( ar, مقدم) is an Arabic title, adopted in other Islamic or Islamicate cultures, for various civil or religious officials.
As per the Persian records of medieval India, muqaddams, along with khots and
chowdhurys, acted as hereditary rural intermediaries between the state and the peasantry. Originating during the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). , the earliest known reference to the muqaddami system dates from the first decades of the 13th century, when
Hasan Nizami wrote of a delegation of muqaddams offering gifts to Sultan
Qutb ud-Din Aibak. Muqaddams were tasked with revenue collection in the areas under their jurisdiction, for which they received either 2.5% as remuneration or rent-free land equalling that amount. The socio-economic status of muqaddams varied over time; during the
revenue reforms of Alauddin Khalji
The Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316) implemented a series of major fiscal, land and agrarian reforms in northern India. He re-designated large areas of land as crown territory by confiscating private properties and by annullin ...
, many were impoverished due to the abolition of their traditional privileges. However, in other periods the muqaddams "were prosperous enough to ride on costly Arabi and Iraqi horses, wear fine clothes, and behave like members of the upper classes". Over time, muqaddams and chowdhurys took on the characteristics of landed gentry in their respective localities, with some even attaining the status of Zamindars during the Mughal period. Muqaddams could be dispossessed of their status by the state.
In the
Tijaniyyah,
Shadhiliyyah,
Rahmaniyyah, and other
Sufi orders
A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth".
...
, a is a student of the Sufi path (a
murid or
dervish) who has been authorized by his/her Guide (''aka''
shaikh,
pir
Pir or PIR may refer to:
Places
* Pir, Kerman, a village in Kerman Province, Iran
* Pir, Satu Mare, commune in Satu Mare County, Romania
Religion
* Pir (Alevism), one of the 12 ranks of Imam in Alevism
* Pir (Sufism), a Sufi teacher or spiritu ...
, or
murshid) to assist in teaching the path to other students.
In the militaries of several
Arab nations, is equivalent to the Anglophone ranks of
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
,
commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
and
wing commander, depending on the service branch.
In
Lebanon, the s were the political leaders of their religious community. The last muqaddams disappeared in the beginning of the 17th Century.
References
{{Authority control
Sufism
Arab culture
Arab military ranks
Bengali words and phrases