Iraq: Page from a Qur'an in Arabic muhaqqaq script, c. 1350-1400

Muhaqqaq is one of the main six types of calligraphic script in Arabic. The Arabic word muḥaqqaq means 'consummate' or 'clear', and originally was used to denote any accomplished piece of calligraphy.

Often used to copy maṣāḥif (singular muṣḥaf, i.e. loose sheets of Quran texts), this majestic type of script was considered one of the most beautiful, as well as one of the most difficult to execute well. The script saw its greatest use in the Mameluk era (1250–1516/1517). In the Ottoman Empire, it was gradually displaced by Thuluth and Naskh; from the 18th century onward, its use was largely restricted to the Basmala in Hilyas.

It is believed that the style was invented in the Abbasid era by Ibn Muqla, and later developed by Ibn al-Bawwab.

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