Mawla

For the novel by Surender Mohan Pathak, seeMawali (novel).

Not to be confused withMawla, CornwallorMaula.

Mawlā(Arabic:مَوْلَى,pluralmawālīمَوَالِي), is apolysemousArabicword, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.

Before the IslamicprophetMuhammad,the term originally applied to any form oftribal association.

In theQuranandhadithsit is used in a number of senses, including 'Lord', 'guardian', and 'trustee'.

After Muhammad's death, this institution was adapted by theUmayyaddynasty to incorporate new converts toIslaminto Arab-Muslim society and the wordmawaligained currency as an appellation for converted non-ArabMuslimsin the earlyIslamic caliphates.

Etymology

The wordmawla,which was used by the Islamic prophetMuhammadaboutAliin theGhadir Khummspeech,is derived from therootو ل يw-l-y,meaning "to be close to" or "to have power over".Mawlacan have reciprocal meanings, depending on whether it is used in the active or passive voice: "master" Originally,mawāliwere clients of an Arab people, but with the advent of Islam, the term came to refer to non-Arab Muslims and other allies.

Under theAbbasidrulers of the 9th century, the non-Arab converts comprised an important part of the army. The institution of wala' as a requirement to enter Muslim society ceased to exist after the fall of the Umayyads, as the Abbasids favoured a universal interpretation of Islam that was not the exclusive religion of the Arab elite. However, throughout the centuries, the rise of political power of regional Arab dynasties and non-Arab ethnic groups eventually restricted the power of the AbbasidcaliphinBaghdad,as Persian, Turkic andBerber Muslimsbegan to form independent and autonomoussultanates.

Abu Hanifawas the founder of theHanafischool ofjurisprudencewithinSunni Islamand lived through the Abbasid Revolution. He famously stated in one of his sayings: "The belief of a newly convertedTurkis the same as that of an Arab fromHejaz."

This institution continued in the Abbasid period on a much smaller scale when the 8th Abbasid Caliph,al-Mu'tasim,formed private corps entirely composed of non-Arabs in the service of the Caliph. These men were the mawali of the Caliph and were thus considered to be more loyal to the Caliph. This practice persisted throughout Islamic history through to theOttomanperiod.

Ghadir Khumm

The word "Mawla" is regarded as a considerable word in theGhadir Khummevent (regarding the sentence which was declared by the Islamic prophetMuhammad in IslamaboutAli,when he said: "For whoever I am hismawla,'Ali is hismawla."). There have been mentioned meanings for this use of the word" mawla ", including leader,administrator,Lord, owner, master, follower, one who has more right in something,wali,an ally, etc.Shiasargue that in the context of the sermon (Ghadir Khumm), intended that the word "mawla" to be taken as "leader". They therefore see this to be the official designation of Ali as theprophet's successor.

See also

• Ajam
• Jizyah
• Mawlānā
• Mullah
• Shu'ubiyyah
• Umm walad
• Walayah
• Wilayah

Islam portal

References

• Hourani, Albert.A History of the Arab People.Chapter 1.
• Mas'udi.The Meadows of Gold.Trans. and eds. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone.
• Pipes, Daniel (1981).Slave Soldiers and Islam The Genesis of a Military System(hardcover).Yale University Press.p. 120.ISBN9780300024470.Retrieved28 December2021.

Further reading

• Conversion and Poll-Tax in Early Islam,D.C. Dennett, Cambridge 1950.
• The Encyclopaedia of Islam,second edition.
• Slaves on Horses,P. Crone, Cambridge 1980.
• Roman, Provincial and Islamic Law: The Origins of the Islamic Patronate,P. Crone, Cambridge University Press, 2002.
• Patronate And Patronage in Early And Classical Islam,M. Bernards, J. Nawas, Brill, 2005.
• Mawlas: Freed slaves and converts in early Islam,Daniel Pipes, in: Slavery & Abolition, 1980, 1:2, 132–177