Instructor for Naskh and Thuluth (fictional role)
- The ijaza
- [a scan of the document]
- Given by
- [the master's name]
- Date
- [the date it was given]
- Scripts
- [the scripts it covers]
What a live version would show
One word, written in six scripts.
Scroll, and the word خط (khatt: line, script) is drawn again by a reed pen in each of the six hands this academy would teach, in the order of its twelve weeks.
The six forms are study drawings made for this concept with a simulated reed pen, not a master's hand.
The six hands
-
Kuficالكوفي -
Naskhالنسخ -
Thuluthالثلث -
Diwaniالديواني -
Ruq'ahالرقعة -
Maghribiالمغربي
The same word, written six true ways.
Each script you just saw is a real hand, with its own cut of the pen and its own history. Hibr Academy is a concept for a twelve-week course that teaches all six in that order, a week or two for each.
الكلمة نفسها، مكتوبةً بستة خطوط أصيلة. لكل خطٍّ منها بَرْيُ قلمٍ خاص وتاريخٌ خاص. وأكاديمية حِبر فكرةٌ لدورة مدتها اثنا عشر أسبوعًا تُعلِّم الخطوط الستة بهذا الترتيب، أسبوعًا أو أسبوعين لكل خط.
A real academy would show its teacher's own hand here. These are study drawings, made by pulling a simulated reed nib along a written path, stroke by stroke.
Pick a script and read what it teaches.
Twelve weeks, in the order the word changed above.
Kufic الكوفي
The upright hand
Kufic is angular and upright, with long horizontal strokes. Named after the city of Kufa, it was the main script of Qur'an manuscripts from around the 8th to the 10th century, and it also appears on coins and on buildings. Weeks 1 and 2 train the straight line and the even horizontal stroke.
الخط الكوفي خطٌّ زاويٌّ قائم تمتدّ فيه الخطوط الأفقية. سُمّي نسبةً إلى مدينة الكوفة، وكان الخطَّ الرئيسي في كتابة المصاحف من نحو القرن الثامن إلى القرن العاشر الميلادي، ويظهر كذلك على النقود والمباني. في الأسبوعين الأول والثاني نتدرّب على الخط المستقيم والشَّرطة الأفقية المتساوية.
- Pen
- A broad-cut reed pen
- Period
- Around the 8th–10th centuries
- Weeks
- 1–2
Naskh النسخ
The reading hand
Naskh is clear and rounded, made for long text. Its proportions follow the system linked to Ibn Muqla in the 10th century, in which the rhombic dot made by the pen is the unit of measure. Most printed Arabic type today comes from it. Weeks 3 and 4 cover proportion, the cut of the pen and even spacing along a line.
خط النسخ خطٌّ واضحٌ مستدير، وُضع للنصوص الطويلة. تتبع نِسَبُه النظامَ المنسوب إلى ابن مقلة في القرن العاشر الميلادي، وفيه تكون النقطة المعيَّنة التي يرسمها القلم وحدةَ القياس. ومنه جاءت معظم الحروف العربية المطبوعة اليوم. في الأسبوعين الثالث والرابع ندرس النِّسَب وبَرْيَ القلم والمسافات المتساوية على السطر.
- Pen
- A reed pen (qalam), cut at a slant
- Period
- Proportioned around the 10th century
- Weeks
- 3–4
Thuluth الثلث
The monumental hand
Thuluth, a name that means "a third", is large and rounded. It is used for headings and for monumental inscriptions on mosques and other buildings, and its upright letters stand around seven to nine dots tall. Weeks 5 to 7 work on tall uprights, the small head on the alif and wide, slow curves.
الثلث خطٌّ كبيرٌ مستدير، ويعني اسمه «الثُّلث». يُستعمل في العناوين وفي النقوش الكبيرة على المساجد وسائر المباني، ويبلغ طول حروفه القائمة نحو سبع إلى تسع نقاط. في الأسابيع من الخامس إلى السابع نعمل على الحروف القائمة الطويلة، والرأس الصغير على الألف، والانحناءات الواسعة البطيئة.
- Pen
- A wider reed pen than for Naskh
- Period
- From around the 10th century
- Weeks
- 5–7
Diwani الديواني
The chancery hand
Diwani took shape in the Ottoman chancery, the divan, in the late 15th and 16th centuries, and was used for sultans' decrees and state papers. Its letters lean and join tightly, which made a document hard to read and hard to alter. Weeks 8 and 9 practise the slant, the rising line and joins made without lifting the pen.
تشكّل الخط الديواني في ديوان الدولة العثمانية في أواخر القرن الخامس عشر والقرن السادس عشر، واستُعمل في فرمانات السلاطين ووثائق الدولة. تميل حروفه وتتداخل بإحكام، فكان يصعب قراءة الوثيقة وتغييرها. في الأسبوعين الثامن والتاسع نتدرّب على الميل، والسطر الصاعد، ووصل الحروف دون رفع القلم.
- Pen
- A reed pen
- Period
- Late 15th–16th century
- Weeks
- 8–9
Ruq'ah الرقعة
The everyday hand
Ruq'ah is the plainest and quickest of the six, with short strokes and almost no flourishes. It was standardised in the Ottoman offices in the 19th century, and many people in the Arab East still write it every day. Week 10 is about speed, and about keeping letters even when you write fast.
الرقعة أبسط الخطوط الستة وأسرعها، حروفها قصيرة تكاد تخلو من الزخرفة. قُعِّدت في الدواوين العثمانية في القرن التاسع عشر، وما زال كثيرون في المشرق العربي يكتبون بها كل يوم. الأسبوع العاشر للسرعة، ولإبقاء الحروف متساوية حين تكتب بسرعة.
- Pen
- A reed pen
- Period
- Standardised in the 19th century
- Weeks
- 10
Maghribi المغربي
The western hand
Maghribi is the family of scripts of North Africa and al-Andalus: rounded, open, and written with a blunt reed that gives little thick-and-thin contrast. One sign of it is the dotting, with one dot below fa and one dot above qaf. Weeks 11 and 12 change the pen and end with a final piece.
المغربي عائلة خطوط شمال إفريقيا والأندلس: مستديرة ومنفتحة، تُكتب بقلمٍ غير مبريٍّ بحدّة فلا يظهر فيها فرقٌ كبير بين الغليظ والرقيق. ومن علاماته الإعجام: نقطة واحدة تحت الفاء ونقطة واحدة فوق القاف. في الأسبوعين الحادي عشر والثاني عشر نغيّر القلم، ونختم بقطعة نهائية.
- Pen
- A blunt, rounded reed
- Period
- From around the 10th century
- Weeks
- 11–12
This is how a nib actually moves.
Draw on the sheet with a mouse, a pen or a finger. The line thins and thickens as you change direction, because the simulated nib keeps one angle, like a real reed pen.
ارسم على الورقة بالفأرة أو بالقلم أو بإصبعك. يرقّ الخط ويغلظ كلما غيّرت الاتجاه، لأن السنّ المحاكى يحافظ على زاوية واحدة، كما يفعل القلم القصبي الحقيقي.
Nothing you draw leaves this page or is saved.
The sheet needs a pointer. The lessons above explain the same thing in words.
Who would teach, and how you would know.
In calligraphy, a teacher's standing comes from an ijaza: a licence a master gives a student, often after years of study, that lets them sign their own work and take students. The master usually writes it on a piece the student has copied.
في الخط العربي تأتي مكانة المعلّم من الإجازة: إذنٌ يمنحه الأستاذ لتلميذه، غالبًا بعد سنوات من الدراسة، يأذن له فيه بأن يوقّع أعماله وأن يعلّم غيره. ويكتبها الأستاذ عادةً على قطعةٍ نسخها التلميذ.
A live academy would show each teacher's ijaza here. This concept has no teachers, so it names none.
Instructor for Diwani and Maghribi (fictional role)
- The ijaza
- [a scan of the document]
- Given by
- [the master's name]
- Date
- [the date it was given]
- Scripts
- [the scripts it covers]
What a live version would show
Fourteen seats a cohort, and a live critique every week.
| Cohort | Starts with | Seats | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort A | Kufic, week 1 | 14 | EGP 4,200, once |
| Cohort B | Thuluth, week 5 (for fluent Naskh writers) | 14 | EGP 3,100, once |
| Diwan practice membership | After the course | 30 | EGP 350 a month |
Demo prices. A live version would charge one flat price for the course, paid once, with no instalments and no interest. No cohort is open, and nothing here can be booked or paid for.
What a student might say.
I had written Ruq'ah all my life without knowing its name. Now I can see why one letter of Thuluth takes three times as long.
The weekly critique is the course. My pen angle was corrected in week two, and the rest followed from that.
I came for Kufic and stayed for Maghribi. The sixth script felt like starting again, as the course said it would.
كتبتُ الرقعة طوال حياتي دون أن أعرف اسمها. والآن أفهم لماذا يستغرق حرفٌ واحد من الثلث ثلاثة أضعاف الوقت.
Questions
Is Hibr Academy real?
No. It is a 2026 portfolio concept. There are no teachers, cohorts or payments, and the form on this page sends nothing.
How big would a cohort be?
Fourteen seats, so the weekly live critique can reach every practice sheet.
Do I need experience?
No. Week 1 assumes you have never held a reed pen. If you already write Naskh well, a live version would let you join at week 5, with Thuluth.
Do I need to read Arabic?
You need to know the 28 letters. A live version would send a short letter sheet to learn them before week 1.
What would I need?
A reed pen or two, a knife and a cutting block, ink and smooth paper. A live version would tell you where to find them.
Can calligraphy be a spiritual practice here?
Many people come to calligraphy with that intention. The course teaches the forms of the letters; it does not include devotional content.
Why do these drawings differ from my teacher's?
They are study drawings made for this concept with a simulated pen, not a master's work. Every teacher and school has its own hand.
هل أحتاج إلى خبرة سابقة؟
لا. يفترض الأسبوع الأول أنك لم تُمسك قلمًا قصبيًا من قبل. وإن كنت تكتب النسخ جيدًا، فستسمح لك نسخةٌ حقيقية من الأكاديمية بالبدء من الأسبوع الخامس مع الثلث.
Reserve a seat
This form is part of a concept page. It asks for no name or contact details, and pressing the button sends and saves nothing.