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Kufic script, 8th or 9th century (Surah 48: 27–28) Qur'an.



Kufic script used in a copy of the Qur'an

Kufic was prevalent in manuscripts from the 7th to 10th centuries.[2] Until about the 11th century it was the main script used to copy the Qur'an.[1] Professional copyists employed a particular form of kufic for reproducing the earliest surviving copies of the Qur'an, which were written on parchment and date from the 8th to 10th centuries.[3]

Ornamental use[edit]

Kufic is commonly seen on Seljuk coins and monuments and on early Ottoman coins. Its decorative character led to its use as a decorative element in several public and domestic buildings constructed prior to the Republican period in Turkey.

The current flag of Iraq (2008) includes a kufic rendition of the takbir. 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.


"Pseudo-Kufic", also "Kufesque",[citation needed] 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".[5]


See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b "Arabic scripts". British Museum. Retrieved 13 March 2013. 
  2. ^ ؟
  3. ^ "The Spirit of Islam: Experiencing Islam through Calligraphy". UBC Museum of Anthropology. Retrieved 13 March 2013. 
  5. ^ Mack, p.51



External links[edit]