Mullah

Mullah (

The title has also been used in some Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish communities in reference to the community's leadership, especially its religious leadership.^[2]

Etymology

The word mullah is derived from the

The term has also been used among

In Afghanistan and Pakistan the title is given to graduates of a madrasa or Islamic school, who are then able to become a mosque leader, a teacher at a religious school, a local judge in a village or town, or to perform religious rituals. A person who is still a student at a madrasa and yet to graduate is a talib. The Afghan Taliban was formed in 1994 by men who had graduated from, or at least attended, madrasas. They called themselves taliban, the plural of talib, or "students". Many of the leaders of the Taliban were titled Mullah, although not all had completed their madrasa education.^[5] Someone who goes on to complete postgraduate religious education receives the higher title of Mawlawi.^[6]

Mullah and its variation mulla have also degenerated into a derogatory term by Islamophobes, for a Muslim priest that connotes a semiliterate, backward, often bigoted village imam.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

In

• Classical Arabic
  • Nahw (syntax)
  • Sarf (word morphology)
  • Balaaghah (rhetoric)
  • Shi'r (poetry)
  • Adab (literature)
• Tarikh (history)
• Islamic law (fiqh)
  • Rulings pertaining to their school of jurisprudence and the rulings of other schools of jurisprudence
  • The principles of jurisprudence pertaining to their school of jurisprudence and the principles of other schools of jurisprudence
  • The evidences of their school of thought for principles and rulings, the evidences of others, how they differ and why
• Islamic traditions (hadith)
  • Exegesis
  • The principles of exegesis
• Aqidah (Islamic creed)
• Mantiq (logic)
• Ilm-ul-Kalaam (philosophy)
• (Quran)
  • The meanings of the Quran
  • Exegesis
  • the principles and rules of Quranic exegesis
• Tasawwuf
  (Sufism)

Some mullahs will specialise in certain fields after completing the above foundational studies. Common specialties are:

• Iftah – after which they qualify as a mufti and can issue a fatwa (legal ruling)
• Takhasus fil Hadith – specialisation in hadith studies
• Takhasus fil Aqidah – specialisation in aqidah studies

Such figures often have memorized the Quran and historically would memorise all the books they studied. However in the modern era they instead memorise the founding books of each field (sometimes in the form of poetry to aid memorisation).

Uneducated villagers may frequently classify a literate Muslim with a less than complete Islamic training as their "mullah" or religious cleric. Mullahs with varying levels of training lead prayers in mosques, deliver religious sermons, and perform religious ceremonies such as birth rites and funeral services. They also often teach in a type of Islamic school known as a

Mullahs have frequently been involved in politics, but only recently have they served in positions of power, since Shia Islamists seized power in Iran in 1979.

Dress

The dress of a Mullah usually consists of a turban (Persian: عمامه ammāme), a long coat with sleeves and buttons, similar to a cassock (قبا qabā), and a long gown or cloak, open at the front (عبا abā). The aba is usually made either of brown wool or of black muslin. It is sleeveless but has holes through which the arms may be inserted. The turban is usually white, but those who claim descent from Muhammad traditionally wear a black turban.^[15]

See also

• Allamah
• Marja'
• Maulana
• Maulvi
• Ulema
• Seghatoleslam

References