Mawla

Mawlā (Arabic: مَوْلَى, plural mawālī مَوَالِي), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.^[1]

Before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the term originally applied to any form of tribal association.^[2]

In the Quran and hadiths it is used in a number of senses, including 'Lord', 'guardian', and 'trustee'.^[1]

After Muhammad's death, this institution was adapted by the Umayyad dynasty to incorporate new converts to Islam into Arab-Muslim society and the word mawali gained currency as an appellation for converted non-Arab Muslims in the early Islamic caliphates.