Origin and history of Old Kufic
Old or early Kufic describes the angular scripts used to copy the Qur'an during the first centuries of Islam, roughly the 7th to the 10th century. Scribes wrote on parchment in a horizontal (landscape) format, with only a few lines per page, so that each word stretched wide and solemn.
Early manuscripts often lacked dots to distinguish letters; later, red and green dots were added to mark vowels, a system associated with the grammarian Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali. Surviving pages such as those of the Blue Qur'an show how prestigious and costly these books were.
How to recognise Old Kufic letters
- Very broad, horizontal letters with long extended connections.
- Low letter heights and short verticals compared with later scripts.
- Minimal curves and a heavy, even stroke.
- A solemn, spacious rhythm with few letters per line.
Where Old Kufic calligraphy is used
Early Kufic survives in Qur'an fragments, inscriptions and coins from the Umayyad and early Abbasid periods. Today it is chosen for heritage designs, museum exhibitions, book covers about Islamic history and timeless logos.
Tips for writing names in Old Kufic
- Old Kufic stretches names horizontally, so a wide, square canvas keeps them balanced.
- It gives names a timeless, heritage character suited to plaques and family crests.
- Try gold on indigo for a design inspired by the Blue Qur'an.