What it means
اصلاح (eslâh) is borrowed from Arabic, from the root s-l-h (the same root as صلح, solh, meaning peace), a Form IV verbal noun meaning to set right or to put in order. In formal Persian it covers a wide range: political and social reform, correction of a text, improvement of a situation, and even the mundane act of shaving or trimming a beard. The verb form is اصلاح کردن (eslâh kardan). A close synonym in formal contexts is بهبود (behbud), which leans more toward improvement in condition rather than deliberate corrective action.
How to use it
- این قانون نیاز به اصلاح داره. (in qânun niâz be eslâh dâre.) “This law needs to be reformed.”
- اصلاح ریش رفتم. (eslâhe rish raftam.) “I went to get my beard trimmed.”
- اصلاحطلبا تو انتخابات شرکت کردن. (eslâh-talabâ tu entekhabât sherkat kardan.) “The reformists participated in the elections.”
- این متن رو اصلاح کن. (in matn ro eslâh kon.) “Correct this text.”
Cultural note
In Iranian political discourse, اصلاحطلب (eslâh-talab), meaning reformist, became a defining political label after President Khatami’s 1997 election, when the reform movement sought gradual change within the Islamic Republic’s framework. The word اصلاح therefore carries both an everyday practical meaning and a politically charged resonance for Iranians who lived through that era. In classical literature it appears in ethical writing as the improvement of the self or the community, placing it at the intersection of personal virtue and public life.