Reyhan or Rayḥānī () 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 hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. Reyhan is considered a finer variant of

Muhaqqaq Muhaqqaq is one of the main six types of Islamic calligraphy, 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 la ...

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

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

era by Ibn al-Bawwab. Academic studies of Rayhani have included analytical study of the technical characteristics of

Yaqut al-Musta’simi Yaqut al-Musta'simi (Arabic: ياقوت المستعصمي) (died 1298) was a well-known calligrapher and secretary of the last Abbasid caliph. Life and work He was probably of Greek origin in Amaseia and carried off when he was very young i ...

's method.

Nassar Mansour Nassar Mansour (Arabic language, Arabic: نصّار منصور), (born February 2, 1967), is an artist, calligrapher, academic and designer in the field of Islamic Arts, specializing in Islamic calligraphy, Islamic Calligraphy. He is considered t ...

''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