Mastering
Arabic Script
a guide to handwriting
Jan
e
Wightwi
ck
and
Mahmoud
Gaafar
Contributions
and
handwriting models
by
Professor Mohammed
Hamaam
Head
of
the Academy
of
Arabic Script, Cairo
palgrave
macmillan
www.uz-translations.net
*
C g-a
nd
-w
1'V8USHI,,"C 2005
All
rights reserved, No reproduction, copy or transmission

provisions
of
the
Copyrig
ht
, Designs
and
Patents Act 1988,
or
unde
r
th
e
terms
of
any
licence
permitting
limited
copying
issued
by
the
Copyrig
ht
li
censing Agency,
90
T
otte

for
damage
s. .
The
authors
hav
e asserted
their
rig
ht
s to be identified
as
the
auth
ors
of
this work in
accordance
with
the
Copyright, Designs
a nd Patents Act 1988.
First publi
shed
2005
by
PAlGRAVE
MACM
I
LLAN

obal
ocademic
imprin
t
of
the
Palgrave
Macmillan
division
of
St.
Martin
's Press, LLC
and
of
Palgrave
Macmillan
Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered
trademark
In
the
United States, United Kingdom
and
other
countries. Palgrave
is a regist('red
trad
e
ma
rk

sus
tained
forest
sou
rces. Logging,
pulping
and
manufacturing
processes
are
expected
to
con
f
orm
to
the
environm·
e
nt
al
r
egula
ti
ons
of
the
c
ountry
of

shapes
1
U
nit
1
Unit 2
Unit 3
extra
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6
ext
ra
Un
it 7
Unit 8
Unit 9
ex
tr
a
Unit l Q
Unit
11
Un
it 12
Unit 13
extra
u 6
9
Vowel

mbers
U
nit
14
.!l
Unit
15
J.;.b
62
64
68
7J
Unit 16
iii
www.uz-translations.net
Letter
combinations
Unit 17 General principles
Unit 18 Joining to t
Unit
19
75
76
79
83
Unit
20
Unit 21
Joining to
{"

the
masthead
from
Ai
Anwar newspaper; Professor
Mohammed
Hamaam
(or
th
e
sa
mple
of
his calligraphy.
Ev
ery effort
ha
s been
mad
e to trace a
ll
copyright holders,
but if
any
have
been
inad
vertently overlooked,
the
publishers will be pleased to

six
th
or seve
nth
century
AD
,
largely
due
to
the
unifying factor
of
the
Qur'an.
There
is
no
clear documented progression in
the
development of
the
script
before this time
and
only a limited
number
of
original pre-
Is

Although spoken Arabic dialects have diverged in
the
same
way
that
Romance
languag
es such
as
Italian
and
French
hav
e
diverged from Latin,
the
Modem S
tandard
Arabic of today's
media
is
close to
the
l
anguage
of
th
e
Qur'a
n

than
comprehension.
The
ca
lligrapher relies
on
the reader
alr
e
ady
knowing the text,
often a verse from
the
Qur'an,
and
can
concentrate
on
making
th
e
sCrip
t
as
beautiful
and
balanced
as
possible.
As

of
Arabic
Script, Cairo)
na
skh, this does
not
huppen
commonly.
Most Arab children will initially le
arn
to read
and
write naskh
in a
similar
way to English children learning
to
read
and
write
using
infant
letters.
At
about
11
or
12
years old, secondary
school students in

extension
of
the
respect
paid
to calligraphy. As a
learner
you
will find a
mastery
of
the
ruq'a script
wi
ll
help you to be
regarded
as
a serious
student
of
the
language,
as
well
as
being
a more efficient
way
of handwriting.

ruq'a,
but
there
are
also some
important
differences to be mastered
when
writing ruq'a.
For
example, ruq'a script largely floats
above
the
line whereas el
ements
of
naskh fall below
the
line. Also,
many
of
the
fiddlier
and
more time-consuming elements of naskh
are
rationalised in ruq'a for
the
sake
of speed.

you
spot the
simi
larities and differences?
www.uz-translations.net
viii
Introduction
How
to
use
this
book
This script book
ca
n be beneficial
at
different s
tage
s of
th
e
l
ea
rning
process.
It
c
an
be used by complete begi
nn

home
setting. Beginners
often find
th
e script quite easy to
ma
ster in principle
but
still
find it tokes a lo
ng
time to become flue
nt
in reading
and
writing. This book
can
help you overcome
th
e script barrier
much
more quickly.
Alte
rnati
vel
y,
you
may
hav
e

kers. This book
can
take you to
th
e
n
ex
t level by conce
ntrating
on
making
yo
ur
Arabic
handwriting
mor
e
matur
e
and
flue
nt
.
At whatever s
tage
y
ou
a
pproach
this book, it is best to work

the third
part
is
an
activity section for further
practice. Features included
are
:
• clear
ex
planation
and
graphics showing how
the
letter
s
hape
s
are
form
ed
•
numerous
practice exercises to help you achieve fluency in
writing
•
Master
calligrapher
tip
s: expert

ru
q'a
handwritin
g. Follow Professor
Hamaam
's tips
and
you will
ha
ve even better
ruq'a
writing!
• 'ex
tra
' sections covering f
ea
tur
es
of
th
e Arabic
sc
ript such as
writing vowe
ls
and
hamza (

)
•

are
a few
ba
sic princip
le
s of Arabic script which
apply
whichever sty
le
of writing
is
use
d:
• There ore 28 letters in
the
alphabet.
• The
sC
ript
is
written right to left.
• There
are
no
capital letters.
• Words
are
written
in
cursive,

and
ruq'a
you
will find you
can
write
and
read
Arabic in most everyday context
s.
Fin
ally,
mak
e s
ur
e you
have
a good ink pen, drawing pen,
gel p
en
or a so
ft
pencil to write Arabic. The Arabic
sC
ript usually
looks better
when
written with a thicker
nib
or tip. Arabic is a

Part I, you will be practising how to
write individual Arabic s
hape
s
and
letters.
When
you
hav
e
mastered eno
ugh
letters, we will introduce complete words to
re
co
gnise
and
copy.
Practise forming
th
e le
tt
er s
hape
above, first
by
tra
cing
th
e

thr
ee different Arabic letters.
Compare
the
printed
and
the
handwritt
en versions:
Printed form Handwritten form

-
~
-
•
the
letter ba'. The
ba
sic
shape
with one
dot
undern
eath
.
Pronounced '
b'
as
in 'boat'.
the

as
in
't
hanks'
,
3
Notice
that
in
the
handwritten form
th
e dots become joined
up
f
or
speed.
Two
dots
are
joined like thi
s:
_
Three dots
are
joined like thi
s:
1\
Practise tracing
and

th
en
add
any
'dots'.
t ;
__
~

~

- .

•

-
~

~
A
A
t.,
L,.oo
~
www.uz-translations.net
4
Unit 1
Joining
up
Arabic is a cursive script: most Arabic letters a re w

joined to the
le
tt
er
before only
t
~
.
~
]
~
C.
.l
- -
=
-_
.
me
dial
joined
bo
th
sides
initial
jo
ined to the
letter aft
er
only
[

right.h
and
curve.

] Master
calligraph
er
tip
s
Th
e shape of
th
e initial ba', ta' a
nd
tha' is one
of
th
e most
importa
nt
in Arabic writing. The stroke is fundamental
to
handw
ri
ting and f
or
ms the b
as
is of a
numb

Pri
nt
ed
fo
rm
Ha
nd
written form
~
•

U-?

:.
+
'-'

(read right to left)
~
-
+
~

'-:' 1

-
'-'
::.
~
•

ole
combi
nati
on from
rig
ht
to
le
ft
before
add
ing any 'dots', also
fr
om
right to left.
5
~".
".
A _
_~_
L
~
___
~_

_.

~

www.uz-translations.net

e letter
nOn
. Pronounced
'n
'
as
in '
not'
.
The
print
ed
n
as
kh
form
of
nOn
falls below
the
lin
e,
but
the
handwritten ruq'a f
or
m tends to sit
mor
e on
the

up
nOn
ha
s exactly the same shape as
ba
' w
hen
in the initial or
medial position (see
Unit I), except it
ha
s one dot
above.
Beginners
ca
n confu
se
nOn
a
nd
ba'. Remember
Qa
' has the dot
!2e
lo
w.
final
medial
joined to the
letter before only

'-'
+
U
.
+
u
'-'
'-'
.
Notice t
hat
when
joining to a
fi
nal
nOn
,
as
in
the
final
examp
le
above
, you need to s
tart
the
previous letter higher to
end
up

followed
by
W could
also
be written:
_
N:
_
~,
;y.
;,.H
bunn min al-yaman (Coffee beans from Yemen)
This letter
shape
represents
the
Arabic letter ya':
Printed {onn

tl
Handwritten {onn
the
letter ya'
can
be
pronounced
in three ways:
y
as
in

and
then
copying
the
shope.
Joining
up
ya'
is
another
letter which
has
exactly
the
same
shape
as
"":-'
(see
Unit
1)
when
in
the
initial
or
medial position, except
that
it
has

the
same
shape
in their initial
and
medial positions,
and
are
only distinguished
by
th
e
number
of dots
above
or below:
final
c
~L
•
-
-
~
~

A
l
,
_ __ W _____ _
-


~
-
•

)
i
so
lat
ed
-
-
~

• ~

A

~

__
~
_ __ 0
__
_
~
__ J

Unit 3
•
U':!
=u+<;?

-
-
~
-

-
~
J
Mast
er
calligrapher
tips
\ .
If you write one of the letters U
~
:J '":"' before a final
ya
/
,
the initial shape w
ill
become a short downwards stro
ke
, with
the f

on
the final
yil
' even when they sho
uld
be
th
ere!
Practise tracing
and
copying
th
e co
mbinati
ons below.
-
~ ~
-
~' ~1._.MJ~~ '-\_ !A.~"-~)
_. _.
_.
l W

11

.

www.uz-translations.net
12
Unit 3

es
ending
up
to
the left
of
where they should be (see the dots
on
~I
above). This
movement happens because the dots are added after the main
word has been completed and
is
comparable to what happens
in English handwriting when you
might
find the
cross
stroke of
a
't'
has
moved
to
the right.
13
www.uz-translations.net
14
extra:
vowel and doubling

bint (gir
l)
is
actually
written
as
bnt
and
~
bayt (house)
as
byt.
It is possible to
add
signs
above
and
be
low
the
main
script
show
in
g
the
short vowel
s,
and
these

example

~
ba
a
comma-shape
above,
pronounced
as
a
short
'u'
after
the letter, for
example

~
bu
a
dash
be
low,
pronounced
as
a
short'i'
after
the
letter, for
example

the
"
letter
is
doubled, e.g.
~
bunn (coffee
beans)
Don't
confuse these signs with
the
dots
above
and
below
letters. The dots
are
an
integral
part
of
the
script,
distinguishing
one
letter from
another.
The vowels
and
doubling signs

the
vowel
and
doubling signs included. Follow these steps:
1.
Complete
the
main
shape
of
the
word.
2. Add
the
letter dots from right to left.
3. Add
the
vowel
and
doubling signs from right to left.
<>
_.
o

I
,l J.
J
_
n-:,
•

one
of
the
simp
lest to recognise
and
write: a single downward stroke.
Printed form
Handwritten {onn
,
Practise tracing
and
th
en
copying
the
shape.
I
I
I
I
1 I
I
_ start
\
he
re
alit does
not
represent a single consistent sound.

letters either side
of
them
in a
word. aljf is
one
of
six Arabic letters
that
onl
y
join
to
the letter
before
(on its right). This effectively
means
that
the alif retains its
shape
wherever it fa
ll
s in a word, with just a small joining
Unit 4
stroke
if
it
is joi
ned
to

the
word.
An a
li
t at
the
beginning of a word
is
usua
ll
y written
wi
th a
hamza symbol
(~)
over it if
the
vowel is a
or
ll,
or
under
it if
the
vowel
is
i:
I
a
or

•
,
_
__
_
~L
___
~
L
ab father
J

,-
L
.L
_
___
U __
baba daddy/papa
•
•

u!'4
-
in
if
•

tho
se wor
ds
cont
aining
alit
.
c, ,.1

• •
,
_~I
,
~I
,
!, ,-I
• •
•
•
• •
• •
• •
_c.tl
J
al
J
CLI~
"C L')~I
,C £')+-'
_

na
II
bayt
th
ab
it
(Daddy - I'm in
Th
ab
it's house)
19
www.uz-translations.net
'5"
f'
',
.
)I-
"
t J

y
•
JJJ
,
'
___
L
__
_
."


•
•

~:;--J-
-

-
the
lett
er
ra
'.
Pronoun
ced as a
slightly trilled
'r'
as
in
the
Spanish 'arriva'.
th
e letter zay. The
sa

printed naskh letters fall under
the
line
th
e
handwritten
ruq'a letters finish
on
the
line -
one
of
th
e
fundamental
differences between
the
two
sC
ripts.
Unit 5
21
Practise
tradng
and
then
copying
the
letter s
hap

ed
ia
l/fina
l
wOw
joined to the
letter
before
Remember
that
after non-joining letters, the following letter in a
word
must
be
written in
the
initial or isolated form, depending
on
whether it is
the
final letter in
the
word. Look
at
how
the
Arabic
nam
es
on

anwar
.
. .
~ )
_'-4.Jwl ",t_
. -
zaynab

Mast
er
calligrapher
tips
r
B
ecause
~
h
e
shapes
of
the handwritten J
and."
s
it
on the
lin
e
in
ruq'a,
yo

_

__
J
__
+_u ______
~
Pr
actise
co
p
yi
ng the names.
. UnitS
23
,
/,:;'1
. ,
/_'l
I
. .
~/.~/
Whose peg
is
whose?
How
many

n~
•
(Ydf
OJ
JI/
6jJ
W OJJ
6U1POClJ)
www.uz-translations.net
•
J J
This letter s
hap
e looks sim
ilar
to J
but
is rounder.
It
is used for
two Arabic letters.
Printed form Handwritten form

oJ
·· .
-
)
•
•



Master
calligrapher
tips
The stroke used to write the handwritten .J is the same as that
used for the initial
~ or
::i,
etc.:
•
Practise tracing
and
then copying d
iU
and
dhal.
Unit 6
•
•
•
,
Joining
up
•
25
s
tart
./'h
ere
._.)

alii
-
-~
-
dal
•
•
.
~
.
-
dhal
ra
t
•
•

~

zay
.
~
_.
-'-

waw
www.uz-translations.net
26
Unit
6

•
_,-,1_
.J
_
=

+I+

+.i
•
•
Lr.! l.:!
c>:~
-
-
0+\ S+J+(S
Note that even with n
on-
joi
ning
letters,
it
is us
ually
quicker to
finish
the
whole word
be
fore

,.,
•
•

-
www.uz-translations.net
28
extra:
long
vowels
mextra
, .
Long vowels
You
have
met
the
s
hort
vowel
marks
on
pages
14- 15. These
marks
are
written
above
a
nd

a (as in
'(gther
') I
alif
added
after
the
letter: ~
ba
I
l
ong
0
(as
in 'bQQt')
long T (as in
'm~t')
,J
waw
added
after
the
letter: Yo bo
£?
ya'
added
after
the
letter:
~

ha
s-
the
some s
hape
as

in the intial
and
medial
forms, except
it
has
two dots
~nder.
You
will also occasionally see Q long a written
as
a wavy sign
(
oJ :.
madd
a)
over
an
aUf: I,
as
in
WI
anisa

(a
l
so
a name)
dTn
religion
barTd
mail
nar
fire
yabanT
Japanese

ex.tra:
long
vowels
Practise
writing
the
wo
rds
containing
long
vowels.
\.j-=>
~
.:J
J.r
29
ex

a little like
a mirror-image figu re
of
8.
Practise tracing
and
then copying the letter s
hap
e.
p
-
c-
s
tart
_
here
~ _
This s
hape
is used for
thr
ee Arabic letters. Notice the difference
between
the
printed
and
handwritt

a
soft
'j'
as
in the so
un
d in the
midd
le of '
plea
s
ur
e'
Unit
7
.

c
.
JO
inin
g
up
•
31
the letter kha'. Pronounced
at
the
ba
ck

letter before only
joined both
sides
joined to the
letter after only
roo
l
l
-~
-
J
The lntial form
of
th
e sh
ape
is relatively straightforward,
but
wh
en
ot
her
letters
are
handwritten before
I)
a',
jIm
or
kha'

.

.
~

I +
t::
•
?

y

="+c
~
··
-·
t ··
=c+ ,
C';-' J

~

-
c+(,?+.;
<
•
,
<
. I
_

the
six
non-joining letters (see
Unit .6 for s
umma
ry tabl
e)
and
is
th
e
lost letter in a word,
as
in
t'
on
page
31.
Part 2
of
this book deals with combination s
hape
s
and
you can
practise the medial a
nd
final co
mbinat
ions f

need
to
fini
sh
on the line,
induding
,J
(see
~
on page 31),
Ja~~
I
I
.L?
__

<1
- I
_____
J
Practise writing these Jetter co
mbinati
ons co
ntaining
initiol
and isolated
~a'
,
jIm
and

changes its shape more
radically
tha
n most letters
when
joined.
First
practise tracing
and
then
cop
yi
ng the isolated letter s
hap
e,
makmg sure
you
move
your
pen
clockwi
se.
_._
The isolated letter looks si
milar
in
the
printed
and
handwritten

the
final fonn is recognisable, the initial
an
d
medial forms look very different.
Unit 8
final
joined
co
the
letter before only
medial
joined both si
des
initial
joined to the
letter after
on
ly
35
The medial form
of
0 ha'
is
also significan
tl
y differe
nt
in
ru

You
need to
start
the
letter
at
the
top
left, fonn a
la
rge backwards C-shape,
th
en
lo
op
back inside
the
C-s
hap
e before continuing to
the
left.
Practise tracing
and
then
copying
the
initial, m
ed
ial a

e thi
s:
/-*'
So
'-:-'
followed by
~
can be written in in either of the
se
two ways:

-
~
-

~
-
-

•
Look
at
the
se
words with
tt
ha'

jh
face
~
-
'-*

jawahir j
ewels
Notice how
the
initial
~
curves
round
the
ot
her
way
into
th
e
s
hope
of
th
e following ha'
in
th
e
handwritten

't
ied
t').
It
is pronounced a or at.
The
ta
' marbota is
handwritt
en
in
exa
ctly
th
e
same
way
as
a
final
or
isolated
~
ha', with
th
e
additi
on of a
dash
re

;JA!lO
UlJlAl?Z
lAin
SU
I!<X1
iJ<ljJO:J
uunq
epOH
lOj
lUils<JJd
~
pn4-
! 1
e,.{'!p114
JadedsMilu
epIJe!
Printed form Handwritten form

t

th
e letter mTm. Pronounced m
as
in 'mo
th
er
',
The letter
f"
mTm doesn't shore its s

The
handwritt
en ruq'a
mTm
sits Q little higher
than
th
e printed
n
as
kh
form,
although
the
tail do
es
end
below
th
e lin
e.
Practise
tr
aci
ng
and
then
copying
th
e letter s