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Ibn Muqlah

From Encyclopaedia Britannica: Abu 'ali Muhammad Ibn 'ali Ibn Muqlah (b. 886, Baghdad, d. 940, Baghdad) was one of the foremost calligraphers of the 'Abbasid Age (750-1258), reputed inventor of the first cursive style of Arabic lettering, the naskhi script, which replaced the angular Kufic as the standard of Islamic calligraphy. Eyad Al-Samman writes: Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muqlah (885--940), commonly known as Ibn Muqlah, was a pivotal figure in the history of Arabic calligraphy. Born in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, he was a high-ranking official who rose to the post of Vizier (Wazir) in the early 10th century. His turbulent political career ended in imprisonment, where he suffered the mutilation of his right hand and tongue before his death in prison on 20 July 940. However, Ibn Muqlah is primarily revered as an innovator in calligraphy. Historians credit him with the invention of the principle of al-Khatt al-Mansub (The Proportioned Script), which established geometric rules for Arabic letterforms. This system is the foundation for the classic scripts, including Thuluth (khatt ath-thuluth) and Naskh (khatt an-naskh). His mastery was celebrated by contemporaries. The scholar Abu Hayyan Al-Tawhidi revered him as "a prophet in the field of handwriting; it was poured upon his hand, even as it was revealed to the bees to make their honey cells hexagonal." Similarly, Al-Tha'alibi declared: "Ibn Muqlah's handwriting is an example of beauty, because it is the most beautiful handwriting in the world. No one has seen, nor has anyone narrated, anything like it in its transcendence of description and its magical quality."

In 2025, Eyad Al-Samman published https://www.myfonts.com/collections/ibnmuqlah-font-eyad-al-samman">Ibnmuqlah to honor Ibn Muqlah. The typeface supports a wide range of Arabic character sets, making it suitable for composing text (i.e., alphabetical and numerical) in languages such as Arabic, Urdu, Persian, and also Kurdish. Its design is particularly striking and eye-catching in large printed formats, making it ideal for headlines, titles, brand names, packaging, and signage. Consequently, it is well-suited for book covers, large advertisements (such as light boards), magazine and newspaper titles, products, logos, and artistic applications in public spaces like streets, metro stations, and satellite channels. This modern scripting typeface delivers full, seamless integration of essential Arabic diacritics, including damma, shadda, sukūn, fatḥa, and ka. This robust feature ensures flawless, pracal application and maximum utility across the demanding scripts of Arabic, Urdu, Persian, and Kurdish, making it the perfect choice for professional typographic projects seeking maximum market adaptability and authenticity across diverse linguistic contexts.

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Typefaces and type design for Arabic ⦿