↑ The word mawla has many meanings as discussed in the book "Patronate And Patronage in Early And Classical Islam" By Monique Bernards, John Nawas on page 25: "[M]awla may refer to a client, a patron, an agnate (brother, son, father's brother, father' brothers son), an affined kinsman, (brother-in-law, son-in-law), a friend, a supporter, a follower, a drinking companion, a partner, a newly-converted Muslim attached to a Muslim and last but not least an ally. Most of these categories have legal implications. In Islamic times, the term malawa mostly referred to Muslim freedmen and freed non-Arabs who attached themselves to Arabs upon their conversion to Islam. In these senses, Mawla is commonly translated as "a client". The association of malwa with non-arabs and a low status imparted an increasingly pejorative connotation to it.[19]
