The Al Mualla () family is the ruling royal family of
Umm Al Quwain, one of the seven emirates that together comprise the
United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The family was traditionally at the head of the
Al Ali tribe. The Al Ali (singular, Aliyi), were some 6,750 strong at the turn of the 19th century and were almost all settled either at Umm Al Quwain (1,000 families) or the inland town of Falaj Al Ali (later to be known as
Falaj Al Mualla
Falaj Al Mualla is the inland oasis town of Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, Umm Al Quwain, one of the seven emirates which comprise the United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Originally called Falaj Al Ali, after the Al-Ali (tribe), Al Ali tr ...
). Some 200 settled Al Ali families lived in
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...
and 150 in
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (; ), often referred to its initials RAK, is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu ...
, although there was also a small
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
section of some 140 families who roamed a ''dar'' between
Jazirat Al Hamra and Falaj Al Ali. There was a
Persian group of Al Ali, who referred to the Umm Al Quwain section as 'Al Mualla'. The tribe originated in
Nejd
Najd is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in al-Jawf to the north, ad-Dahna Desert in al-Ahsa to th ...
.
Founding Umm Al Quwain
The first known head of the Al Ali when they settled at Umm Al Quwain was
Sheikh Rashid bin Majid Al Mualla. Sheikh Rashid was responsible for the construction of
Umm Al Quwain Fort in the town in 1768,
today home to Umm Al Quwain museum.
The fort and its watchtower were built after the Al Ali tribe moved from the island of Sinniyah to the mainland after water supplies on the island were exhausted.
Rulers
The successive Al Mualla Rulers of Umm Al Quwain were:
* 1768 – 1820:
Sheikh Rashid bin Majid Al Mualla
* 1820 – 1853:
Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla
* 1853 – 1873:
Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Mualla
* 1873 – 1904:
Sheikh Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mualla (b. 1844 – d. 1904)
* 1904 – 1922:
Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mualla (b. 1876 – d. 1922)
* 1922 – 1923:
Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla II
* 1923 – 1929:
Sheikh Hamad bin Ibrahim Al Mualla
* 1929 – 1981: Sheikh
Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla (b. 1904 – d. 1981)
* 1981 – 2009:
Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mualla II (b. 1932 – d. 2009)
* 2009 – present: Sheikh
Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla (b. 1952)
Deputy rulers
The successive Al Mualla Deputy Rulers of Umm Al Quwain were:
* 20 April 2004 – present: Sheikh
Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla III (b. 1971)
References
{{Rulers of Umm Al Quwain
Middle Eastern royal families
Tribes of the United Arab Emirates
Arab dynasties