Using the term “mawlānā” for scholars

By: Mawlana Yusuf Shabbir

Source: IlmGate.org

Question: I have a few questions in relation to the use of title Mawlānā, if you can please provide the answers with appropriate evidence.

• Is it permissible to use the title Mawlānā for scholars? Some people suggest this is Shirk because the term Mawlā should only be used for Allah.
• There is a ḥadīth in Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim that prohibits the use of the term Mawlā. If the use is permissible, how is this narration reconciled?
• Why is the term Mawlānā only used by the people of the subcontinent?

Reply: 

(1) USE OF THE TERM MAWLĀNĀ

It is undoubtedly permissible to the use the term Mawlānā or Mawlā when referring to or addressing scholars. It is correct that the term Mawlā has been used in the Qurʾān (2: 286, 3: 150, 8: 40, 9: 51, 22: 13, 22: 78) and Prophetic narrations (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 3039) [1] to refer to Almighty Allah and this is its primary use. However, the term has also been used in Prophetic narrations to refer to a friend, guardian and master as outlined below. The Qurʾān (66: 4)[2] uses the term to refer to a protector in the following verse: “If you cooperate against him, then indeed Allah is his protector and Jibrīl and the righteous of the believers.” This affirms that the term Mawlā is from amongst the attributes of Allah that can be used for others. Other examples include al-Raʾūf and al-Raḥīm. Both are attributes of Almighty Allah and have been used to describe the Prophet g in the Qurʾān (9: 128).[3] It is therefore not Shirk to use the term Mawlā when referring to scholars.

This is further supplemented by the fact that the term Mawlā has multiple meanings in the Arabic language. Imam Bukhārī (d. 256/870) mentions seven meanings of the term Mawlā in his Ṣaḥīḥ (4580). Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1449) mentions a further 14 meanings in Fatḥ al-Bārī (8: 248). ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Athīr (d. 606/1209-10) mentions 16 meanings in al-Nihāyah (5: 228) whilst ʿAllāmah Zabīdī (d. 1205/1790) mentions 21 meanings in Tāj al-ʿArūs (40: 243). These include:

• Lord
• Ally
• Assistant
• Associate
• Benefactor
• Beneficiary
• Chief
• Companion
• Confederate
• Cousin
• Defender
• Devotee
• Follower
• Friend
• Guardian
• Guest
• Leader
• Liberated servant
• Liberator
• Master
• Neighbour
• Nephew
• Owner
• Patron
• Protector
• Ruler
• Servant
• Son in law
• Teacher of the Qurʾān
• Uncle

The following are some Prophetic narrations that illustrate the different uses of the term Mawlā:

• “If I am someone’s Mawlā (friend), then ʿAlī is his Mawlā (friend) too.”[4]
• “You are our friend and our Mawlā (freed slave or close associate)”[5], referring to Zayd ibn Ḥārithah h.
• “Whichever woman marries without the consent of her Mawlā (guardian), her marriage is invalid.”[6]
• “(The tribes of) Quraysh, Anṣār, Juhaynah, Muzaynah, Aslam, Ashjaʿ, and Gifār are my Mawālī (plural of Mawlā, supporters). They have no Mawlā (protector) except Allah and His Messenger.”[7]
• “If someone accepts Islām at the hands of another person, then he is his Mawlā (beneficiary in inheritance).” [8]
• “You should not say, ‘Feed your Rabb (Lord)’, ‘Help your Rabb in performing ablution’, ‘Give water to your Rabb’, but should say (instead of ‘Rabb’), ‘Sayyidī’ (my leader), or ‘Mawlāya’ (my master)”. [9]
• “Whoever teaches a person a verse from the book of Allah, he is his Mawlā (Master or Teacher)”.[10]

There are many other narrations[11] that clearly affirm that the term Mawlā can be used for other than Almighty Allah.

The permissibility of using the term Mawlā for other than Almighty Allah has been explicitly mentioned by many scholars including:

• Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ al-Mālikī (d. 544/1149).[12]
• Imam Nawawī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 676/1277).[13]
• Ḥāfiẓ Walī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-ʿIrāqī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 826/1423).[14]
• ʿAllāmah Abū ʿAbd Allah al-Ubbī al-Mālikī (d. 827/1423-4).[15]
• Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 852/1449).[16]
• Ḥāfiẓ Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī (d. 855/1451).[17]
• ʿAllāmah Qasṭalānī al-Shāfiʿī (d. 923/1517).[18]
• Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī al-Ḥanafī (d. 1014/1605).[19]
• Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaq Muḥaddith Dehlawī al-Ḥanafī (d. 1052/1642).[20]
• ʿAllāmah Zarhūnī al-Magribī al-Mālikī (d. 1318/1900).[21]
• ʿAllāmah Muftī Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī al-Ḥanafī (b. 1362/1943 – ).[22]

(2) ṢAḤĪḤ MUSLIM ḤADĪTH QUERY

Imam Muslim (d. 261/875) narrates with a few different chains the ḥadīth regarding the title a servant should use to address the master. Some of these chains are outlined here.

قال الإمام مسلم رحمه الله في الصحيح (۲۲٤۹): وحدثني زهير بن حرب حدثنا جرير عن الأعمش عن أبي صالح عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يقولن أحدكم عبدي فكلكم عبيد الله ولكن ليقل فتاي ، ولا يقل العبد ربي ولكن ليقل سيدي.

وحدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة وأبو كريب قالا حدثنا أبو معاوية ح وحدثنا أبو سعيد الأشج حدثنا وكيع كلاهما عن الأعمش بهذا الإسناد ، وفي حديثهما: ولا يقل العبد لسيده مولاي ، وزاد في حديث أبي معاوية: فإن مولاكم الله عز وجل.

وحدثنا محمد بن رافع حدثنا عبد الرزاق أخبرنا معمر عن همام بن منبه قال هذا ما حدثنا أبو هريرة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، فذكر أحاديث منها ، وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يقل أحدكم اسق ربك أطعم ربك وضئ ربك ، ولا يقل أحدكم ربي وليقل سيدي مولاي ، ولا يقل أحدكم عبدي أمتي وليقل فتاي فتاتي غلامي.

There are two narrators of this ḥadith: Hammām ibn Munabbih (d. 132/749-50) and Aʿmash (d. 148/765). Both narrate the ḥadīth from the companion Abū Hurayrah h (d. 57/676-7) The narration of Hammām ibn Munabbih has been mentioned above (ḥadīth number 6) and it explicitly encourages a servant to use the term Mawlā. There are two narrations of Aʿmash. One of the narrations discourages the use of the word Mawlā whilst the other makes no reference to the term.

According to the majority[23] of ḥadith experts, the narration of Hammām ibn Munabbih is the most authentic. This is for the following reasons:

• There are two narrations from Aʿmash; the narration without the mention of the word Mawlā is more authentic.
• The narration of Hammām ibn Munabbih can be reconciled with one of the narrations of Aʿmash but not the other.
• The narration of Hammām ibn Munabbih has been narrated by Imam Bukhārī (d. 256/870) in his Ṣaḥīḥ (2552) as cited above.
• The narration of Hammām ibn Munabbih is aligned to the Qurʾānic verses and Prophetic narrations where the term Mawlā has been used for other than Allah.

The scholars who have mentioned that the narration of Aʿmash without the mention of Mawlā is stronger include: Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ (d. 544/1149), ʿAllāmah Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qurṭubī (d. 656/1258), Imam Nawawī (d. 676/1277), Ḥāfiẓ Walī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-ʿIrāqī (d. 826/1423), ʿAllāmah Ubbī (d. 827/1423-4), Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1449), Ḥāfiẓ Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 855/1451), ʿAllāmah Qasṭalānī (d. 923/1517), ʿAllāmah Zarhūnī al-Magribī (d. 1318/1900) and ʿAllāmah Muftī Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī (b. 1362/1943 H. – ).[24] There is also the possibility that the prohibition in the narration of Aʿmash is confined to a specific context where there is a risk of a servant regarding the master as the Lord.

In conclusion, the narration of Hammām ibn Munabbih supersedes other narrations, and explicitly permits the use of the term Mawlā.

(3) USE OF THE TERM MAWLĀNĀ AND THE SUBCONTINENT

The final question relates to the use of the term Mawlānā in the Indian subcontinent. It is worth noting that there is no harm in the people of a particular area adopting honorific titles to describe and address scholars in so long as they do not contravene the Qurʾān and Sunnah. In addition to this, the term Mawlā has been used to describe scholars, leaders and pious people over the centuries. This includes Arabs and non Arabs and is not restricted to the sub-continent. The following are some examples that illustrate this:

• The companion Anas ibn Mālik (d. 93/711-2) h once described Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (d. 110/728) using the title Mawlānā.[25]
• The leader of the believers Harūn al-Rashīd (d. 193/809) was once addressed with the title Mawlānā.[26]
• Khaṭīb Baghdādī (d. 463/1071) uses the title Mawlānā several times in his masterpiece Tārīkh Baghdad.[27]
• ʿAllāmah Abū al-Ḥasan ibn al-Athīr (d. 630/1233) uses the title Mawlānā to describe the leader of the time and makes reference to people using the title historically.[28] It is clear from the books of history that this title was often used to address leaders in the first few centuries of Islam.
• Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ (d. 643/1245) was described as Mawlāna by the transcriber of Tajrīd al-Asmāʾ Wa al-Kunā al-Madhkūrah Fī Kitāb al-Muttafaq Wa al-Muftaraq (2: 332).
• Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī (d. 744/1343) uses the title Mawlānā to describe the ruler of his time.[29]
• Ḥāfiẓ Shams al-Dīn Dhahabī (d. 748/1348) uses the title Mawlānā to describe a scholar.[30]
• ʿAllāmah Ṣalaḥ al-Dīn al-Ṣafdī (d. 764/1363) uses the title Mawlānā when addressing Qāḍi Jalāl al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī (d. 739/1338)[31] and Qāḍī Tāj al-Dīn al-Bāranbārī (d. 756/1355).[32]
• ʿAllāmah Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Kutbī (d. 764/1363) uses the title Mawlānā to describe ʿAllāmah Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī (d. 756/1355).[33]
• ʿAllāmah Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī (d. 771/1370) uses the title Mawlānā to describe Qāḍī ʿIzz al-Dīn Abū ʿUmar ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (d. 767/1366).[34]
• ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Qurashī (d. 775/1373) and Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1449) use the title Mawlānā to describe Mawlāna Bahāʾ al-Dīn (d. 712/1312-3) and his father Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn al-Rūmī (d. 672/1273). Both passed away in Konya, Turkey.[35]
• Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab (d. 795/1393) mentions in the profile of the commentator of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Imam Ibn Hubayrah al-Wazīr al-Ḥanbalī (d. 560/1165), an incident wherein some Ḥanbalī scholars addressed him with the title Mawlānā.[36]
• Ḥāfiẓ Walī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn Zayn al-Dīn al-ʿIrāqī (d. 826/1423) writes that some of his teachers would hesitate to use the title Sayyidunā. Instead, they would use Mawlānā. This is because the term Sayyid is only used to describe eminence whereas the term Mawlā is used for superiors and inferiors. Thus, the use of Mawlāya is lighter than the use of Sayyidī.[37]
• Ḥāfiẓ Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī (d. 855/1451) uses the title Mawlānā to refer to several scholars and teachers.[38]
• ʿAllāmah Mardāwī al-Ḥanbalī (d. 885/1480) uses the title Mawlānā to describe Qāḍī Ibn Muglī al-Ḥanbalī (d. 828/1424).[39]
• ʿAllāmah Shams al-Dīn al-Sakhāwī (d. 902/1497) uses the title Mawlānā to describe Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1449). He uses this title frequently to describe scholars.[40]
• ʿAllāmah Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505) uses the title Mawlānā to describe Mawlānā Zādah Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Ḥanafī (d. 859/1455).[41]
• ʿAllāmah Tāshkubrī Zādah (d. 968/1560-1) has authored a book regarding the scholars of the Ottoman Empire. He frequently refers to the scholars using the title Mawlā and Mawlānā.[42]
• ʿAllāmah Ibn Nujaym al-Miṣrī (d. 969/1562) uses the title Mawlānā to refer to some of his teachers.[43]
• Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī al-Harawī al-Makkī (d. 1014/1605) uses the title Mawlānā to describe ʿAllāmah Ibn Ḥajar al-Makkī (d. 974/1567) [44] and other scholars.[45]
• ʿAllāmah Najm al-Dīn al-Gazzī (d. 1061/1651) uses the title Mawlānā to describe Shaykh al-Islām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī (d. 926/1520) and many other scholars.[46]
• ʿAllāmah Muḥibbī al-Ḥamawī al-Dimishqī (d. 1111/1699) uses the title Mawlānā to describe many scholars of the 11^th[47]
• The Muftī of al-Quds, ʿAllāmah Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Tafilātī al-Maghribī (d. 1191/1777) uses the title Mawlānā to describe his contemporary ʿAllāmah Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Bukhārī (d. 1200/1786).[48]
• ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Khalīl Murādī Āfindī (d. 1206/1791-2) uses the title Mawlānā to describe some scholars of the 12^th[49]
• ʿAllāmah Shawkānī (d. 1250/1834) uses the title Mawlānā to describe some of his contemporaries.[50]
• ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿĀbidīn al-Shāmī (d. 1252/1836) authored a book regarding Shaykh Khalid al-Dimishqī al-Naqshbandī (d. 1242/1827) and named it Sall al-Husām al-Hindī Fī Nuṣrati Mawlānā Khālid al-Naqshbandī.[51]Similarly, he uses the title frequently in his books.[52]
• Similarly, ʿAllāmah Maḥmūd al-Ālūsī (1270/1854) authored a book al-Fayḍ al-Wārid ʿAlā Marthiyah Mawlānā Khālid.[53]
• ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Maydānī al-Dimishqī (d. 1335/1916) uses the title Mawlānā to describe some scholars and personalities of the 13^thCentury including Shaykh Khalid al-Dimishqī al-Naqshbandī (d. 1242/1827), Shaykh Abu Bakr al-Kurdī al-Dimishqī (d. 1269/1852-3) and Sultan ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd, the second (d. 1336/1918).[54]
• ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Kattānī al-Maghribī (d. 1382/1962) uses the title Mawlānā to describe many scholars including Shaykh Khalid al-Dimishqī[55] (d. 1242/1827) and others.[56]
• ʿAllāmah Ziriklī (d. 1396/1976) uses the titles Mawlā and Mawlānā to describe many scholars. In addition to this, he frequently refers to books of different authors who have included the term Mawlānā in the titles of their books.[57]

These are some examples that affirm the permissibility of the use of the term Mawlānā and dispel the myth that the use is confined to the Indian sub-continent. There are hundreds of examples that can be cited. It seems as though that the use of the term Mawlā for scholars became prevalent a few centuries after Hijrah whereas the term was often used for leaders and kings in the first few centuries of Islām. It is also worth noting that the term Mawlā has been noted as one of the names of the Prophet g.[58]

(4) CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is permissible to use the title Mawlānā to address scholars. This is not Shirk and has been used by hundreds of scholars over the centuries. The ḥadīth of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that discourages its use is superseded by other narrations that are more authentic. The term Mawlānā is prevalent in the sub-continent; however, it has been used by Arabs and non-Arabs throughout the Muslims world for many centuries.

Allah knows best.

For notes and references please see the source article.