' () or ' () is a writing style of Arabic script intended for the rapid production of texts. It is a relatively simple and plain style, used for everyday writing and often used for signs. The Ottoman calligraphers Mumtaz Efendi (1810âÂÂ1872) and Mustafa Izzet Efendi (1801âÂÂ1876) are credited with standardizing the writing style which had existed in slightly different styles as everyday handwriting.
It is not to be confused with the much older reqÃÂÿ () style.
Ruqÿah is the most common type of handwriting in the Arabic script. It is known for its clipped letters composed of short, straight lines and simple curves, as well as its straight and even lines of text. It was probably derived from the Thuluth and Naskh styles.
Unlike other types of calligraphy, ruqÿah is not considered as an art form. Instead, it is a functional style of writing that is quick to write and easy to read. Every literate Ottoman was expected to be able to use the ruqÿah.
The demonstration below is not typical since it uses full vowels, which are rarely used in handwriting:
If one of the ruqÿah style fonts is installed, the following text should appear as the above image sample: <div class="center" dir="rtl" style="font-family: 'Aref Ruqaa', 'B Arabic Style', Rakkas, 'Layla Ruqaa', Waseem, 'SF Ruqah', 'Sultan Ruqah'; font-size:160%; line-height:1.5; letter-spacing:normal;"> îÃÂÃÂÃÂñ ÃÂÃÂàÃÂñá ãàÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂêàÃÂÃÂàóÃÂèÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂñÃÂêÃÂààÃÂÃÂàãÃÂàÃÂÃÂùÃÂÃÂôà÷ÃÂÃÂÃÂàçÃÂïÃÂÃÂÃÂñàìÃÂèÃÂçÃÂÃÂç ùÃÂàÃÂÃÂõÃÂñéàÃÂÃÂ÷ÃÂÃÂÃÂà</div>
The same text without a ruqÿah style font (typically naskh): <div class="center" dir="rtl" style="font-family: Arial, 'Arabic Transparent', 'Times New Roman', 'Arial Arabic', 'Simplified Arabic', 'Scheherazade New', Scheherazade, Lateef, Damascus, Yakout, 'Noto Naskh Arabic', 'SF Arabic'; font-size:140%; line-height:1.5; letter-spacing:normal;"> îÃÂÃÂÃÂñ ÃÂÃÂàÃÂñá ãàÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂêàÃÂÃÂàóÃÂèÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂñÃÂêÃÂààÃÂÃÂàãÃÂàÃÂÃÂùÃÂÃÂôà÷ÃÂÃÂÃÂàçÃÂïÃÂÃÂÃÂñàìÃÂèÃÂçÃÂÃÂç ùÃÂàÃÂÃÂõÃÂñéàÃÂÃÂ÷ÃÂÃÂÃÂà</div>
Examples of modern digital typefaces rendering Arabic text in this style, are: