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The mawali (clients)

الموالي

In al-Baladhuri's Ayn al-Tamr captives, the model of the mawali: captives freed by their patrons whose clientage then attached to them — as Humran ibn Aban, al-Musayyib ibn Najaba's man whom Uthman bought and freed to become Uthman's mawla; Sirin and his brothers, mawali of Anas ibn Malik (may God be pleased with him); Yasar, grandfather of Muhammad ibn Ishaq, mawla of Qays ibn Makhrama ibn al-Muttalib; Nusayr, Musa ibn Nusayr's father, mawla of the Umayyads; and Abu Farwa, grandfather of al-Rabi' ibn Yunus al-Mansur's minister — bought by Na'im al-Asadi then by Uthman for grave-digging.

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Overview

The mawali (clients) in al-Baladhuri, in the account of the captives taken at 'Ayn al-Tamr, are captives whose masters freed them, so that their clientage (wala') passed to them. The account is connected with the siege of 'Ayn al-Tamr. ¹

Among the examples are Humran ibn Aban, who belonged to al-Musayyib ibn Najaba, was bought by Uthman and freed, and so became his client. Sirin and his brothers were clients of Anas ibn Malik. Yasar, the grandfather of Muhammad ibn Ishaq, was a client of Qays ibn Makhrama. ¹

Nusayr, the father of Musa ibn Nusayr, was a client of the Umayyads. ¹

Connections

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Based on: The Siege of Ayn al-Tamr and Its Church Captives
Related to: Al-hajna — the stigma of mixed lineage
Basis for: The Siege of Ayn al-Tamr and Its Church Captives

People and things also explored

Hujna (hybridness, in the fiqh sense: spoils shares and speech)· Abu Farwa Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Aswad· هلال بن عقة النمري· حمران بن أبان التمري· Khalid ibn Abdallah al-Qasri· Khalid ibn al-Walid· مرة أبو عبيد· نصير أبو موسى بن نصير

Sources

Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The mawali (clients)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/mawali/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Hujna (hybridness, in the fiqh sense: spoils shares and speech)

Hujna is defect and ugliness in the lexical sense; the hajin among horses is the foal of a non-Arab mare by a stallion, and among people the one born of an Arab father and a non-Arab mother. Good speech avoids naming disgusting defects directly and uses euphemism. On the share of a hybrid horse in the spoils, the Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is give it the same share as an Arab horse; the Hanbalis distinguish: an Arab horse (ateeq) earns its rider three shares, while a hajin, a muqraf and a birdhawn earn two shares, one for the rider and one for the horse. The Hanbali position relies on a report from Khalid ibn Ma'dan, transmitted as mursal in Abu Dawud's Marasil.