]''.<ref name="BloomBlair2009">{{cite book|author1=Jonathan M. Bloom|authorlink1=Jonathan M. Bloom|author2=Sheila Blair|authorlink2=Sheila Blair|title=The Grove encyclopedia of Islamic art and architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=PA212|access-date=4 January 2012|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-530991-1|pages=101, 131, 246}}</ref> Moreover, there is "[[Pseudo-Kufic]]", also "Kufesque", which refers to imitations of the Kufic script, made in a non-Arabic context, during the [[Middle Ages]] or the [[Renaissance]]: "Imitations of Arabic in European art are often described as pseudo-Kufic, borrowing the term for an Arabic script that emphasizes straight and angular strokes, and is most commonly used in Islamic architectural decoration".<ref>Mack, p.51</ref>

== Square Kufic ==
Square Kufic ({{lang-ar|ٱلْكُوفِيّ ٱلمُرَبَّع}}), also sometimes known as ''[[Bannai script|banna'i]]'' ({{lang|ar|بَنَائِيّ}}, "masonry" script), is a bare Arabic writing form that developed in the 12th century.<ref name=":4">[[Mamoun Sakkal|Sakkal, Mamoun]]. (2004). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311707144_Principles_of_Square_Kufic_Calligraphy Principles of Square Kufic Calligraphy]. Hroof Arabiyya. 4. 4-12. </ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Creative Arabic Calligraphy: Square Kufic|url=https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creative-arabic-calligraphy-square-kufic--cms-23012|website=Design & Illustration Envato Tuts+|access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref> Square Kufic was originally created in Iranian architecture with bricks and tiles functioning as [[Pixel|pixels]].<ref name=":5" /> Legibility is not a priority of this script.<ref name=":5" />

The Syrian calligrapher [[Mamoun Sakkal]] described its development as an "exceptional step towards simplification in Kufic styles that evolved towards more complexity in the preceding centuries".<ref name=":4" />

<gallery>
File:Alijlas kufi.png|Geometric Kufic sample ([[Surah 112]], ''[[al-Ikhlas]]'' or "The Surah of Monotheism", of the [[Quran]]), read clockwise, starting at bottom left (begins with the [[Basmala]])
File:Meknes Medersa Bou Inania Calligraphy.jpg|Geometric Kufic from the [[Bou Inania Madrasa (Meknes)]]; the text reads: بركة محمد or ''barakat muḥammad'', i.e. "Muhammad's blessing".
File:Kufic Muhammad.svg|Another example of geometric or square Kufic script, showing four instances of the name Muhammad (in black) and four times Ali (in white); often used as a tilework pattern in Islamic architecture
File:Shahada.svg|Arabic text of the [[Shahada]] in square Kufic script, shown as buildings topped with [[minarets]]
File:Isfahan Royal Mosque minaret.JPG|''Banna'i'' on a minaret – a repetitive pattern of square Kufic inscriptions
</gallery>

In recent years, this calligraphy form has been receiving more popularity for use in ornaments (such as in decorated clocks, frames, stickers), logos (that usually implies Islamic enterprises in government and private sectors), and even in freestyle Arabic calligraphy competitions. There has been a disciplined approach of creating Square Kufic calligraphy. This controlled method of creation preserved basic and accurate features of Arabic letters with little compromises, if any. A finished work can then be qualitatively judged rather than only appreciated as an abstract piece.

=== Configurations ===
While there are no restriction to formats that Square Kufic should be written in, Square Kufic can be categorized into 3 most commonly used configurations.

==== Free Flow ====
The normal writing format using pixelated Arabic font. The overall shape is not limited by any shape or boundary. Although this configuration is straight forward, it is not used for most Square Kufic-related work, due to its less aesthetic appearance relative to the other configurations.

Free flow is mainly used as baseline before developed into more sophisticated configurations.

==== Linear ====
Just like free flow, the writing goes from right to left but within a justified height that conforms into a continuous [[rectangle]]. The letters including their respective dots must only leave 1 pixel apart from each other.

Linear is preferred to write long scriptures such as Quranic verses along the interior perimeter or broken into lines elegantly against mosque walls.

==== Spiral ====
While the name suggests a [[Geometric term of location|radial]] or [[circle|circular]] form, they are usually presented in a [[square]] or rectangular shape. The 1 pixel space applies between the letters here as well. The major differences between a linear and a spiral Square Kufic calligraphy are

# Spiral has a minimum of two and up to four [[Datum reference|datums]]; linear only has a single datum, and
# Spiral allows letters to integrate at each corner of adjacent datums and across lines, and is only bounded by their outermost perimeter; linear letters maintain their original height even if they are warped into a spiral.

This configuration is used as a design centerpiece in buildings for shorter scriptures, name design commissions, and logos.

==== Other ====
Square Kufic calligraphy is by no means limited to the above configurations. There are many forms that are creative iterations or independent from these formats.

== Gallery ==
=== Kufic script in [[Quran|Qurans]] ===
<gallery>
File:The ‘Uthman Qur'an - Kufic.jpg|Page from a Qur'an in Kufic style, 8th century (Surah 15: 67–74)
File:Kufic Quran, sura 7, verses 86-87.jpg|Kufic script from [[Uthman Qur'an|an early Qur'an manuscript]], 8th-9th century (Surah 7: 86–87)
File:Turkey.Konya035.jpg|Manuscript of the [[Maryam (sura)|Surat Maryam]] of the Qur'an; Kufic script on gazelle skin, 9th century (Surah 19: 83–86)
File:4.8-17-1990-Guld-koranside-recto-og-verso.jpg|The leaves from this Qur'an written in gold and contoured with brown ink have a horizontal format (9th century).
File:Qur'an folio 11th century kufic.jpg|Folio of a [[Qur'an]] in Kufic style, ink, color and gold, 11th century, [[Iran]] (Surah 92: 1–5)
File:Bifolium Mushal al-Hadina Quran Met 2007.191.jpg|alt=Bifolio of Surat Al-An'am in the "Nurse’s Quran” (مصحف الحاضنة), commissioned by a patron named Fatima under the Zirid Dynasty in the early 11th century.|Bifolio of [[Al-An'am|Surat Al-An'am]] in the "[[Nurse’s Quran]]" ({{Lang|ar|مصحف الحاضنة}}), commissioned by a patron named Fatima under the [[Zirid dynasty|Zirid Dynasty]] in the early 11th century<ref>{{Cite web|title=Islamic art from museums around the world|url=https://arab.news/ra27f|date=2020-05-18|website=Arab News|language=en|access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref>
File:مصحف عباسي بالخط الكوفي المشرقي 01.jpg|[[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] Quran, Persia, late 11th / early 12th century
</gallery>

=== Kufic script elsewhere ===
<gallery>
File:Bowl with Kufic Inscription.jpg|Bowl with Kufic Inscription, 9th century – [[Brooklyn Museum]]
File:Bowl with Kufic Calligraphy, 10th century.jpg|Bowl with Kufic [[calligraphy]], 10th century – Brooklyn Museum
File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art pot 0850.1.jpg|Bowl with Kufic calligraphy, 10th century – [[Khalili Collection of Islamic Art]]
File:11th century gold Fatimid armlet (Syria).jpg|11th-century gold Fatimid armlet, inscribed with good wishes in the Kufic script (Syria)
File:Kufic alphabet.jpg|Kufic alphabet, from ''[[Fry's Pantographia]]'' (1799)
File:المنبر المرابطي 21 44 01 519000.jpeg|[[Maghrebi script|Almoravid Kufic]] adorning the [[Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque]]
File:Al-Walid ibn Abdul-Rahman - Inscribed Pound Weight - Walters 476 - Top.jpg|Inscription in Kufic (743). The [[Walters Art Museum]].
File:Basmala kufi.svg|Drawing of an inscription of [[Basmala]] in Kufic script, 9th century. The original is in the Islamic Museum in Cairo (Inventar-Nr. 7853).
File:Flag of Iraq.svg|The [[flag of Iraq]] (2008)
</gallery>

== Typefaces ==
Google Fonts:
* ''Noto Kufi Arabic''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Fonts: Noto Kufi Arabic |url=https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Kufi+Arabic |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Google Fonts |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Changa''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Fonts: Changa |url=https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Changa?sort=popularity&subset=arabic&noto.lang=ar_Arab |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Google Fonts |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Reem Kufi''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Fonts: Reem Kufi |url=https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Reem+Kufi |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Google Fonts |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Cairo''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Fonts: Cairo |url=https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Cairo |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Google Fonts |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Almarai''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Fonts: Almarai |url=https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Almarai |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Google Fonts |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Mada''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Fonts: Mada |url=https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Mada |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Google Fonts |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Kufam''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Google Fonts: Kufam |url=https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Kufam |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Google Fonts |language=en}}</ref>

Windows:
* ''Andalus''<ref name="fonts-10">{{cite web |title=Windows 10 font list |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/fonts/windows_10_font_list |website=Microsoft Docs – Typography |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref>

iOS:
* ''Diwan Kufi''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fonts included with macOS Monterey |url=https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212587 |access-date=2022-08-30 |website=Apple Support |date=14 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Sample text from the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], article 1:
<div title="if one of the typefaces is not installed, a monospace font will appear instead" dir="rtl" style="font-family: 'Noto Kufi Arabic', Cairo, Almarai, Mada, Kufam, 'Reem Kufi', Andalus, 'Diwan Kufi', 'Courier New', monospace; font-size:140%; line-height:1.5; letter-spacing:normal;"> يولد جميع الناس أحرارًا متساوين في الكرامة والحقوق. وقد وهبوا عقلاً وضميرًا وعليهم أن يعامل بعضهم بعضًا بروح الإخاء. </div>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Languages}}
* [[Old North Arabian script|Ancient North Arabian script]]
* [[Ancient South Arabian script]]
* [[Hijazi script]]
* [[Maghrebi script]]
* [[Mashq|Mashq script]]
* [[Muhaqqaq]]
* [[Naskh (script)|Naskh]]
* [[Persian calligraphy]]
* [[Reyhan (script)|Rayhan]]
* [[Tawqi]]
* [[Thuluth]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== General references ==
* Kosack, Wolfgang: ''Islamische Schriftkunst des Kufischen. Geometrisches Kufi in 593 Schriftbeispielen. Deutsch – Kufi – Arabisch''. Christoph Brunner, Basel 2014, {{ISBN|978-3-906206-10-3}}.
* Mack, Rosamond E. ''Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300–1600'', University of California Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-520-22131-1}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Kufic style}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090803120345/http://sakkal.com/instrctn/index.html Square Kufic lectures:] alphabet (stylized), examples, square designs
* [http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Fry-Pantographia/pages/p004/ Kufic manuscript alphabet]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060819030419/http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Text/Mss/kufic.html On the Origins of the Kufic Script]
* [http://www.caroun.com/Calligraphy/aCalligraphyGeneral/Kufic/KuficScript.html Kufic Script]
* [http://www.kufic.info Square Kufic Script]
* [http://wiki.frath.net/Square_Kufic Square Kufic]
* [http://shirhashirim.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/square-kufic/ Square Kufic explained]

{{Arabic language}}
{{Islamic calligraphy}}{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Arabic calligraphy]]
[[Category:Arabic art]]

Kufic - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 19:24, 28 September 2023