On the Concept of “Muwallah”

This article explores the meaning of the word „muwallah‟ that seems to have first appeared in the 7th/13th century Sufi and history texts. However, these texts do not explicitly state which groups of Sufis were meant by this term. Investigation of the dervishes who were designated as muwallah reveals the fact that they were Sufis whose behaviors and conducts deviated from the practices of Islam and orthodox Sufism. The term was commonly used to describe both the Sufis affiliated with Qalandariyya, Ḥaydariyya and Rifāiyya and those majdhūb dervishes who were not affiliated with any of the Sufi orders. It becomes clear from the analysis of the use of the term muwallah that, unlike some scholars who argue for its peculiarity to Qalandariyya, the term is not restricted to a certain order. Rather, it was used in a way to include all types of dervishes who acted and lived in ways contrary to the established doctrines and practices regardless of their affiliation.