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 ...
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
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
(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.
Mirza Ghulam Hafiz
Mirza Ghulam Hafiz (2 January 192020 December 2000) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, statesman, politician, and philanthropist.
Early life and education
Hafiz was born to Mirza Azimuddin Sarkar on 2 January 1920 in Panchagarh District, East Bengal ...
(1920–2000), Bangladeshi statesman and philanthropist
*
Golam Hasnayen
Golam Hasnayen (1929/30 – 4 December 2021) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, veteran of the Bangladesh Liberation war, and recipient of the Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh.
Life and career
Hasnayen was arrested during the ...
(1929–2021), Bangladeshi lawyer and activist
* Golam Kabir (born 1988), Bangladeshi cricketer
*
Golam Kabir (academic)
Golam Kabir is a Bangladeshi academic and a former vice-chancellor of Netrokona University. He is a former dean of Life and Earth Science Faculty at the University of Rajshahi.
Early life
Kabir did his bachelor's degree and masters at the Univer ...
, vice-chancellor of
Sheikh Hasina University
Netrokona University is a public university in Netrokona, Bangladesh. On 30 January 2017, a cabinet meeting chaired by Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina agreed in principle to the acts for the Netrokona University in Netrokona District. The in ...
R. A. M. Golam Muktadir
Ruhul Amin Mohammad Golam Muktadir (died 27 November 2020) was a two star rank Bangladesh Army officer and former Director General of Bangladesh Rifles.
Career
During the dictatorship of General Hussain Muhammad Ershad, he was the Chief Martial ...
(died 2020), former Director General of
Bangladesh Rifles
Border Guard Bangladesh (abbr. BGB; ) is a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the border of Bangladesh with India and Myanmar. It was formerly known as th ...
*
Ghulam Murshid
Ghulam Murshid (8 April 1940 – 22 August 2024) was a Bangladeshi author, scholar and journalist based in London. He won a number of awards, including the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1982 for his contribution to research; the Prothom Al ...
(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
Mia Golam Parwar is a politician of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and a former MP from Khulna-5. He was elected as secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami in the 2020-2022 session.
Career
Parwar was elected to parliament from Khulna-5 constituency as ...
(born 1959), Bangladeshi politician
*
Arbab Ghulam Rahim
Arbab Ghulam Rahim (; born 1 January 1957) is a senior Pakistani politician who served as the Chief Minister of the Government of Sindh from 2004 until 2007.
After that he also served as a special minister to Imran Khan on matters of Sindh fro ...
(born 1957), Pakistani politician
*
Ghulam Raziq
Ghulam Raziq (11 November 1932 – 24 June 1989)Mention of Ghulam Raziq's ...
(1932-1989), Pakistani hurdler
*
Golam Shabbir Sattar
Golam Shabbir Sattar (born 1962) is a Bangladeshi academic. He is a former vice-chancellor of the University of Rajshahi served during 2021–2024.
Early life and education
Golam Shabbir Sattar was born on 31 December 1962 to Sufia Khatun and G ...
(born 1962), Bangladeshi vice-chancellor of the
University of Rajshahi
The University of Rajshahi (), also known as Rajshahi University (RU), is a public research university located in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and third largest university in Bangladesh. The university's 59 departments are or ...
*
Ghulam Arieff Tipoo
Ghulam Arieff Tipoo (; 28 August 1931 – 15 March 2024) was a Bangladeshi jurist, independence activist, and language movement activist. He was the Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic war crimes tribunal in Bangla ...
(1931–2024), Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal
*
Golam Sabur Tulu
Golam Sabur Tulu was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and former Member of Parliament from Barguna-2.
Career
Tulu was elected to parliament from Barguna-2 as a Bangladesh Awami League candidate in 2008.
Death
Tulu was killed on 27 July 201 ...
(1953–2013), Bangladeshi politician
*
Ghulam Yazdani
Ghulam Yazdani, OBE (22 March 1885 – 13 November 1962) was an Indian archaeologist who was one of the founders of the Archaeological Department during the colonial era reign of Nizam of Hyderabad. He also edited the Arabic and Persian Supple ...
(1885–1962), Hyderabadi archaeologist
*
Golam Yazdani
Dr. Golam Yazdani (1917–2009) was a controversial Indian politician from West Bengal. He was a six-time MLA, a three-time MP and a cabinet minister in the Indian National Congress government of West Bengal. He was in jail for political reaso ...
(1917–2009), former cabinet minister of West Bengal
People with the surname
*
Nabil Gholam
Nabil Gholam (born 1962 in Beirut, ) is a French-Lebanese architect, urban planner and the founder of Nabil Gholam Architects (ngª). In 2010, ''Monocle'' magazine has called Gholam a "leading" architect in Lebanon. In ''Modern Architecture: A Cr ...
(born 1962), Lebanese architect
*
Jassim Ghulam Al-Hamd
Jassim Mohammed Ghulam Al Hamd (; born March 11, 1979, in Baghdad, Iraq) is an Iraqi former professional footballer who last played for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in Iraq.
Information
A tall defender, Ghulam was a member of the victorious squad in th ...
(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
Saleem Golam (born Mauritius) is a former flat racing jockey, who was joint British flat racing Champion Apprentice in 2005 along with Hayley Turner. They won 44 races each.
His biggest race victories were the 2007 Epsom Dash and 2008 Portla ...
, Mauritian jockey
List of compounded given names with first part ''Ghulam''
Ghulam Azam
Ghulam Azam (7 November 192223 October 2014) was Bangladeshi politician and writer who served as Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
He was vocal in gaining support for Operation Searchlight, a crackdown o ...
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan (20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), commonly known by his initials GIK, was a Pakistani bureaucrat, politician and statesman who served as the seventh President of Pakistan from 1988 to 1993. He previously served as Chairm ...
Ghulam Mansoor
Ghulam Mansoor (b. 1227 AH / c. AD 1812) was Subedar-Major in 1867 at Bhopal State.
Biography
Ghulam Mansoor was a scholar of repute in both Arabic and Persian. He was a member of the Maratha empire, Maratha army during rule of Maharaja Senasah ...
Ghulam Murshid
Ghulam Murshid (8 April 1940 – 22 August 2024) was a Bangladeshi author, scholar and journalist based in London. He won a number of awards, including the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1982 for his contribution to research; the Prothom Al ...
Ghulam Nabi Azad
Ghulam Nabi Azad (born 7 March 1949) is an Indian politician who served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha between 2014 and 2021. He also served as the Chief Minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008. On 26 Septemb ...
Ghulam Rabbani
Sheikh Ghulam Rabbani (31 December 1936 – 10 December 2010), was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a right winger. Rabbani represented the Pakistan national football team from 1954 until the 1960s, captaining the team in 1961 ...
Gholam Reza Pahlavi
Gholam Reza Pahlavi (; 15 May 1923 – 7 May 2017) was an Iranian prince and a member of the Pahlavi dynasty, as the son of Reza Shah and half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.
Following the death of his half-sister Ashraf ...
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 ...
, young servants in paradise or slave-soldiers in the Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid and to a lesser extent, Mughal empires
* Ghulam Khan, town in North Waziristan, Pakistan
* Bauria Golam Khalek Academy, secondary school in Sandwip, Bangladesh
*
Abd (Arabic)
ʿAbd () is an Arabic language, Arabic word meaning one who is subordinated as a slave or a servant, and it means also to worship. The word can also be transliterated into English as 'Abd, where the apostrophe indicates the ayin, denoting a voic ...
*
Qul (Turkic) Qul (; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a word of Turkic languages, Turkic origin meaning 'slave'.
Uses of the word
In Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Iran and South Asia
In Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Iran and South Asia, the word ''qul'' has been used as the second part ...