For other uses, see Malik (disambiguation).


Malik (Arabic: ملك‎) is an Arabic word meaning "king." It has been adopted in various other, mainly Islamized or Arabized, Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere; furthermore it is sometimes used in derived meanings. Malik is one of the names of Allah, "King" in the absolute sense. Alternative forms are Malek and Maalik. The female version of Malik is Malikah (Arabic: ملكة‎) (or its Persian language equivalent Malekeh), meaning "queen".

Contents

Afghanistan & Pakistan

The term malik is used in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan, especially among Pashtuns, for a tribal leader or a chieftain. Maliks serve as de facto arbiters in local conflicts, interlocutors in state policy-making, tax-collectors, heads of village and town councils and delegates to provincial and national jirgas as well as to Parliament.

Khatris of the South Asia

It is also used by Kukhran Khatris of India and Pakistan

“ where there are Khatri families in Multan which are addressed as Malik or Raiszada. 1 ”
“ Among Muhammadans the term Malik is applied to the chief men among the Khokhars, Vainses and some other clans2 ”

Hazara Devision Tanoli Malik

Among Tanoli and Awan Term Malik is applied to the chief of villages or notable personalities Nawab Khalli Maliks are the sons of Rais e Azam Nawab Khan

The related word mülük ("maluk") has in Turkish the meaning of "ruler" (padişahlar "padishah", krallar "caesar"). The cognate Hebrew word melekh (מֶלֶךְ‏) has the same meaning, and the name of the pagan god Moloch is derived from the same Proto-Semitic root *malk-.

Nawab Malik Ata (Ruler Of Khushab) (left) with president Ayub Khan (right)

Awan Malik

See under Awan for the history of Maliks in Punjab. Malik is the honorary title of the Awan clan. The Awans are descendents of eleventh century ruler of Herat , Qutab Shah . Qutab Shah claimed descent from the fourth caliph Ali through his second wife.

Notable persons


The Mahabharata Tribe - Malika (मलिक) They are mentioned in the Geography of Mahabharata (VI.10.65)

तदैव मरधाश चीनास तदैव दश मालिकाः कषत्रियॊपनिवेशाश च वैश्यशूद्र कुलानि च (VI.10.65) The Mahabharata Tribe - Malika (मलिक) may be identified with Jat Gotra - Malik (मलिक) They are mentioned in the Markandeya Purana as people of the Central region of India. [1] The Gathwala are now designating themselves as Maliks, which is a title. [1] mahabharat ka vansis malik jaat hai.

Malik is the largest clan of jat (Hindu) in North India(Haryana,Uttar Pardesh,Madhya Pardesh,Punjab,Rajasthan,Delhi).This area is well known as GATHWALA-KHAP. There are more than 760 villages of the Malik clan in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

There are also several villages of the Gathwala Malik in Okara District of Pakistan. Almost all of them originate from Sonepat. 'Gathwala' means 'people of organisation'. They are known for their brotherhood.

Political

Primarily a malik is the ruling monarch of a kingdom, called mamlaka, title used by the former slaves aka Mamluks (مملوك) royal dynasty of Egypt; that term is however also used in a broader sense, like realm, for rulers with another, generally lower titles, as in Sahib al-Mamlaka. Malik is also used for tribal leaders, e.g. among the Pashtuns.

Although monarchy is sometimes viewed as a non-Islamic form of government, some Arab kingdoms are presently ruled by a Malik:

Other historic realms under a Malik include:

In Mughal and colonial India, the princely state of Zainabad was ruled by a Malek Shri (Shri is an emphatical honorific without intrinsic meaning).

The title Malik has also been used in languages which adopted Arabic loanwords (mainly, not exclusively, in Muslim cultures), for various princely or lower ranks and functions.

The word Malik is sometimes used in Arabic to render roughly equivalent titles of foreign rulers, for instance the chronicler Baha al-Din Ibn Shaddad refers to King Richard I of England as Malik al-Inkitar.

Divine

Compound and derived titles

The following components are frequently part of titles, notably in Persian (also used elsewhere, e.g. in India's Moghol tradition):

In the great Indian Muslim salute state of Hyderabad, a first rank- vassal of the Mughal padshah (emperor) imitating his lofty Persian court protocol, the word Molk became on itself one of the titles used for ennobled Muslim retainers of the ruling Nizam's court, in fact the third in rank, only below Jah (the highest) and Umara, but above Daula, Jang, Nawab, Khan Bahadur and Khan; for the Nizam's Hindu retainers different titles were used, the equivalent of Molk being Vant.


Other uses

By analogy, the word malik is also used in the weaker meaning of 'chief' in various modest titles, such as, in Persian:

In the Punjab, "Malik" was one of the titles used by local aristocrats, more formally known as Zamindars, under both the Mughals and the British, and to some degree still in present-day Pakistan.

Like many prestigious titles, Malik or Malek is a common element in first and family names, usually without any aristocratic meaning. For example, Awan Malik is a large community in Pakistan with Arab heritage. Malik is used both as title and surname in Pakistan.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! Marik, the Japanese form of Malik, is one of the main villains. This is also another name for Yami Marik, Marik's darker half.

It is also used as a surname.

Sources and external links

See also

References

  1. ^ Gazetteer of the Multan District 1923-24 published by Sang-E-Meel Publications and Page 139
  2. ^ Gazetteer of the Multan District 1923-24 published by Sang-E-Meel Publications and Page 139
  3. ^ Ricklefs, M.C. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300, 2nd Edition. London: MacMillan. pp. 24. ISBN 0-333-57689-6. 
  4. ^ Lutfy, Mohamed Ibrahim. Thaareekhuge therein Lakshadheebu