Part of: Madrasah life and learning
GlossaryWhat is a madrasah?
Madrasah is the Arabic word for school. In the UK it usually means a supplementary class, often held at a mosque on weekday evenings or at weekends, where children learn to read the Quran, basic Islamic practice, and sometimes Arabic or Urdu. Spellings include madrasa, madrassa and madressa.
Handmade leather madrasah bag, coming soonRegister interest
Looking for a bag for your child’s Quran and books? See the handmade leather madrasah bag.
Madrasahs in the UK
Most British Muslim children attend a madrasah alongside ordinary school. A typical pattern is one to two hours after school, four or five days a week, or longer sessions at weekends. Classes usually cover:
- Reading the Quran, starting with the Qaidah
- Tajweed (correct recitation)
- Islamic studies: prayer, wudu, the life of the Prophet ﷺ, manners
- Memorising short surahs and duas
Madrasah, maktab and Islamic school
- Madrasah: the broad word, used for anything from an evening class to a full seminary
- Maktab: often used for the elementary Quran-reading class
- Islamic school: in the UK, usually a full-time independent or state-funded faith school
- Darul Uloom: a seminary training students to become scholars (alim or alimah)
Spelling
Madrasah, madrasa, madrassa and madressa are all transliterations of the same Arabic word. The plural is madaris.
The madrasah bag
Children carry their Qaidah or Quran to class in a madrasah bag. See what is a madrasah bag.
Questions people also ask
How do you spell madrasah?
Madrasah, madrasa, madrassa and madressa are all accepted English spellings of the same Arabic word.
How many hours a week is madrasah?
Commonly 5 to 10 hours a week in the UK, for example two hours on four or five weekday evenings.
More on madrasah life and learning
← The parent's guide to madrasah: the full topic guide
- Preparing your child for the first day at madrasah
- What to pack for madrasah and the mosque
- What is a maktab?
- What is a Qaidah?
- What is tajweed?
- What is hifz?
- Sabaq, sabqi and manzil: the hifz system explained
- What does ustadh mean?
- What is a topi?
- My child doesn't want to go to madrasah
- Child struggling with the Qaidah
- Child reading the Quran too fast
- Child forgetting what they've memorised
- No time to practise the Quran at home
- Losing the Quran habit after Ramadan
- Madressa bag checklist for the new term
- Mosque bag for Jummah and Taraweeh: what to bring
- How to choose a Quran for a child
- Madrasah in Ramadan: what changes
- Walking to madrasah: carrying a shoulder bag comfortably
- The madrasah run: a bag routine for busy car journeys
- What does ustadha mean?