Some notes on Maghribi script

@ ^*I. adndenBoogert
In writing the presentstudy, I wanted it to servea Apart from this general characteristic,the distinctive
doublepurpose.
featuresof Maghribi script are the following:
In the first place,it is intendedas a concisemanual l. the final aliJ is drawn from top to bottom;
for the reading of Maghribi manuscriptmaterial, 2. the stems of alif, lam, lam-alif and ta'lza' have
which often posesproblems,evenfor nativespeakers
club-like extensionsto the left of their top point;
of Arabic.The cursivestyleof Maghribiscriptas well 3. the ioop of ;adlQad is identical with that of n'l
'tooth';
as the calligraphicstylecontainmany letterformsand
za', i.e. it has no
ligatureswith which the averagereaderof Arabic is 4. the stem of la'lZA'is drawn diagonally;
unfamiliar.
5. qa/ andfA'have unconventionaldiacritical points;
Secondly,this article, and especiallythe list of 6. final and separate dalldhAl are very similar to
letterformswhich constitutesthe largestpart of it, is
initial and medial kaf, especiallyin the earlier mss;
meant as a possiblestarting-pointof further, more
more differentiated forms developed later;
thorough researchinto the paleographyof Maghribi
These are the features that distinguish Maghribi
script. Attention is focusedon the individual letter- script from the Mashriqi scripts (.naskhc.s.).
forms which make up the script.
Houdas (p. 95) states that 'la diffrenceque I'on
The manuscriptmaterial on which the notes on constate entre les formes du maghrbin et celles du
diacriticpointsand vocalisationand the list of letter- neskhy n'est pas trs profonde'. The differencesdeforms are basedhas beenlimited to specimens
pro- scribed above however, though they are indeed not
duceddurins the l9th and 20th centuries.
very profound, give valuable indications about the

THE ORIGIN OF MAGHRIBI SCRIPT

The origin of Maghribi script has been investigated

by O. Houdasl. In his essayhe examinesthe historical
circumstancesunder which the introduction of the
Arabic script in the Maghrib took place, and he
compares a few 9th-century Maghribi manuscripts
written on vellum. He comes to the conclusion that
Maghribi script is a direct descendantof 'Kufic'. He
even goes so far as to call Maghribi script 'une lgre
transformation du coufique' (p. 96).
The term 'Kufic' is somewhat ambiguous. In general. it should be taken to mean the 'formal bookhand
of the 1th - 10th century AD'. Houdas uses 'coufique'in opposition to 'neskhy', which term he usesas
a genericname for the cursive scripts of the Mashriq
(naskh, t huluth, etc.).
That Houdas' conclusionabout the origin of Maghribi script is correct, though perhaps stated a little
imprecisely, becomesclear when one takes a closer
look at the distinctivefeaturesof this script. A generai
characteristicof Maghribi script is what Houdas calls
'la
nature du trait': Maghribi is written with a sharp
pointed pen which produces a line of even thickness,
while in the Mashriq the point of the pen is cut in the
form of a chisel,producing a line of varying thickness.
Manuscriptsof the Middle East4 ( 1989)

origin of the script: it is preciselythese features that

are found in a certain angular formal bookhand
('Kufic') which was usedin the Middle East in the SthlOth centuriesAD. This bookhand is exemplifiedby
Yajda2 plates 4 and 53. In Arabic it is sometimes
referred "o as kufi murabba'. The most formal form of
this hand is representedby the Quranic script which is
'Eastern
usually called
Kufic' or 'Qarmatian', see
Lingsa, plates ll-21. This angular bookhand, to which
Maghribi script is apparently closely related, should
be distinguishedfrom a more rounded bookhand (kld
mudawwar) which existed in the same period, and
which was primarily used for copiesof the Quran (see
Vajda, plates 1,2 and 6ab, and Lings plates l-9).
At the time Arabic script was introduced into the
Maghrib (8th/9th century AD), it had already split
into two different styles in the Mashriq: a formal
style used for copies of the Quran, works of law and
jurisprudenceand the like, and a cursivestyle, used in
correspondenceand administration. Both these styles
were developmentsof one original style, the archaic
Arabic script of the 6th and early 7th centuriesAD. In
the 7th and 8th centuries different styles developed for
the various applications of the script. The formal,
calligraphic style ('Kufic') soon became more or less
standardisedand hardly changed during the time it
remainedin use.The cursivestyle on the contrary was
not standardiseduntil the 10th centurv AD. when.

g 19,2312HA Leiden.Netherlands,1989
Q Ter Lugt Press,Donkerstee

ISSN 0920-0401

a 1
i l

N . V A N D E N B O O G E R T .N O T E SO N M A G H R ] B I S C R I P T

under the pressureof the exigenciesof more speedier

ways of writing, severalcursive styles had developed,
all quite different from the formal style. It was Ibn
Muqla (d. 940 AD) who elevatedthe cursive stylesto
the calligraphic level by devising a system which he
called al-khatt al-mansub.With this systemthe letterforms of the cursivestylescould be standardised.This
made their use for non-casual applications such as
Qurans and lawbooks possible, and the old formal
style or Kufic soon went out of use(l lth century AD),
exceptfor ornamental applications.
Houdas arguesthat only the old formal style of the
Arabic script ('Kufic'), was introduced into the
Maghrib. From the centresof Islamic learning such as
Kairouan and Fes, the use of the script spread over
the Maghrib, and after a time it beganto be applied to
purposesfor which in the Mashriq the cursive scripts
were used. Around the beginning of the llth century
AD the formal bookhand as a whole had changedinto
a more cursiveform, which could be written faster and
easierthan the old form and which has remained in
useuntil the present.

DIFFERENT STYLES

Houdas also tries to describethe characteristicsof

the various stylesof Maghribi script. He first makes a
difference between two levels: the calligraphic level
('l'criture soign')and the non-calligraphicor cursive
level. He then divides the calligraphicscript into three
styles.Each of these styles had as its place of origin
one of the cultural and intellectual centres of the
Maghrib. These are: Qayrawnr (from Kairouan),
Fsi (from Fs) and Andalusr (from Cordoba).
Houdas also distinguishesa fourth style, Sldni,
which originated in the Timbuktu area, and is nowadays usedin the entire sub-Saharanzonelrom Senegal
to northern Nigeria. This style is treated by Houdas as
cognatewith the other three stylesof Maghribi script.
But judging by the very distinct character of Sfidnr,
which is easily recognisable,this style probably developedparallel to, but independentfrom the script of
the Maghrib, and should be treated as cognate with
Maghribi script as a wholes. Sldni is therefore not
dealt with in the presentarricle.
For each of these styles Houdas mentions a few
characteristics(pp. 108-112),about which he himself
says, however: 'Toutes ces indications sont un peu
vagues,mais il est impossiblede leur donner une plus
grande prcision.' Houdas gives various reasons for
this difficulty in establishingthe features of each of
thesestylesin a more definite way.
Firstly, a standardisedform or a calligraphic ideal,
such as existedfor the stylesused in the Mashriq, has
never come into being in the Maghrib. According to
Houdas, this is a result of the aversion against regularity and symmetry prevalent among the artisans of
the Maghrib.

Secondly,the scribesof the Maghrib had the habit

of imitating the specimensthey were copying, which
could have been written in another region or country;
this is, of course,to a large extent a result of the lack
of a calligraphicstandard.
Thirdly, the massiveremigration of Muslims from
Spain definitely muddled up the different styles, as far
as they existed.
Finally, the number of dated manuscriptsfrom the
Maghrib is relatively small.
After describing the four calligraphic styles which
he distinguishes,and naming each of them after its
possibleplace of origin, Houdas says (p. 110): ,...
mais il faut bien remarquer,que le nom de ces critures n'implique nullement la ncessitqu'ellesaient t
tracesdans I'une ou I'autre des deux villes auxquelles
ellesdoivent leurs appellations'.
Houdas also tries to give a classification of the
cursive Maghribi scripts. These he divides into four
g e o g r a p h i c atly p e s : ' t u n i s i e n n e ' , ' a l g r i e n n e ' , ' m a r o caine' and 'soudanienne'.Bearing in mind the problems already encountered in trying to classify the
calligraphicalstyles,thesenamescould at best be used
to roughly indicate the area where a particular ms.
was produced; they do not tell us anything about the
featuresof its script.
The possibilitiesof making a more definitie classification of the different styles of Maghribi script seem
to be small.
The best prospectsare perhaps offered by a close
examination of the script used in legal documents,
especiallythe more luxurious ones. These documents
usually bear a place and date, and it is improbable
that they have been copied from specimensfrom an
entirely different region. From the list of letter forms
(see below) it becomes clear that Maghribi script
containsa wealth of peculiar letter forms and ligatures
(see for instance the lam-alif and the atif + tam-alif
ligatures).If these forms could be dated, they might
give a clue as to the place and date of origin of
undated MSS.
THULUTH MAGHRIBI

In many Maghribi MSS a script different from

Maghribi script proper is used for the writing of titles,
chapter headings and the like. This is often done in
red, green or blue ink. This script is characterisedby
the very loose form of its letters,which makes it easily
distinguishablefrom Maghribi proper.
Also, severalof its individual letter forms are different,e.g.:
1. the alf and the lam have a top-serif to the right
instead of to the left:

( tl A
t

l |

I t

v /

) ) ) )

J./.

M A N U S C R I P T SO F T H E M I D D L E E A S T4 I 9 8 9 )

2. the final alif is drawn from bottom to top:

A cluster of three points written above the line or a

cluster of two or three points written under the line
may be replaced by a flourish similar to an inverted
comma:

c
gf*o
3. the ta'lza' has a vertical stem instead of a diagonal one:

4. the kaJ'hasa flag-like top stroke, and usually a serif

at the top of the stem:

@
@\ \
\\
\

1 1

(.J rttatirtt
-;;
"/,,r-G,
|V C*) bavna
2. Shadda

Two systemsare in usefor the notation of shadd.

The conventional
systemwasonly found to be used in
the QuranicMSS examined:
6 shadda+ farha
ww shaddaI kasra

5. unconneced dal and initial and final stn and ba'

(etc.) also have serifs:

ooN

shahr

w snadd1 *

G2

dumma

A second system, of which the place and date of

origin still remain to be established.was found in the
6. the lam-alif has the followins form. with two r.rn_
'"tother MSS. In this system,a V-shapedsign is used.
serifsto the right:
This sign is written in different positions with a
varying orientation to represent both shadd as the
foilowing vowel:

U'

li,tt cm-nas

7. the pointing of the ./a' and the qaf is often done in

the conventionalway in this script (seefor instance
(.' SJ t ad-dtn
Lings plate 712: ,surat al-qari'a, and plate I l3:
sadaqa llahu I-'aVtm).
This script is sometimescalled maghrib mujawhar
For extra clarity a vowel sign may be added,
or, more commonly, huluth maghribt.It is the Maghalthough
this is not strictly necessary:
ribi interpretation of thuluth, one of the six canonical
/
sty\es(al-aqlam as-sitta) used in the Mashriq, whence
v u / v
it was imported into the Maghrib, probably around
, _shadda + fatha
the 13th centuryAD or later.
':
shuctcta
+ damma
:L
Thuluth maghrih was also often used for inscriptions. e.s. in the Alhambra.

jlta,-nur

TrTshaddalkasra
DIACRITICAL POINTS AND VOCALISATION

3. Wasla

The conventionalwasla(") does not occur in the

examinedMaghribi texts.Instead,to indicaten,asla
The diacriticalpoints of two connectedlettersare smalldot can be writtenover the alif6, e.g.:
v , '
often written togetherin a cluster.This can only be
,(l.l I q.D hu*attah
done, however,when one of theseletters has two
diacriticalpointsand the other only one,i.e. no clusters
In fully vocalisedtexts, the final vowel sign of the
of more than threepointsare formed:
preceding word is written a second time with the atif
1. Diacriticalpoints

Corl ''nn

*"

QP boY'o

1t,

al-wasl. A repeatedfatha is then placed between the

dot and the alif, and a repeatedkasra is written below
lhe ali/. When the final vowel sign is a damma, a small
horizontal line similar to fatha and kasra is drawn
through the middle of the alif :

N . V A N D E N B O O G E R T .N O T E SO N M A G H R I B I S C R I P T

i :

ilI

1
A
(, ^j.=,-n
\/'

Y a l

When lhe alif is contained in Ihe lam-alif ligature,

the hamza is placed inside the lam-aliJ or before it,
e.g.:

sadaoa llcjh

J.^^) bisni ltatt

\-

J\D,

r Y r i: .

A JT ^,J->
.:-

al- att

OlJ.l aL'an

hnh:nhullah
6. Long a

When alif al-v,asl stands at the beginning of a verse

or sentence,its usual prothetic v o w e li s w r i t t e nw i t h i t :

A long , which in Modern StandardArabic (MSA)

is regularly spelleddefectivelyor, in vocalisedtexts,is
indicated by a 'dagger ali/', is frequently spelledplene
in Maghribi texts,e.g.:

o .

-o-11
.4 \-/..
sJ I al-vawm

lJ t hadha

4. Hamza

d s to hadhihr

Hamza is frequently omitted, even in partially vocalised texts. When written at all. it takes one of the
following forms:

9 t

J=JIsaturiruo

Dl',,un
s

9 e

The form e
of9:

33

is possiblya graphicdevelopment

9? e

When the chair of the hamza is an initial or medial

.va', the hamzais placed below the line. The diacritical
points of the ya' are often written together with the
hamza:

'7*b
aa tra

The long a in allah, however,is always spelled

defectively.
In vocalised texts the defectivelyspelled long a i s
representedby fatha followed by a small separateal'
which is placedabove the line, e.g.;
't

(-*h-I=J l,l-ktah
When precededby a lam. this separate alif is drawn
diagonally through the lam, e . g . :
vra-lakin

2r.)*'

sa'r

The long a in allah is representedby .fatha only:

= 'i

al-jaza'ir

utrl
5. Madda

c^JJ

I allalt

7. Vowel signs
The vowel signsJatha, kasra and dammaand the

The madda (*)

is used to mark a long vowel tany;nare writtenin a conventional
way:
which is followed by hamz or by a doubled consonant,
_ Q
e.g.:
"' vT
S L madda
r
l -

2u

l-an

s l+ ia'o

Ein

(2 han.

n partially vocalised texts the madda may be written

while the harnzais omitted:

T)\,re

ma

The combination of hamz plus long a, which in

conventional Arabic spelling is representedby alf
with madda 1T;, is written in Maghribi script with
alif precededby hamza, e.g.'.

2un
8. Adaptedletters
The phonemeg that occursin the spokenArabic of
the Maghrib is written either with jm or qaf. or with
oneof the adaptedletters
..*.,
5, U ,
t,
gish Qayshl
t2i.i;?
i.

Wle'a,,r,
blt{l

aLqu,'a,

gum(quv'm)
(9
, i
(name)
Gannun
OJjJ

5+

M A N U S C R I P T SO F T H E M I D D L E E A S T4 I 9 8 9 )

The sound v that occurs in French loanwords is

written either wthfa' or with the adaptedletter (,
1.
e.g.:

,*Alavrit
9. Numbers
European numeralshave beenin common usein the
Maghrib alongside conventional Arabic numerals,
sinceat leastthe beginningof the l8th century. In fact,
they came to be preferredto their Arabic counterparts
during the l9th centurye.They are written in a characteristicstyle:

6. a small dot indicates the point where the letter

forms are connected to the preceding and/or following letter form;
7. cursive forms are given only when there is a considerable difference between them and the more
calligraphicforms.

o"l-f tr

ALIF

1 2 3 15 6 7 t 5 e 0
The form of the numeral8 is typical.
Letter no. 17 in Houdas (1891)containsa date
ghubartnumerals:
writtenin the so-called
Ilz

tr
tr
tr
tr
tr @
(l)

sep.

o ,tuo

_l-

In a note on this letter Houdas says that these

ghubarnumeralsare much used in easternAlgeria
and in Morocco.In the manuscriptmaterialexamined
for this article,however,they occuronly once.

'

t
-l-

'

'-t-'
10.Paragraphmarkers
The sign :? ir commonlyusedto mark the end of
a paragraph.
To mark the end of a paragraphor of a wholetext,
may be used.
the abbreviationlP f.,
(j&lintaha

E@
M

tr
tr

LIST OF LETTER FORMS

This list, though not exhaustive,gives a good clue

to the variety of letter forms one encounters in the
average Maghribi manuscript. It is arranged as follows:
1. for each letter all variants are given which were
found for its initial form (abbreviated in.), its
medial form (med), its final form ffin.) and its
Occursfrequently
in:
separateor unconnectedform (sep.):
2. the basic forms are followed by ligatures (if presayyidund
6-sent),which are arranged alphabeticallyand which
bi-arkh(see
note5)
can be found under the first of their two compo. 19Y.
nent parts;
3. variants of a certain letter form are arranged in a
horizontal line if they strongly resemble one another, or if one is a graphicaldevelopmentfrom the a'1r'1ru', N7lv (initialand medialTt.
Y'
other:
tial and medial)
4. variants of letter forms between which there is a
considerabledifference,or which have each devel( 2,3)
oped into widely different new forms, are arranged
in a vertical line;
5. letter forms marked with a small letter c were
found in cursive texts onlv;

(r)

(g.*", _r,a
f"

trlolo'

lini-

N , V A N D E N B O O G E R TN
, O T E SO N M A G H R I B S C R I P T

fin.

tr

tr
tr
t-,-l
tr
tr

-b-j
-b-d
-b-m
b-j

(2)

'

bi-rartkh

tW

The ra'is sometimesconnectedthrough:

'gt

hi-rarrkh

Thisligature
i, urruri u, u rrr,t., abbeviation
of:

sep.

35

. 1 1

f.ercetera.:

\-.

. ) 'ila'akhirih

t-

(6)
This form is extremelyambiguous.It was found to
represent
the followinglettersand ligatures:
bA'@rc.)or snfshn + jtm (etc.):

(6)

(s)

bi-tarkh

^lr:J
'

. /

In the basmala, the initial ba' often has the same

height as the lam:

l\-,'iJl

r i

as-shavktt

st

I . lJ bismi
d.IJ
,ah
=_ :r_

bbi-farh

Zll
L
'bridge'
The
form of initial ba' (eLc.),which in the b'(etc)+ datldhat:

(3 )

an-nusakh

scriptsof the Mashriqsuchas naskhandruq'ais used

A
when it is followed by jrmlhA'lkhA',mm or ha'
Z'..V bi-.t'ud
(medial),occursin Maghribi script only in the fol^
lowingcombinations:
<,Yjayyid
ba (etc.)I mtm,e.g.:
r
ba'(etc) or stnfshtn * mm:
" l

I-. ui-na

1t"-)l

khtuttt

aLmo,sim

#tlar-,attt,,t

ba' (etc.) + nun (final),e.g.:

I

(-nl

ibn (seealsonote26)

aat'.

ba' (ec.)-l ra'fzay,e.g.:

#twa-ba'd

uf (f barta

bi-hadha

But in all thesecasesthe 'normal'form is alsoused.

and seemsindeedto be preferred:

{\^-,

L- khatam

4*l(gat-'ahart
dal + ya':

7g1iun

(4)

SIdI

gt I barrd

The 'bridge' form of medial ba' (etc.\ and of initial

and medial snlshtncan be used when it is followed
by jm (etc.), mtm, ha' (medial) or ya'(final). Seealso
ligaturesunder (6).
(5)
Occurs frequently in:

4lathclh
kaf + mrm(withor withouttop stroke):
/\tJ-c,

.ara).kunt

1_

#LL-p,abukum

JO

M A N U S C R I P T SO F T H E M I D D L E E A S T4 I 9 8 9 )

ltl ,u,

lam * jtm (etc.):

lam + mm'.

*l

,to*

nu 1n'1
xn'
in

tr
tr tr
tr tr
tr
tr

med.

fin.

.'EW

{i)nstin

(7)
The dalldhal may easily be confused with kaJ,
sincetheir formsare sometimes
verysimilar,especially
in cursivetexts.Completehomography,however,is
usuallyavoided,e.g.:

9J5ana*o

(8)

To avoid confusion with final ra'f zy, a small dal

is sometimesadded to f,nal dalidhat:

(e)

Occursfrequentlyin:.
f,l.D hadha
v

(6)

sep.

DALIDHAL

o'[-al
tr l.cl,u,,

trtr
(')
IJ:l

,.pF.l

tr
tr

h-qatt

:P

(10)
Occursfrequently
in :

')latbdhr
J l , rr
oL

n'12v

o"17

Ld
,.p
[-/ I rrrr

'hF]w
t--_-l

t_l

,.NEI
V

.0.[Glter

d'F:l

dvEtriT"o'

trtr

,,Fltr

(12)

EAa

,r[?tr

tr

N . V A N D E N B O O G E R T .N O T E SO N M A G H R I B I S C R I P T

trtr@
E
tr E

(ll)
Unconnected
ra' may be connectedto the following
letterin:
-AW

bi-tartkh(seealso note 5)

^re

sep

rahma

(12)
Thisligaturealso represents-rznin:
i , a ,

asnrtn

-s-r

\-

sfuisH1

,'Fllro,

med.

fin.

sep.

(l 3 )

tr tr
tr tr
tr tr

(13)
Occursonly in:

''le

so1oo

(14)

tr
-'dFl
tr EI
tr
n'Fl
(14)

(15)

G)

) l

q-v

tr tr
tr a

(.16)

( t7)

14)
The initiai and medialforms of sad andddhaveno
'tooth',
as in the Mashriqiscripts.
(l 5 )
The vertically elongatedform of medial gadl/act
may be usedwhenit is followedbyjtm (etc.)or rmm,
yandiju

(l6)
Occursfrequently
in:

'7.

b 9>'
The diacritl"ut po*
insidethe loop:

l-tudr't

of the dad issometimesplaced

"r

er,;.;.a.;

shaykh
sallama

(17)
This ligatureoccursfrequentlyin:

,-tAU
TA'tZA'(18)
'"
[,.]

tr
",.0i;l

a
tr

I ut-qadr

38

M A N U S C R I P T SO F T H E M I D D L E E A S T4 I 9 8 9 )

trtrtr[El.n,

tr
@
tr tr
tr @
tr
g
tr trK

fin.

(20)
The height of the loop of the initial
equal to that of the lam.
F'Qt)

tr
tr
tr

fin.

QFQt)
in.

med

While in the Mashriqi scripts the stem of the ta'l

za' is only added after the loop and the lettersdirectly
connectedto it have been written, in Maghribi script
the stem is usually written first. This explainsthe wild
forms into which lhe ta'lza'have developed.

fin.

t-l

fin.

sep.

(22)

tr
tr
tr
tr

sep.

AYNIGHAYN

l*'l

(22)

t-c-l
t ' t

sep.

(le)

med.

med.

(l 8 )
The diacritical point of the ;a' is usually piaced to
the left of the stem.

(20)

may be

trt

in

sep.

tr
tr tr
tr tr
tr
tr
tr

'ayn

(22)
(22)

er\
The bestknown characteristic
of Maghribi scriptis
the differentpointingof f' andqAf:fa'has one point
underthe line and qa/ has one point abovethe line.
(22)
The diacriticalpoints of final and unconnected
fa',
qal and nun are regularly omitted. While diacritical
points are not strictlynecessary
here,sincein theory
these letters are all written differently in final or
position,the differencebetweenthem is
unconnected
oftenhard to see,evenin calligraphicspecimens.
KF

(23)

N , V A N D E N B O O G E R TN
. O T E SO N M A G H R I B I S C R I P T

39

tr
'i-r [f o'
[I
tr
H
tr
tr
tr
tr
EE
t-l tr
tr
tr
tr tr
u
tr tr trtrJ"cl,s,E

med.

LAM

(23)

l-'l

med.

(27)

(24)

fin.

(23)

fin.

l-'l

sep.

75 \

sep.

(23)

(6)

(.26)

The short, curved form of initiai lam is usedwhen

is followed by jtnlhA'lkha' or mtnt, e.g.:

8 L?l at-madt
C)l
' v at-hizh

trtr
trtr

(27)
A shortenedform of medial lam is often used in

xil ,,uo

(23)
Thetop strokeof thekaf is sometimes
doubled:
It

,5J5 ritka
;J j l(lt

-r-j

-l-m

at-karthiba

MIM
in.

med.

(24)
Only used when followed by flnal mtm, e.g.'.
hukm
Seealso (6) above.

fin.

(2s)
Occursfrequentlyin:

(6)

/rt:,'Jltanunm
The combination of initial lam and final kf sometimes has a dot added to it in order to distinguishit
from the ligature of alif plus lam-atiJ'
, e.g.:

U s cthatika

tr
tr
tr
tr
tr
tr trtr
tr

sep.

-m-d

(28)

40

M A N U S C R I P T SO F T T I EM I D D L E E A S T4 ] 9 8 9 )

(28)
Occursfrequently
in:

I--;---ltt_-l

tt

L1!L:j

Muhammad

tr tr
L9-]
tr

'Ahmad

tir\l

r--l

"31at-hamct
,Vt/t/ (initial and medial form: seeB')

V"n'

"oJ-ulU
(29],
Occursonly in a smallnumberof very frequent
words and in the word-endins -tn:
'an

ol
(,/

u1l

u/F:l
HA'
tn.

med.

min

E_l

-.----l

(30)
Occursonly in the combinations
hA' + al'(seenote
l) and ha' + mm(medial),e.g.:

14 161(

alma rn

r r

| ul-huntttt

( 31 )
The final ha' is sometimes
writtenwith a disconnectedfinal stroke,especiallyin calligraphictexts (see
for instanceLings, plates l12 and ll3). In attah this
a l s oo c c u r si n m o r e c u r s i v et e x t s .e . s . :
t t

ihn

tr E
tr tr
tr
tr tr
tr tr trtr
tr
@
.1trtr

//\I)

I attah

(.32)
The unconnected h' is always drawn clockwise.
which explainsthe way in which it can be connectedto
a precedingletter (e.g. dal or ru').

WW

tr
tr
tr tr
E i-.r-i
tr E
E tr
tr tr a
trtrJ[-{r", tr tr l4)

(30)

fin.

t--t.-t

()) \

frn.

(32)

sep.

fin.

sep.

ll)

Ir-_-l

ll'l

-w-h

w-h

-w-y

w-y

lz-_-l

N . V A N D E N B O O G E R T .N O T E SO N M A G H R I B I S C R I P T

4l

E tr
EE

(33)
Frequently used for w,tt'* aliJ'al-v,iqo1'l,
e.g.:
ll

tlfrt'ditt'tl
y' (nitial and medial forms: seeB) (34)
fin.

tr
tr
tr

sep

tr
tr tr tr w
tr E gf_l |4r_l
tr
tr
E
gE
tr
Ic

(3s)

l---t

E]

sep.

-l-'-m

tr
tr

-l-'-h

E
E

---l

t----r

(36)

(37)

( 36)
Occurs1 n :

(34)
The forms of final and unconnected1a'which are
marked with an asteriskmay represent-r.a'as well as
ra'preceded
b y i n i t i a lo r m e d i a lb ' l e t c . ) e
. .g.:

l ''m

l'otrotr
Ljanr
)Nl
L,l>-

vra-salant
(371
O c c u r si n :

S*,

fugas-sutah
0kl"'lo,,uru

at-rttan
kharorara

G liJ | ,tr-ttranr

(35)
Theshortforrnoccursfrequently
in

2
LM-ALI F
fin.

tr trE

LIST OF SOURCES

The notes on diacritical points and vocalisationsignsand

the list of letter forms are primarily basedon the annotated
anthologiesof manuscript material from the Maghrib that
were publishedmainly at the end of the last century, and on
four collectionsof miscellaneousmanuscript texts from the
library of Leiden University. The data yielded by these
sourceswere then compared with ten 19th and 20th-century
manuscripts from the Leiden collection, with a few lithographed Fes editions and with three recenrly published
lacsimileeditions of the Quran.

/ 1

+/

M A N U S C R I P T SO F T H E M I D D L E E A S T4 ( I 9 E 9 )

l. Anthologies
Belkassemben Sedira, Manuel pistolaire de langue urahe'
Alger 1893. Contains 76 letters and documensin Jacsntile, n'rost of them from Algeria, w'ith noes, vocabularr
and transcription in standurdisedrahic suipt'
Belkassem ben Sedira. Cours gradu de lettres uraber
manttst'rites.Alger 1893. Contains 319 leters and documents in facsimile, m(tinlv-.from the Maghrb, but also
some.fi'omSyria and EgtPt'
Houdas, O. & G. Delphin, Ret'uelde lettresarabesmanus'
crtes,Alger 1891' . Conainsll0 lettersand documentsin
and transcription in stqn.fac'sintile,rilt notes, vocabular.ro.f'the
clarclisetlArabic script
first 2l letter'sand parts of
the rentaning letters.
'Algerisch-tunesische
Briefe in Faksimile und
Rescher,O.,
in'. Mtteilungen 'les
Anmerkungen',
Transciption mit
Berlin, XX (1917)'
:u
Sprachen
Seminars.fiirorientalisc'he
in
Contains 37 letters facsimile.
Paris 1949' Contains
Watin, L.. Recueilde tertes muroc'ains,
prohuhlr
all v'rtten especiall-v
in
ll2 specimens facsmile,
notes and vocabuY'ith
scribe,
sante
the
b;'
for rhis hook
pet'ularities o.f
the
on
notes
gbes
a
Watitt
also
lert'.
fv'
scriPt.
Maghribi
mi'scellanea(ron thc lihrary o.f
2. Collectionso.f n'tanu'scripr
Leiden)',
of
Llniyersitt'
the
Or. 14022. Collection of documents, 19th120thc' (Witkam. CataloguePP.3 l-34)
Or. 14066:Collection of letters,short texts and fragments,
1 9 t h i 2 0 t hc . ( W i t k a m . C a r a l o g u ep p . 1 3 6 - 1 4 0 )
Or. 14048:Collection of severalreligious and magical texts
in numerous Maghribi hands, 19th c' (Witkam. Catalogue pp.72-89)
O r . 1 4 0 6 1 :C o l l e c t i o no f m y s t i c a la n d r e l i g i o u st e x t s ,c o p y
d a t e d 1 2 9 9 ' 1 8 8 2( W i t k a m . C a t a l o g u ep' p ' 1 2 3 - 1 3 0 )
3. Manuscripts (.from the lihrary o' the Univer'sitv of Leidetl):

Or. 14169:Anon., Majmu'at nav'hat. l9th-centurycopy

(Witkam, Catalogue,PP.274-278)
'ala
tarttb
Or. 141185:Muhammad b. Abr Sitta, Hashit'a
(Wit127911862
dated
musnad ar-Rabt' b. Habrb, copy
-29
pP.
|
5)
29
kam, Cat al ogue,
4. Fseditions:
These lithographed books which were published in the
second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
century in Fs show a relatively homogeneousscipt. Some
information on theseeditions is given by P.Sj. van Koningsveld in Brill Catalogueno.5l0, Islamic Collections(Leiden
1979),and recentlyby Fawzi'Abd altazzq,Al-mathu'at alhajariyt'a .fi t-Maghrih. Fihris mu'a muqaddima ta'rrkhiyl'a
(Rabat 1989). For the composition of the list of letter
forms. use was made of the reproductionsin this catalogue
(mainly of colophons),and of the following editions:
Bb at-Tinbukti. t{41l al-ibtihaj. Fs l3l 7/ 1900
Ibn al-Qdr,Jadhwut al-qtibas,Fs 1309/1891
al-Kattnr. Saln'aal-'anf'as,Fs I 3 16/ I 898
5. Facsimile editions qf the Quran:
(d.
Qur'an, calligraphy by al-haij Zuhayr Bsh-maml[k
1305/1885); Mu'assasat Abdalkarm b. Abdallh,
Tnis 1403i1983
Qur'an, calligraphy by as-shartf Abd al-'Ilh al-Manjara
a s - S a ' d i ;D r a l - K i t b , a d - D r a l B a y d ' 1 4 0 5 / 1 9 8 5
Qur'an, calligraphy anonymous; Dr at-Thaqfa' ad-Dr
al-Bavd'1405/1985

NOTES

1 Houdas. O. 'Essai sur l'criture maghrbine',ir': l'{ouveauxmlangesorientaux,IIe srievol' xix, Publicationsde

des Langues Vivantes Orientales (Paris 1886)' A
I'Ecole
Or. 1350-I: First volume of a five volume set of the
of this article into Arabic by Abdalmajrd attranslation
Muqaclclimaby Ibn Khald[n, calligraphic copy dated
in Hawliyyat al-iami'a at-tunisiyya 3 (1966)'
Turkr
appeared
1 2 3 6Ii 8 2 1 ( V o o r h o e v e .H a n d l i s t .p . 1 2 0 )
'Muhwala f l-khatt al-maghthe title
under
pp.175-214,
1903
dated
Or. 14006: Ibn Abr Zaf. Ravtl al-qirtas. copy
ribi'.
(Witkam. Catalttgue.PP. l0-1 I )
2 G. Vajda, Atbum de palographiearabe, Paris 1958
t
h
e
o
n
t
e
x
t
s
O r . 1 4 0 0 7 :A b d a r - R a h m na t - T i l i m s n i ,t w o
3 The well-known ms' Leiden Or' 298, Gharb al-hadlth
h i s t o r y o f A l g e r i a , c o p y d a t e d 1 3 0 2 i 1 8 8 5( W i t k a m ,
by Abu'Ubayd al-Qsim b. Sallm, is also written in this
C a t a l o g u eP, P .l 2 - 1 4 )
Or. 14010: Abdallh b. Mulrammad at-Tr.fnI. miscella- scnpt.
a M. Lings, The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and lllumineous texts. copy dated 1212 1856 (Witkam' Catalogue,
n a t i o n .L o n d o n 1 9 7 6 .
p p . 1 4 .1 5 )
s The relationship between Sldnt and Maghribi script
of
sultan
activities
the
on
Or. 1402l: Anon., two texts
'The Arabic Calligraphy of
A.D.H. Bivar in
Muhammad b. Abdallh B[ Sayf' copy dated 12691 is discussedby
West Africa'. African LanguageReviewVII (1968)'
I 8 5 2 - 3( W i t k a m . C a t a l o g u ep, p . 3 0 - 3 )1
In older Maghribi MSS l'nsl was indicated by a green
Or. 14036: Collection ol poetry of some rulers of the
was indicated by a red or yellow dot. These
Hafsids in Tunisia and their officials,copy dated 1304/ dot. while hamz
coloured dots used for the notation of v'asl and hamz wete
I 887 (Witkam, Catalogue,PP.62-63)
of a vocalisation system invented by Ab[ lO r . 1 4 0 5 0 :A h m a d a l - M u s t a f b . U t w a y r a l - J a n n a .R i h l a t a remainder
(d. 688 AD), which consistedentirely of
al-mun h'al-minna.19th century copy (Witkam, Cata- Aswad ad-Du'ali
coloured dots. The greendot was later
positioned
variously
logue, pp.90-95)
the same colour as the rest of the
in
dot
by
a
O r . l + O O : : N o n - c a l l i g r a p h i cc o p y o f M u h a m m a d B e l l o , replaced
yellow dot was replaced by the
or
red
the
and
Infaq at-maysr. copy dated 1292!1875(Witkam, Cata- script,
(e).
hamza
conventional
l o g u e ,p p . I 3 2 - 13 3 )

N , V A N D E N B O O G E R TN
. O T E SO N M A G H R I B I S C R I P T

7 In Berber
texts written in the Arabic script, this atif
with horizontal line through the middre is often usedfor the
n o t a t i o n o f w o r d - i n i t i a lu . e . s . :

i;,

L) | urd
8 In Berber texts written
in the Arabic script, the Berber
,
phonemes igi and lql are written witl
O
\-/-

r e s p e c t i v e l ve.. s
- ' J '

- ' "

:, 1 /-

f-PfS-r

27

I ors,,-

+-l

e In two of the three facsimile

copiesof the euran which
were examined,the versesas well as the pagesare numbe_
red with European numerals. In the third copy the verses
have not been numbered,while the pageshave European as
well as Arabic numerals.