Islam > Glossary > Mawla al-muwalat
Discover the meaning of the term Mawla al-muwalat (مولى الموالاة) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 3 min readIn clienthood (wala).
Its statement: a person of unknown lineage fraternizes with one of known lineage and concludes a pact, saying: if my hand commits an offence, its diya falls on your clan; and if wealth comes to me, it is yours after my death. The client accepts this word; the word is called moualat, and the known person mawla al-moualat, in the Ta’rifat. In Mo’jam al-Moughni: he who binds to a man, making over to him his loyalty and aid.
Its statement: a person of unknown lineage fraternizes with one of known lineage and concludes a pact: if my hand commits an offence, its diya falls to your clan; if wealth comes to me, it is yours after my death. The client accepts; the word is called moualat, the known person mawla al-moualat.
Among the Hanafis: the person of known lineage in the clienthood contract. Among the Hanbalites: binding to a man, making over loyalty and aid. Among the Ja’farites: he who pledges to a man and binds to him, becoming his client. Al-mawla: the supporter; plural mawali; in the generous Book: « there the allegiance is to Allah, the True: he is better client of believers and worse client of disbelievers » (Mouhammad 11). The owner. The partner. The ally, called mawla al-moualat. The companion. The neighbour. The paternal cousin; in the mighty Quran: « he invokes besides Allah what neither harms nor profits him: that is the far error. He invokes him whose hurt is nearer than his profit: an evil client and an evil kin! » (al-Hajj 12-13), that is, evil cousin and companion; Ibn Jarir’s choice. Moujahid said: evil he whom he invokes besides Allah as patron and backer. The son-in-law. The emancipator, called mawla an-ni’ma, the woman mawlat an-ni’ma. The liberator, called mawla al-’atiqa; hence: the clients of the Banu Hashim, that is, their freedmen. Al-wali: active participle. Among the Hanafis: he in whose hands is the judges’ investiture, that is, their appointment. Al-wala’: ownership. Nearness. Kinship. Shielding. Love. In the Law: an asaba whose cause is ownership’s ceasing over the slave by freedom. As a term: the boons of freedom or of guidance to islam, in a way saving from killing or enslavement.
He whom a man of unknown lineage joins, contracting with him: you inherit me at death, and pay my diya if I offend.