Aref Ruqaa

Aref Ruqaa is an Arabic typeface that aims to capture the essence of the classical Ruq’ah calligraphic style. Use it when a title, an Arabic logo or a short message should feel handwritten and familiar rather than mechanical.

Who made it

The Arabic letters were designed by Abdullah Aref with Khaled Hosny, and published by Alif Type. Its Latin part is based on AMS Euler, the typeface Hermann Zapf drew for mathematics, adapted for running text instead of formulas.

Design character

Ruq’ah (رقعة, ruq’a) is the everyday handwriting style of much of the Arab world: compact, quick and economical, with short strokes and few flourishes. Aref Ruqaa keeps that directness. Letters are tight, words are short on the line, and the rhythm feels like confident pen writing. Next to a Naskh text face it immediately reads as a “voice” rather than as neutral text.

Best uses and real limits

• Display: headlines, book covers, posters, event titles, menus and packaging.
• Logos and signatures: a short brand name or a person’s name in Arabic, especially where a traditional or personal tone fits.
• Social media graphics: quotes, greetings and short slogans.

Limits to plan for:

• It is a display face. For paragraphs and long reading, switch to a Naskh such as Amiri.
• Two weights only: Regular (400) and Bold (700). For a wide UI hierarchy, a sans like Tajawal is a better base.
• Ruq’ah is usually written without full vowel marks. If your text needs complete harakat (حركات, short-vowel marks), test it in the live preview on this page at your target size before choosing it.

Coverage

Aref Ruqaa covers Arabic and Latin. The Latin glyphs come from the Euler design, which gives mixed Arabic and English titles a hand-drawn Latin that matches the calligraphic Arabic better than a standard sans.

Latin pairing

For titles, the built-in Euler-based Latin is a coherent first choice. Around it, keep the supporting text quiet: a classic serif such as Lora or EB Garamond for an editorial piece, or a neutral sans such as Source Sans 3 for a modern layout. Let the Ruq’ah carry the personality and keep everything else plain.

License in plain words

Aref Ruqaa is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. You can use it free of charge in commercial work, embed it in websites, apps and documents, and modify it. You cannot sell the font on its own. The license reserves one font name, EURM10: a modified version must not be published under that name. The download includes the license text.

Try it

Write your name or your brand with the online Arabic keyboard and preview it in Aref Ruqaa. If you are still deciding between styles, our guide on how to choose an Arabic font compares Ruq’ah, Naskh and modern sans side by side.

For a denser display title, compare Lalezar. To compare two Ruq’ah interpretations, try the actual invitation name in Layla Ruqaa, which supplies one Regular 400 style. Aref Ruqaa’s 400 and 700 files give a different choice for hierarchy; compare the word shapes before deciding how much weight contrast the card needs.