مَوالِيَ

[Ali Smith]

مرحبًا

In the ayah of the Qur'an that says ولكل جعلنا موالي مما ترك الوالدان والأقربون what does مواليَ mean? Some commentators have said it means "heirs", but is there a dictionary that lists مَوْلى as meaning "heir"? Here are the meanings I have found in various dictionaries:

1. lord, chief
2. son of a paternal uncle
3. freedman
4. slave
5. one who frees a slave
6. neighbor
7. follower
8. friend

By the way, here is the rest of the ayah:

وَلِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مَوَالِيَ مِمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ عَقَدَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ فَآتُوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدًا

By the way, I am, of course, assuming that موالِي is the plural of مَوْلَى

شكرًا جزيلاً

 

[djara]

but is there a dictionary that lists مَوْلى as meaning "heir"?

I think that this meaning is derived from the status of the freedman.
"And A freedman; (S, Msb, K: ) so called because he is in the condition of the son of a paternal uncle; being one [under the patronage of his emancipator, i. e.,] whom the emancipator is bound to aid, and whose property he inherits if he dies having no [natural or other legal] heir." (Lane's Lexicon based on Taj el Arus)

Original Arabic in Taj al Arus:
(والمُعْتَقُ) ، كمُكْرَمٍ، لأنَّه ينزلُ مَنْزلةَ ابْن العَمِّ يَجبُ عليكَ أَن تَنْصرَهُ وأَنْ تَرِثَه إنْ ماتَ وَلَا وارِثَ لَهُ؛ وَمِنْه حديثُ الزكاةِ: (مَوْلَى القَوْمِ مِنْهُم) .