Mawla

Mawlā (Arabic: مَوْلَى, plural mawālī مَوَالِي), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.

For the novel by Surender Mohan Pathak, see Mawali (novel).
Not to be confused with Mawla, Cornwall or Maula.

Before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the term originally applied to any form of tribal association.

In the Quran and hadiths it is used in a number of senses, including 'Lord', 'guardian', and 'trustee'.

After Muhammad's death, this institution was adapted by the Umayyad dynasty to incorporate new converts to Islam into Arab-Muslim society and the word mawali gained currency as an appellation for converted non-Arab Muslims in the early Islamic caliphates.

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