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© 2016 Omar Uddin
Meem
© 2016 Omar Uddin
Meem Al-Muhaqaq
Stroke 1
Stroke 2
Stroke 3
Meem is arguably the most versatile letter with the most alternatives in the Thuluth script. Having said that, ironically there is very little flexibility when it comes to amending the Meem. The letter is known for its small strokes, nuances, and flicks - this is what makes the letter one of the more difficult letters to master. Meem Al-Muhaqaq is one of the most popular al-ternative of the letter. It has three strokes where the last stroke ends with a flick of the wrist.
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Meem Al-Muthallath
Stroke 1
Stroke 2Stroke 3
This version of the individual letter Meem also con-sists of three strokes. The first stroke could be scripted by flicking the pen downwards or slightly shifting the angle of the pen anti-clockwise (only for the first stroke). The second stroke is very similar to the first stroke in Meem Al-Muhaqaq. The final stroke begins by going left at a shallow an-gle - as it passes a distance of two nuqtas, it dips down further by two nuq-tas, covering a distance of three before curving back up-wards.
Alternatives
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Vertical Meem
Stroke 3
Stroke 4
The first two strokes of the vertical Meem and Meem Al-Muthallath are ex-actly the same. The third stroke of the vertical Meem begins in a similar fashion as that of Meem Al-Muthallath, however, at the point where the stroke only slight-ly turned downwards in Meem Al-Muth-allath, the stroke in the vertical Meem changes direction in a huge way - it heads downwards towards the right for a distance of four nuqtas. The last stroke of the Meem, which is just an optional embel-lishment, is a diagonal stroke go-ing down towards the left, which ends with a flick of the wrist.
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Meem as Commencing LetterStandard Commencing Meem
Pair Table
Stroke 1 Stroke 2
This version of the commencing letter Meem consists of only two strokes. It is one of the versions that could be used when the following letter is connected from the right hand side, with two exceptions - it could be con-nected from the top before another Meem or an oblique Ra. Its a small module but it’s important to pay attention to the nuances to make sure the shape is scripted properly. The first stroke resembles an arch - an arch that is asymmetric, has different start and finish horizontal points, and where the right side of the arch is steeper than the left. The second stroke overlaps the bottom of the first stroke and movies down towards the left, eventually flattening out and merging into the following letter.
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Commencing Meem Al-Muhaqaq
Pair Table
Stroke 1
Stroke 2
The initial loop of this Meem (the shape created by the first two strokes) is the same as that of individual letter Meem Al-Muhaqaq, except that the shape is just slightly
rotated counter-clockwise. This version of the Meem is mostly used when the following letter is connect-ed from the right hand side, though it can be used when connecting a letter from the top as well - even though it cannot accommodate all letters that con-nect from the top, the list is definitely more elabo-rate than that of the standard commencing Meem. When Meem Al-Muhaqaq connects from the top, the third stroke is a linear and diagonal stroke as
opposed to being curved and convexing downwards.
Stroke 3
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Commencing Meem Al-Muthallath
Pair Table
Stroke 1
Stroke 2 Stroke 3
This version of the letter is exclusively used when the following letter connects from the top. It is very similar in shape and mea-surements to the individ-ual letter Meem al-Muth-allath. The commencing letter finishes where the individual letter would be-gin to dip down steeply.
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Bottom Right Loop Meem
Meem as Middle Letter
Stroke 1
Stroke 2
This version of the middle letter Meem consists of two strokes but could easily be scripted in one seamless circular stroke. The first stroke moves down towards the right by three nuqtas, then curves up-wards by two nuqtas. The second stroke circles and dips down before pulling back upwards to script the next letter. Though this letter can appear before any letter be-ing connected from the right hand side, its best use is before a letter that elevates as part of its first stroke. Examples of this kind of letter would be an Aleph, Daal, and Laam. Also, one key re-quirement for this let-ter is that it can only follow after a letter that can accom-modate an up-wards convex-ing tail end.
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Bottom Right Overlap Meem
Stroke 1
Stroke 2
This version of the middle letter Meem is nothing more than an inception stroke and an exit stroke meeting at a common point. The first stroke begins the same way as the bottom right loop Meem, but it ends when the stroke reaches its bottom right most point. The second stroke begins by fully overlapping the initial stroke but its elevation angle is much shallower than the initiation angle. This discrepan-cy causes an offset and as soon as there is separation, the stroke merges into the following letter. This middle letter is best suited for instances where the following letter elevates upwards for its
first stroke. Exam-ples of this kind of letter would be an Aleph,
Daal, and Laam.
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Bottom Loop Meem
Stroke 1
Stroke 2
Stroke 3
This letter is comprised of three strokes, with the third stroke being a lead to the following letter. The first stroke drops down and curves towards the right. Both the drop and horizontal distance covered by the stroke are two nuqtas. The second stroke is practically a mirrored stroke that convexes upwards and towards right. The third stroke drops down by two nuqtas while moving left. As it approaches the horizontal mark of the lowest point of the first stroke, it curves back upwards.
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Oblique Loop Meem
Stroke 1
Stroke 2
This version of the middle letter Meem is con-nected from the right hand side, or right after a Top Jeem Al-Mughliq. View the illustration on the following page to study the exact posi-tioning of this letter. The letter itself is a pair of two relatively small and curved strokes, which merely mirror each other. The first stroke moves down by one nuqta and rightwards by
half a nuqta. The second stroke moves up and towards the left to complete the loop. This letter could be scripted either as an open loop or as a closed loop letter. To script a closed loop letter, the full surface of the chisel tip should be used for the second stroke. For an open loop, only the upper part of the qalam or just the tip can be used to script the stroke.
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Meem as Finishing Letter
Bottom Right Loop MeemThis finishing letter Meem is one that connects from the top. The letter is a combination of the loop of the middle letter and the tail of Ra Ar-Rah-maniah. All the measurements and stroke dynam-ics are the same as their respective sources. One key requirement for this letter is that it can only follow after a letter that can accommodate an up-wards convexing tail end. The following page il-lustrate the vertical versions of this Meem where the stroke moves downwards after intersecting the initial stroke of the letter. This vertical stroke has the same measurements, dynamics, and variations as the individual letter verti-
cal Meem.
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Bottom Right Overlap Meem
The structure of this letter is very similar to that of the middle letter version discussed earlier. However, there is a small difference between the two overlap “flaps”. In the middle letter, the flap was two nuqtas long - in the finishing letter, this is slightly shorter, sitting at a length of one and a half nuqtas. The following page illustrates the vertical versions of the letter - all the measure-ments, dynamics, and variations are the same as that of the individual vertical Meem. Like the previous version of the finishing letter, one key requirement for this letter is that it can only follow after a letter that can accom-modate an upwards convexing tail end.
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Zigzag Finishing Meem
Stroke 1 Stroke 2
This version of the finishing letter Meem is very similar to the previous finishing letter. Both letters are designed to be connected from the top, but the zigzag letter is designed to accommodate letters that have the conventional linear, nearly horizontal, tail end, as opposed to the curved, upwards convexed tail end found in letters connected before the bot-tom right overlap letter. The first stroke is a diagonal stroke just slight convexing upwards to-wards the right moving left to right - it has a length of two nuqtas. The second stroke is like the tail end of Ra Ar-Rahmaniah, similar to other fin-ishing letter Meems discussed so far.
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Bottom Loop Meem
This version of the finish-ing letter is a combination of the bottom loop Meem middle letter and the tail end of the individual letter
Meem Al-Muhaqaq. All measurements and dy-namics are exactly the
same as their re-spective origins.
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Oblique Loop Meem
This finishing letter Meem greatly re-sembles the middle letter version dis-cussed earlier. It is important to note however that the second stroke of the letter does not end after completing the loop like it did in the middle letter ver-sion - in the finishing letter, it in fact continues on and completes the entire finishing stroke of Ra Ar-Rahmaniah.
Stroke 1 Stroke 2
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Stroke 1
Stroke 2 Stroke 3 Stroke 4
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Stroke 1
Stroke 2 Stroke 3
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Length Flexibility
There is no room for flexibility when it comes to the core shape of the Meem, whether it be in a loop or overlap format. The in-dividual letters too, though may be large in number of variations, do not have much flexibility to be altered. What is up for grabs however are the leading strokes coming out of commenc-ing and middle letters. The depth in the convex is in line with the ma-jority of other letters discussed so far.
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