What it means
مکتب (maktab) comes from the Arabic root k-t-b, meaning to write. The noun-of-place form maktab originally referred to a place of writing or learning. In Persian today it carries two related senses: a traditional Quranic or religious school where children learned to read and recite scripture, and, more broadly, a school of thought or ideological tradition. You will hear phrases like مکتب اسلام (maktab-e eslam) meaning the Islamic school of thought. A close synonym in the broader sense is مکتب فکری (maktab-e fekri), a school of intellectual tradition. Contrast it with دانشگاه (daneshgah), the word for a secular university.
How to use it
- او در مکتب قرآنی درس میخواند. (u dar maktab-e qur’ani dars mikhund.) “He was studying at a Quranic school.”
- این فیلسوف پایهگذار یک مکتب جدید بود. (in filosuf paye-gozar-e yek maktab-e jadid bud.) “This philosopher was the founder of a new school of thought.”
- مکتب اسلام بر عدالت اجتماعی تاکید دارد. (maktab-e eslam bar ‘edalat-e ejtema’i ta’kid darad.) “The Islamic school of thought emphasizes social justice.”
- در آن روستا یک مکتب قدیمی وجود داشت. (dar an rusta yek maktab-e qadimi vojud dasht.) “In that village there used to be an old religious school.”
Cultural note
Before modern state schooling arrived in Iran, the maktab was the primary institution of literacy for children, typically run by a local cleric or learned elder. Students memorized Quranic verses and learned to read Persian script. The word survives today mostly in its ideological sense, particularly in political and religious discourse, where speakers refer to مکتب امام خمینی or مکتب اهل بیت as complete worldviews or traditions of guidance.