Reyhan or Rayḥānī ( ar, ریحان) is one of the six canonical scripts of Perso-Arabic calligraphy. The word Reyhan means

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and Persian. Reyhan is considered a finer variant of

Muhaqqaq Muhaqqaq is one of the main six types of calligraphic script in Arabic.John F. A. Sawyer, J. M. Y. Simpson, R. E. Asher (eds.), ''Concise Encyclopedia of Language and Religion'', Elsevier, New York 2001, , p. 253. The Arabic word ''muḥaqqaq'' () ...

script, likened to flowers and leaves of basil. Rayḥānī was developed during the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...

era by

Ibn al-Bawwab Ibn al-Bawwāb (), also known as Ali ibn-Hilal, Abu'l-Hasan, and Ibn al-Sitri, was an Arabic calligrapher and illuminator who lived in Baghdad. He is the figure most associated with the adoption of round script to transcribe the Qur'an. He most l ...

. Academic studies of Rayhani have included analytical study of the technical characteristics of Yaqut al-Musta’simi's method. Nassar Mansour ''Yaqut al-Musta’simi, Analytical Study of the Technical Characteristics of his Method in Rayhani Script'', (in Arabic), 2018, Jordan Journal of History and Archaeology

References

Arabic calligraphy Islamic calligraphy {{Islam-stub