Beaconhouse Nastaliq for Urdu quotations and reading pages

Beaconhouse Nastaliq is a free Urdu typeface commissioned by Beaconhouse Group and designed and engineered by Muhammad Zeeshan Nasar. Its sloping word shapes follow the Nastaliq tradition. The download contains one original static Regular TTF, version 1.000, at weight 400.

A descending rhythm for Urdu compositions

Long strokes, compact letter groups and raised connections give the line a changing height. In a short quotation, a publication heading or a calligraphic composition, this movement is part of the design. Allow space below the line instead of aligning every word inside a shallow text box.

The project uses contextual letter construction with a relatively small glyph set. This describes how the font forms words; it does not mean every possible word has been checked. Our Arabic, Urdu and Persian samples joined correctly, including common vowel marks, and matched between the original TTF and the browser preview.

Build a reading layout around the actual words

Try a paragraph with short and long words, punctuation and the marks your text needs. Check the tallest combinations and the lowest descending forms, then adjust line spacing. At small sizes, compare the visibility of dots and the contrast of fine strokes on the final screen or printout.

Basic Latin letters, Western numerals and Persian digits are included alongside Arabic, Persian and Urdu letters. Arabic-Indic digits (٠١٢) are absent. Start with that Latin for short labels. If your publication needs a broader Latin family, compare Source Sans 3 at similar apparent sizes and review mixed-script baselines. There is one Regular here; the diagonal writing is not a separate italic style.

Compare two other Nastaliq approaches

Noto Nastaliq Urdu offers a variable 400–700 weight range when several weights matter. Gulzar offers another single-weight Urdu and Latin design. Compare the same passage in the Nastaliq collection, using the font selection guide to judge readability and spacing.

The Arabic keyboard can prepare an Arabic sample; it is not a complete Urdu input method. Beaconhouse Nastaliq is released under SIL OFL 1.1. The ZIP keeps the license, author and contributor notices. Commercial use and embedding are permitted under that license.