1985); Joseph Schacht, An Introduction to Islamic Law
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1964); Linda Walbridge, The Most
Learned of the Shi’a (London: Oxford University Press,
2001).
mullah (molla)
A mullah is a title for a Muslim religious author-
ity, a member of the Ulama. It is based on the
Arabic mawla, which can mean “master,” “slave,”
or “client.” In early Islamic history a mawla often
referred to a non-Arab Muslim who had become
a client of an Arab tribe or had been a slave and
was manumitted (freed). It later gained wide and
varied usage in Muslim lands. It is, for example,
the basis for the Turkish epithet for Jalal al-din
rUmi, Mevlana (our master), and for the South
Asian title for religious leaders and Sufis, maw-
lawi (my master). In iran and other eastern lands
in the Muslim world it especially became a title
of respect for religious authorities, or Muslim
clerics, qualified to teach, preach, and officiate
at rituals, as well as interpret Islamic law. Such
individuals usually would wear distinctive cloaks
and turbans as signs of their status. In Safavid
Iran (16th and 17th centuries) the most respected
religious office that one of the ulama could
occupy was that of mullabashi (chief mullah). A
female mullah would be called a mullabaji (sister-
mullah). During the colonial period the prestige
associated with the title began to decrease. The
British, for example, coined the derogatory name
“mad mullah” to insult Muslim leaders who took
up arms against them in india and east aFrica in
the 19th century. But the title has also lost respect
among many contemporary Muslims themselves,
who make mullahs the butts of their jokes and
apply the title to shady characters and religious
fanatics.
See also aUthority; mevlevi sUFi order; saFa-
vid dynasty.
Further reading: Said. A. Arjomand, “The Office of
Mulla Bashi in Shiite Iran,” Studia Iranica 57 (1983):
135–146; Patricia Crone, Slaves on Horses: The Evolution
of the Islamic Polity (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1980).Mullah Sadra (1571–1640) Iranian
philosopher, theologian, and mystic who became
the leading teacher of what is known as the
School of Isfahan
Born in Shiraz, iran, during the saFavid dynasty
and educated in the imperial capital of Isfahan,
Mullah Sadra is perhaps the most influential
philosopher/theologian in shiism. His genius lay
in his ability to synthesize the philosophy of
Aristotle and abU ali al-hUsayn ibn sina (Avi-
cenna) with the theological principles of Shiism
and the metaphysics of sUFism. The result was
a profoundly influential theory that all living
beings share in the essence of Being, though in
different degrees. Therefore, although humanity
boasts the highest degree of Being, we are all
connected to the rest of creation at the core of
our existence. Mullah Sadra’s metaphysics were
most clearly expounded in his monumental
work, The Four Journeys, in which he divided
the spiritual path into a fixed number of degrees
or stages, which ultimately lead to enlighten-
ment and sainthood.
For his unorthodox views, Mullah Sadra was
condemned as a heretic by the leading Ulama of
his time. However, his school of theosophical Shi-
ism and his ability to unite disparate philosophies
into a single metaphysical theory proved so popu-
lar, particularly among the akhbari school, that
his theories ultimately formed the foundation of
Shii theology.Reza AslanFurther reading: F. E. Peters, Aristotle and the Arabs
(New York: New York University Press, 1968); Roy
Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Learning and
Power in Modern Iran (New York: Simon and Schuster,
1985); Mullah Sadra, The Metaphysics of Mullah Sadra
(Texas: Global Publications Associations, 1992).Mullah Sadra 501 J