ABSTRACT
There are various types of calligraphic
styles, and as the script became more
and more used, it was itself the site of
much development in style. Kufic is the primitive form of the
Arabic writing and it was in this style
that the Word of God – ‘The Holy
Qur ) an’ – was first written. The name is
derived from the Iraqi city Kufa, where
it was used in the seventh century CE.
Before the twelfth century almost all
Islamic architectural calligraphy was
executed in Kufic script. The script itself
is angular, its lines are parallel and they
cut at right angles without any mixture
of rounded contours, so it is perfect for
architecture. It is in the form of geo-
metric designs, and both calligraphy and
geometric designs can assume a spare
and beautiful artistic form, while the
geometric designs so formed came to
acquire a status based both on their
content and form. The combination of
square and angular lines, and compact,
bold, circular forms, where the vertical
strokes were short and the horizontal
strokes long, produces a powerful effect.
As Kufic reached perfection in the sec-
ond half of the eighth century, it super-
seded other earlier attempts of
development of Arabic calligraphy and
became the only script used for copying
