Malik

Malik, Melik, Malka, Malek, Malick, or Melekh (Phoenician: 𐤌𐤋𐤊; Arabic: ملك‎; Hebrew: מֶלֶךְ‬) is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and later Northwest Semitic (e.g. Aramaic, Canaanite, Hebrew) and Arabic.

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.

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, 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. Malik is also an angel in the Quran that never smiled since the day the hellfire was created.

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

The last name 'Malik' also refers to 'Sindhi's' or people belonging from the Punjab region in north India.

Etymology

The earliest form of the name Maloka 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]

Malik is also an unrelated Greenlandic Inuit name meaning "wave."[4]

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.

  • In Armenia, the title of Melik was bestowed upon princes who ruled various principalities, often referred to as Melikdoms.
  • In Georgia, among the numerous Grandees, often related to Armenia:

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.

  • In Pakistan Tanoli head of Village are called Malik in Villages

Divine

  • The sacrament of Holy Leaven in the Assyrian Church of the East[5]
  • It is also one of the Names of God in the Qur'an, and is then al-Malik (الملك) or The King, Lord of the Worlds in the absolute sense (denoted by the definite article), meaning the King of Kings, above all earthly rulers.
    • Hence, Abdelmelik ("servant of [Allah] the King ") is an Arabic male name.
  • In Biblical Hebrew, Moloch is either the name of a god or the name of a particular kind of sacrifice associated historically with Phoenician and related cultures in North Africa and the Levant.
  • Melqart ("king of the city") was a Phoenician and Punic god.
  • The Melkites (from Syriac malkāyâ, ܡܠܟܝܐ, "imperial") are the members of several Christian churches of the Middle East, originally those who sided with the Byzantine emperor.

Compound and derived titles

  • Malika is the female derivation, a term of Arabic origin used in Persia as the title for a Queen consort. Frequently also used as part of a lady's name, e.g. Malika-i-Jahan 'Queen of the World'.
  • Sahib us-Sumuw al-Malik (female Sahibat us-Sumuw al-Malik) is an Arabic title for His/Her Royal Highness, notably for Princes in the dynasty of the Malik of Egypt.

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

  • - ul-Mulk (or ul-Molk): - of the kingdom; e.g. Malik Usman Khan, who served the Sultan of Gujarat as Governor of Lahore, received the title of Zubdat ul-Mulk 'best of the kingdom' as a hereditary distinction, which was retained as part of the style of his heirs, the ruling Diwans (only since 1910 promoted to Nawab) of Palanpur.
  • - ul-Mamaluk (plural of ul-mulk): - of the kingdoms.

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.

Punjabi usage

In the Punjab, "Malik", literally meaning "King" is a title used by some well-reputed specific Punjabi aristocrat families with special lineage, more formally known as Zamindars. The Malik clan is also associated with different aspects throughout different generations and periods of history, It is believed that they originated as a clan of warriors who later on settled as wealthy landlords. The Malik clan holds significant historical importance & are considered as royalty among the Punjabi caste system. They are well known for their way of life as well as their martial traditions and customs. In the Hierarchy of Malik Clan the Malik-Awan or Awan tribe ranks supreme due to their tribal status.The Awan-Malik tribe resides predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Pakistani Punjab. As per historical interpretations the Awan tribe traces its bloodline to a well know Arab Conqueror Sayyed Qutb Shah ibn Ya‘lā, al-Gilani, Who is also a recognised descendant of the fourth caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib.

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 Rajput Sikh Rajput and Muslim Rajput, Hindu Jaat, 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. Due to popularity of the Malik title many low-tier Punjabi sub-casts such as Gujarati Punjabis, Teli Punjabis and many others have adapted the title to gain acceptance in the Punjabi caste system.

List of notable Maliks

See also

  • The name of the Maluku islands (Indonesia) is thought to have been derived from the Arab trader's term for the region, Jazirat al-Muluk ('the land of many kings').[8]
  • The local name of the Minicoy (India), Maliku is also thought to have been derived from the Arab trader's term for the island, Jazirat al-Maliku ('the island of the king'). Since it was the ancient capital of Lakshadweepa.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Meaning and Origin of Malik - FamilyEducation". baby-names.familyeducation.com.
  2. ↑ F.Leo Oppenheim - Ancient Mesopotamia
  3. ↑ "Molech". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  4. ↑ "Search results for "Malik" - Nordic Names Wiki - Name Origin, Meaning and Statistics". www.nordicnames.de.
  5. ↑ Bowker, John (2003). "Malka or Malca". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191727221. Retrieved 30 July 2016 – via Oxford Reference.
  6. ↑ "Malik Riaz can help lift Pakistan sports: Saeed Hai", The News International, Karachi, 15 February 2015. Retrieved on 26 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Leaders & Heroes". My Site.
  8. ↑ Ricklefs, M.C. (1991). A History of Modern Indonesia Since c.1300, 2nd Edition. London: MacMillan. p. 24. ISBN 0-333-57689-6.
  9. ↑ Lutfy, Mohamed Ibrahim. Thaareekhuge therein Lakshadheebu
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