Ruqaa Font for Handwritten-Looking Arabic Titles and Logos

Ruq'ah, the everyday hand of the Arab world

Ruq'ah (رقعة, ruq'a) is an Ottoman script of the 19th century. Tradition credits Mumtaz Bey with its codification. It became the everyday handwriting in much of the Arab world and is taught at school, so a Ruq'ah title tends to read as personal and familiar rather than ceremonial.

Do not confuse it with riqa' (الرقاع, al-riqa'), one of the six classical pens. Riqa' is older and a different style, despite the similar name.

How Ruq'ah looks on the line

• Speed: letters keep only the strokes a fast pen needs.
• Short letters on the line: forms stay compact and sit on the baseline.
• Low contrast: strokes keep a fairly even thickness.
• Toothless sin and shin: س and ش are written as one smooth stroke, without the teeth they have in Naskh.
• Joined dots: two dots are often written as one short dash, and three as a small caret-like mark.

Notes, signs and retro posters

A ruqaa font suits a handwritten note, a shop sign, a title, a restaurant or craft logo, or a poster with a retro feel. Its speed shows on a handful of words. For brand marks, compare the Arabic fonts for logos; for event and campaign artwork, the Arabic fonts for flyers and posters.

Aref Ruqaa or Rakkas

Aref Ruqaa stays close to classical calligraphic Ruq'ah. Abdullah Aref drew the Arabic with Khaled Hosny, and Alif Type publishes it in Regular and Bold. Use it for a name, a quote or a greeting that should look written by hand, with a steady pen.

Rakkas, by Zeynep Akay, takes its cue from the Ruq'ah on 1950s and 1960s Egyptian movie posters. Contextual alternates change the shapes from word to word, so test several real words, not one. It has one weight; leave room above and below the line for its cascading forms.

Both are display faces. For a paragraph, switch to one of the Naskh fonts and keep Ruq'ah for the headline. Rakkas also appears in the Arabic display fonts list, next to other poster faces.

Ruq'ah questions

Which Ruq'ah font for a bilingual title?

It depends on the Latin voice you want. Aref Ruqaa's Latin comes from Hermann Zapf's Euler design, so English words get a hand-drawn, calligraphic feel. Rakkas pairs its Arabic with an informal take on blackletter that shares the poster mood. Start from the built-in Latin, and add a third family only if the layout needs one.

Does Ruq'ah use vowel marks?

Not usually: Ruq'ah is mostly written without full harakat (حركات, short-vowel marks). When a verse or a children's title needs them, test the marks at the final size in the font preview before you commit.

Is there a Ruq'ah model for handwriting practice?

Playpen Sans Arabic, a handwriting family, has optional Ruq'ah forms among its alternates. They are not necessarily the shapes taught first, so leave them off for beginners unless your program uses them.

Type your name or brand with the online Arabic keyboard, have the spelling checked, then try it in the editable previews of Aref Ruqaa and Rakkas. To decide whether a handwritten voice fits the audience at all, read the guide on how to choose an Arabic font.