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]
The word mullah is derived from the Persian word mullā (Persian: ملا), itself being borrowed from Arabic word mawlā (Arabic: مَوْلَى), meaning "master" and "guardian", with mutation of the initial short vowels.[1]
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]
InIran,[12] until the early 20th century, the term mullah was used in Iranian seminaries to refer to low-level clergy who specialized in telling stories of Ashura, rather than teaching or issuing fatwas. However, in recent years, among Shia clerics, the term ruhani (spiritual) has been promoted as an alternative to mullah and akhoond, free of pejorative connotations.[13]
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 madrasah. Three kinds of knowledge are applied most frequently in interpreting Islamic texts (i.e. the Quran, hadiths, etc.) for matters of Sharia, i.e., Islamic law.
Mullahs have frequently been involved in politics, but only recently have they served in positions of power, since Shia Islamistsseized power in Iran in 1979.
The dress of a Mullah usually consists of a turban (Persian: عمامهammāme), a long coat with sleeves and buttons, similar to a cassock (قباqabā), and a long gown or cloak, open at the front (عباabā). 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. In Shiism, the turban is usually white, but those who claim descent from Muhammad traditionally wear a black turban.[14] Sunni Mullahs generally wear neutral colored turbans, with some sufis choosing green as preferred color.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from Chinese and Japanese repository of facts and events in science, history and art, relating to Eastern Asia, Volume 1, a publication from 1863, now in the public domain in the United States.
This article incorporates text from Chinese and Japanese repository of facts and events in science, history and art, relating to Eastern Asia, Volume 1, a publication from 1863, now in the public domain in the United States.
