Malik

For other uses, see Malik (disambiguation).
"Mulk" redirects here. For the villages in Iran, see Mulk, Iran.

Malik, Melik, Malka, or Melekh (Arabic: ملك‎; Hebrew: מֶלֶךְ‎) is originally an East Semitic (Akkadian/Assyrian/Babylonian, Eblaite) and later a Northwest Semitic (e.g. Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Syriac, Amorite, Canaanite, Hebrew) and Central Semitic (Arabic) word meaning "king". The general meaning of "Malik" is leader and ruler.

Although the early forms of the name were to be found among the Pre-Arab and Pre-Islamic Semites of The Levant, Canaan, and Mesopotamia, it has since been adopted in various other, mainly but not exclusively Islamized or Arabized non-Semitic Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere. It is also sometimes used in derived meanings. 'Al-Malik' (literally "The King") is one of the names of God in Islam.

The female version of Malik is Malikah (Arabic: ملكة‎) (or its various spellings such as Malekeh or Melike), meaning "queen".

The name Malik was originally found among various pre-Arab and non-Muslim Semitic peoples such as the indigenous ethnic Assyrians of Iraq, Amorites, Jews, Arameans, Mandeans, Syriacs, Nabateans and pre-Islamic Arabs. It has since been spread among various predominantly Muslim and non-Semitic peoples in Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia.

The last name "Malik" may also of Slavic origin, most predominantly Polish, Czech, Slovakian and Slovenian, as it comes from a Polish word "mały" meaning "small". It's comparable with surnames such as "Malicki", "Maliczek", or "Malikowski".[1]

Malik is also used as a surname by communities following Hinduism living in India.

Etymology

Further information: Moloch

The earliest form of the name Malka was used to denote a prince or chieftain in the East Semitic Akkadian language of the Mesopotamian states of Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia and Chaldea.[2] The Northwest Semitic mlk was the title of the rulers of the primarily Amorite, Sutean, Canaanite, Phoenician and Aramean city-states of the Levant and Canaan from the Late Bronze Age. Eventual derivatives include the Aramaic, Neo-Assyrian, Mandic and Arabic forms: Malik, Malek, Mallick, Malkha, Malka, Malkai and the Hebrew form Melek.

Moloch has been traditionally interpreted the epithet of a god, known as "the king" like Baal was an epithet "the master" and Adon an epithet "the lord", but in the case of Moloch purposely mispronounced as Molek instead of Melek using the vowels of Hebrew bosheth "shame".[3]

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.

Some Arab kingdoms are presently ruled by a Malik:

Other historic realms under a Malik include:

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.

Usage in South Asia

Pashtun usage

The Arabic term came to be adopted as a term for "tribal chieftain" in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan, especially among Pashtuns, for a tribal leader or a chieftain. In tribal Pashtun society the 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. Malik is a common surname among every Pashtun family leader to solve the problem at the time of conflict with another family. (Qais) is a Hebrew name and Qais Abdur Rashid was a father of whole Pashtuns. Qais wife name was (SARA) and she was a Khalid bin Walid daughter and Malik name given to Qais by Muhammad. [reference?]

Punjabi usage

In the Punjab, "Malik", literally meaning "King" 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. Many such Rajput families and clans received the title of Malik from the Mughal Kings after they converted to Islam from Hinduism. The title is given for large amount of ownership of land(landlords). Implying it's alternative meaning of "Chieftain", The Malik clan is also associated with different aspects throughout different generations and periods of history, some believe they originated as a clan of warriors while others believe they were cotton weavers by trade or wealthy landlords.

General Usage

Malik or Malek is a common element in first and family names, usually without any aristocratic meaning, However Malik is a large community and a well known clan of the Awan tribe in Pakistan with Arab heritage.

Some Maliks (Urdu: ملک) are also a clan of Hindu Jatt, Muslim Jatt and a few Sikh Jatt, found primarily in Haryana and Pakistan and parts of Punjab (There also exist Hindu Punjabi Maliks that are part of the Khukhrain or Arora communities but they are entirely different from jats). The Muslim Malik Jat community is settled all over Pakistan and the Sikh, mainly in the Punjab province. The Malik are also known as the Ghatwala. They are descended from Mann Jats. The Gathwala are now designating themselves as Maliks, which is a title.

List of notable Maliks

Other uses

Malik is also an unrelated Greenlandic Inuit name meaning "wave."[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://baby-names.familyeducation.com/name-meaning/malik
  2. ↑ F.Leo Oppenheim - Ancient Mesopotamia
  3. ↑ "Molech". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  4. ↑ "Malik Riaz can help lift Pakistan sports: Saeed Hai", The News International, Karachi, 15 February 2015. Retrieved on 26 February 2015.
  5. ↑ http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Special:Search?search=Malik&fulltext=Search
  6. ↑ Ricklefs, M.C. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300, 2nd Edition. London: MacMillan. p. 24. ISBN 0-333-57689-6.
  7. ↑ Lutfy, Mohamed Ibrahim. Thaareekhuge therein Lakshadheebu
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