NEO Maroc

Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania, (Ancient Quranic schools). Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania, or what is called “Almhadra” in southern Morocco, are considered one of the basic building blocks of science and knowledge, as they formed the best intellectuals, statesmen, scholars, and jurists.

Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania, (Ancient Quranic schools)

Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania, (Ancient Quranic schools)

Al-Katateyb: is the plural of the word “kuttab”, which is the word that refers to a large place or space that is often located next to the mosque, and is usually supervised by the imam of the mosque.

Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania, or “Almhadra” could be a facility belonging to mosques or "Zawaya", a tent in a desert, or a house in a residential neighborhood, designated to memorize the Qur’an and teaching language and jurisprudence, and it is considered one of the most important tributaries of schools of ancient learning.

The importance of Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania

Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania are considered primary schools in our present era, and they have played a major role in preserving, across successive generations, the Arabic language in its performance and grammar, and fortifying the Moroccan faith and identity, where we find children learning to read, write, and the correct reading of the Holy Qur’an. They also receive the basic religious teachings in these Al-Katateyb. They learn about the pillars of Islam and the meaning of faith and learn how to perform ablution and prayer. In addition, they listen to some of the "Maghazy" of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the lives of his honorable companions.

The origin of Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania

If we return to our Islamic history, we find that the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, was the first teacher of his companions, urging them to seek knowledge and reciting to them the Holy Qur’an. Then he would read to one another and urge each one of them to learn to read and write. He, may God bless him and grant him peace, make education equal for freedom, as the redemption of some of the prisoners of Badr who had no money, each of them to teach ten of the boys to write and be released. Zayd bin Thabit, may God be pleased with him, was one of those who learned from them. This incident was the point of emergence of the writings in Islamic history, and the system of teaching reading and writing continued by order of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and then the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him, and it was narrated on the authority of Abdullah bin Saeed bin Al-Aas, may God be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, ordered him to teach people writing in Medina, and he was a good scribe.

Number of Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania in Morocco

During the 2019/2020 academic season, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs worked to count all Al-Katateyb Alquor'ania in all provinces and regions of the Kingdom, as the number reached 10,496 “kuttab”, 91.17% of which are located inside mosques or attached to them, while only 8.65% are located outside mosques. A high percentage of Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania are located in rural areas (62.79%).

Teachers of Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania

44.30% of the teachers of the Holy Qur’an rely on traditional methods (the Quranic tablet and its accessories) in the memorization method, only 14.14% adopt modern methods, while 41.56% combine traditional and modern methods.

Among those who became famous in our Islamic history for teaching in the Al-Katateyb are: Tabi’i the reciter Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami al-Kufi, Qais bin Saad, Ata bin Rabah and al-Komit the poet, Abd al-Hamid the writer of the Umayyads, Imam al-Zuhri, al-Amash, al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Thaqafi, Asad bin al-Furat, the conqueror of Sicily, and many others. Some of them taught the boys at the beginning of the day and the girls at the end of the day.

Teaching method

Learning in the “kuttab” took most of the student’s day, from after the dawn prayer until the noon or afternoon prayer, except for Friday, often, and the method of teaching differed from one “kuttab” to another depending on his environment and his level of culture, where the jurist teacher would sit on the floor facing his students, and the novice students would gather at a close distance from the jurist teacher, and his assistant. One of the distinguished students guides them, and memorization often depends on well-known methods, such as wooden tablets and pens.

The first thing the student begins in the “kuttab” is to learn the letters, writing, and reading through the jurist or his assistants. Then the jurist teaches him the Holy Qur’an until he learns and becomes skilled at writing on a tablet with his hand. The jurist and teacher oblige them to memorize the old before the new from the memorized.

Punishment in teaching

He often did not allow mistakes when memorizing old memorization. If the student made a mistake, the jurist would ask him to repeat it again and again until he memorized it, and he might punish him if he made a mistake.

The punishments of the jurist and teacher were a common system in the Qur’an, but they could be harsh at times. Some of them even caused many students to disengage from learning and memorizing the Qur’an, and some of them left negative effects on the souls of many memorizers. No one denies the positive effects of penalties when they are placed in place and their correct amount.

The temporal extension of Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania

Education through Katateyb has continued throughout the ages and eras in all Islamic societies, especially in the countryside and villages. Although these Katateyb are often simple and limited in size, they have an important role in eradicating illiteracy, connecting children with the Book of God, enlightening their minds, and sharpening their tongues from a young age.

These Katateyb produced great memorizers, reciters, and scholars in the past, and despite the spread of academic education, the students of the Katateyb were distinguished in schools due to their sharp understanding and the sharpening of their memory due to them taking the Holy Qur’an fresh from a young age. However, their role has diminished in recent times and their function has weakened because they did not see interest. There is no development in its approach, in addition to the fierce campaign by parties claiming to develop religious thought.

Targeting Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania in the current era

The role of the Katateyb has weakened in our current era due to the regular school taking its place, but it continues in most Islamic societies during the summer vacation period or after returning from school, and despite all the marginalization and harassment that surrounds it, it still exists.

Some influential powers in the world have taken the attacks of September 11, 2001, as an excuse to put pressure on Islamic countries to force them to close many of the Holy Qur’an teaching schools, as happened in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries, under the pretext that these schools produce extremists and terrorists. Some governments have found That extreme secularism at that time in the American approach was an excuse to restrict Al-Katateyb and Islamic schools by closing them or interfering in their affairs and programs.

The steadfastness of Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania

Al-Katateyb Alqur'ania have had the greatest impact on Islamic history, and to this day they still preserve the language of our children in light of the government’s neglect of the Arabic language and the exaggerated interest in foreign languages. They still have the greatest role in teaching the general public the principles of religion, ablution, and prayer. The Arab and Islamic governments have neglected this duty, and this is also the case in many African and Asian countries. The “kuttab” is still the most important link between the Muslim child and his religion. In it, children learn ablution, prayer, the Arabic letters, reading the Qur’an, and the pillars of faith and Islam. However, this does not mean at all that we neglect working to correct these Katateyb and push them to give more.