Ghulam (, ) is an Arabic word meaning ''servant'', ''assistant'', ''boy'', or ''youth''. It is used to describe young servants in

Jannah In Islam, Jannah (, ''jannāt'', ) is the final and permanent abode of the righteous. According to one count, the word appears 147 times in the Qur'an. Belief in the afterlife is one of the Iman (Islam)#The Six Articles of Faith, six article ...

. It is also used to refer to slave-soldiers in the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

, Ottoman,

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

and to a lesser extent, Mughal empires, though more commonly with the word ''

Ghilman Ghilman (singular ',Other standardized transliterations: '' / ''. . plural ')Other standardized transliterations: '' / ''. . were slave-soldiers and/or mercenaries in armies throughout the Islamic world. Islamic states from the early 9th cent ...

'', which is the plural form of ''ghulam''. It is traditionally used as the first element of compounded Muslim male given names, meaning ''servant of ...'', mostly in Persian (where it is pronounced ) and in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. In both Persian and Urdu, the particle ''

al- (, also romanized as ''el-'', ''il-'', and ''l-'' as pronounced in some varieties of Arabic), is the definite article in the Arabic language: a particle (''ḥarf'') whose function is to render the noun on which it is prefixed definite. For ex ...

'' is not used with ''ghulam'' (unlike compounds formed with '' ʿabd''; e.g. ''Gholammohammad'', ''Gholamhoseyn'', ''Gholamali''... and ''Abd al-Muhammad'', ''Abd al-Husayn'', ''Abd al-Ali''...). Since the 20th century, ''Ghulam'' has also been used as an independent given name and surname.

People with the given name (not in compound)

* Mohammad Golam Shahi Alam (born 1952), Bangladeshi academic and surgeon * Golam Ambia (born 1966), Bangladeshi sprinter *

Ghulam Bombaywala Ghulam Mohammed "Bombay" Bombaywala is a Pakistani-American restaurateur in Houston.Golam Mabud Chowdhury (born 1984), Bangladeshi cricketer * Golam Wahed Choudhury (1926–1997), Bangladeshi diplomat and political scientist * Golam Habib Dulal (born 1943), Bangladeshi politician * Mirza Ghulam Hafiz (1920–2000), Bangladeshi statesman and philanthropist * Golam Hasnayen (1929–2021), Bangladeshi lawyer and activist * Golam Kabir (born 1988), Bangladeshi cricketer * Golam Kabir (academic), vice-chancellor of Sheikh Hasina University * Golam Helal Morshed Khan (born 1948), Bangladeshi major general * R. A. M. Golam Muktadir (died 2020), former Director General of Bangladesh Rifles * Ghulam Murshid (1940-2024), Bangladeshi author, scholar and journalist *

A. F. Golam Osmani A. F. Golam Osmani (1 April 1933 – 31 March 2009) was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Barpeta (Lok Sabha constituency), Barpeta constituency of Assam and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political ...

(1933–2009), Indo-Bengali politician * Mia Golam Parwar (born 1959), Bangladeshi politician * Arbab Ghulam Rahim (born 1957), Pakistani politician * Ghulam Raziq (1932-1989), Pakistani hurdler * Golam Shabbir Sattar (born 1962), Bangladeshi vice-chancellor of the University of Rajshahi * Ghulam Arieff Tipoo (1931–2024), Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal * Golam Sabur Tulu (1953–2013), Bangladeshi politician * Ghulam Yazdani (1885–1962), Hyderabadi archaeologist * Golam Yazdani (1917–2009), former cabinet minister of West Bengal

People with the surname

* Nabil Gholam (born 1962), Lebanese architect * Jassim Ghulam Al-Hamd (born 1979), Iraqi footballer *

Ali Gholam Ali Gholam (; born 4 August 1981) is an Iranian Association football, footballer. Club career In July 2011, Gholam joined Rah Ahan Tehran F.C., Rah Ahan. References External linksProfile at Persianleague.com
1981 births Living people Pa ...

(born 1981), Iranian footballer * Saleem Golam, Mauritian jockey

List of compounded given names with first part ''Ghulam''

* Ghulam Abbas * Ghulam Ahmad, also Ghulam Ahmed * Ghulam Akbar * Ghulam Ali * Ghulam Azam (1922–2014), Bangladeshi politician * Ghulam Dastagir * Ghulam Farid * Ghulam Faruq * Ghulam Ghawth * Ghulam Hassan * Ghulam Haider * Ghulam Hussain also Gholam Hossein etc. *Ghulam Ishaq, notably borne by ** Ghulam Ishaq Khan (1915–2006), President of Pakistan * Ghulam Jilani * Ghulam Kibria *Ghulam Mansur, notably borne by ** Ghulam Mansoor (1812-??), Subedar-Major at Bhopal State in 1867 * Ghulam Mohammad, also Ghulam Mohammed, Ghulam Muhammad etc., notably borne by ** Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt (1878–1960), Pakistani wrestler known as "The Great Gama" *Ghulam Masih, notably borne by ** Golam Moshi, Bangladeshi diplomat * Ghulam Mawla * Ghulam Mohiuddin, also other spellings * Ghulam Murtaza * Ghulam Murshid * Ghulam Mustafa * Ghulam Nabi, notably borne by ** Ghulam Nabi Azad (born 1949) Indian politician * Ghulam Qadir * Ghulam Rabbani * Ghulam Rahman * Ghulam Rasul, also Ghulam Rasool * Gholam Reza, notably borne by ** Gholam Reza Pahlavi * Ghulam Samdani * Ghulam Sadiq * Ghulam Sarwar

References

{{given name, type=both Arabic-language masculine given names Masculine given names Arabic-language surnames

People with the given name (not in compound)

People with the surname

List of compounded given names with first part ''Ghulam''

See also

References