Origin and history of Maghrebi
Maghrebi script developed in North Africa and al-Andalus from early Kufic, taking shape by the 10th century and remaining the main hand of the region for centuries. It was used in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Muslim Spain and across the Sahel, and is still taught in Qur'anic schools in parts of West Africa.
Unlike eastern scripts, Maghrebi was traditionally written with a pointed rather than broad-cut pen, producing strokes of fairly even thickness. It also kept distinctive spelling conventions: fa is written with a dot below and qaf with a single dot above, a detail that helps identify Maghrebi manuscripts.
How to recognise Maghrebi letters
- Wide, open bowls that dip deeply below the baseline, especially on letters like nun, sin and ya.
- Long, stretched horizontal strokes and sweeping tails.
- Even stroke thickness from the pointed pen, with little thick-to-thin contrast.
- Fa with a dot below and qaf with one dot above, unlike eastern Arabic.
Where Maghrebi calligraphy is used
Maghrebi is found in Moroccan and Andalusian Qur'ans, the manuscripts of Timbuktu, Moroccan architecture and zellige tilework. Today it suits Moroccan-themed branding, restaurant signage, cultural events and name art for people with North African roots.
Tips for writing names in Maghrebi
- Maghrebi gives North African names such as Youssef, Fatima-Zahra or Amine an authentic regional look.
- Names with round letters (nun, sin, ya) show off the deep open bowls typical of the style.
- Allow extra height on the canvas, since the bowls dip well below the baseline.