Scheherazade

Scheherazade, named after the heroine of the classic Arabian Nights tale, was designed by SIL International for modern Unicode-based systems using OpenType for complex-script rendering. It is designed in a similar style to traditional typefaces such as Monotype Naskh, extended to cover the Unicode Arabic repertoire through Unicode 5.0. Scheherazade is currently available in Regular weight only.

The design of Scheherazade provides a "simplified" rendering of the Arabic script; it uses basic connecting glyphs but doesn't include a wide variety of additional ligatures or contextual alternates (only the required lam-alef ligatures). This simplified style is often preferred for clarity, especially in non-Arabic languages, but may be considered unattractive in more traditional and literate communities.

Because Arabic is such a complex script, and because there are so many variations in calligraphic style from one language or cultural group to another, it is difficult to predict whether a font will render well for a particular language on a particular platform. Scheherazade uses OpenType technology to provide rendering information needed by application and system software. Usability of the features provided in these fonts will depend on the exact capabilities of your software.

Scheherezade is freely available and may be used by anyone at no cost. It is released under the SIL Open Font License, a free and open source license that permits modification and redistribution.