Melaka Is the Promised Land

Part 3: The Children of Israel Restored from Slavery to Sovereignty

Indeed, the word mulūkan sounds close to malik, malak, mulk, Melaka and Maluku. Yet we cannot hastily conclude any connection. Every name, city, and term must stand upon solid linguistic and theological foundations. This word must first be studied in detail through its root, pattern, context, and comparative evidence before being linked to Melaka. We cannot claim lightly that Melaka is the promised land of the Children of Israel. You must first follow me in examining the word mulūkan in Al-Mā’idah 5:20 and understand its precise meaning.

Let us revisit the verse in QS Al-Mā’idah 5:20:

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَـٰقَوْمِ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَةَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ جَعَلَ فِيكُمْ أَنۢبِيَآءَ وَجَعَلَكُم مُّلُوكًۭا وَءَاتَىٰكُم مَّا لَمْ يُؤْتِ أَحَدًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

And [mention] when Moses said to his people, “O my people, remember the favor of Allah upon you when He appointed among you prophets, and made you mulūkan (sovereign ones), and granted you what He had not granted to any among the worlds.”

(Al-Mā’idah 5:20)

Root and Morphology

Now let us isolate the phrase وَجَعَلَكُم مُّلُوكًا translated as “and made you mulūkan.”
It comes from the statement of Prophet Musa to the Children of Israel as a reminder that Allah had elevated their rank after freeing them from Pharaoh’s enslavement.

The triliteral root م ل ك (mīm–lām–kāf) forms an entire family of words centered on power, dominion, and sovereignty.

Malik (مَلِك) means king or ruler, while its plural mulūk (مُلُوك) follows the pattern fuʿūl (فُعُول), a pattern commonly used in the Qur’an for plurals of noble or powerful attributes.
Example: rasūl (رَسُول) → rusul (رُسُل).

Hence, mulūk means “kings” or “those endowed with authority.”

Grammatical Position in the Verse

In this verse, the word مُّلُوكًا (mulūkan) carries a double fatḥah (ــًـ) at the end, a sign that it is in the mansūb state, functioning as an object (mafʿūl bihi) in the sentence.

In simpler terms, when Allah says “He made you mulūkan,” the verb jaʿala (“made”) requires two objects:

1. “You” (كُم) – the recipient of the action (first object)

2. “Mulūkan” (مُلُوكًا) – the new state or status bestowed (second object)

Thus, the meaning is:

Allah transformed your condition from being enslaved to becoming a sovereign nation.

Meaning and Implication

This carries a profound meaning. The word mulūkan in QS Al-Mā’idah 5:20 does not simply refer to “kings” or “possessors of wealth.” It represents a great transformation in the status of the Children of Israel—from a nation of slaves under oppression to an independent people capable of ruling themselves.
Mulūkan stands between the meanings of authority, sovereignty, and political freedom—a divine gift granted to them after liberation from Pharaoh and Egypt.

In practical terms, mulūkan encompasses five major meanings:

1. Liberation from Egyptian slavery

2. The ability to lead themselves

3. The capacity to build an autonomous community

4. Readiness to obey the divine command to enter the blessed land

5. The foundation for the later establishment of kingship under Ṭālūt, Dāwūd, and Sulaymān

All these show that mulūkan is a Qur’anic term symbolizing the rise of a people into sovereignty.

Supporting Verses on Divine Sovereignty

The meaning of mulūkan in QS Al-Mā’idah 5:20 is further reinforced by other verses showing that all forms of power and authority are divine gifts, granted only by Allah’s will.

1. Āli ʿImrān 3:26

قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ

“Say, O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will, and You take sovereignty away from whom You will.”

This verse establishes the tawḥīdic framework for all meanings of mulk, affirming that sovereignty belongs solely to Allah and is bestowed only upon those He chooses.

2. Ṣād 38:35
   

قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لَا يَنبَغِي لِأَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِي ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ

He (Sulaymān) said, “My Lord, forgive me and grant me a kingdom that will not belong to anyone after me. Indeed, You are the Bestower.”

This demonstrates that mulk is legitimate authority granted by Allah to His chosen servants, not an inherited privilege of lineage.

3. An-Nisā’ 4:54

فَقَدْ آتَيْنَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ مُلْكًا عَظِيمًا

“So We gave the family of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom, and We gave them a great kingdom.”

This verse confirms that mulk is a divine blessing tied to prophethood, carrying the responsibility of governance and lawful political authority.

Conclusion

From this study, the word mulūkan in QS Al-Mā’idah 5:20 is not a mere historical statement. It is a prophetic message about revival and restoration. When Allah made the Children of Israel mulūkan, it was not an honor of race, but a return to humanity’s original dignity as khulafā’ representatives of divine law on earth, governing not by desire but by revelation.

The concept of mulūkan teaches that sovereignty is not owned; it is a trust (amānah) transferred by Allah to those fit to uphold it. He grants and withdraws it according to His divine law. Therefore, when a nation is raised through revelation and given authority, it is a call to duty, not a privilege without trial.

Today, we study this story not to glorify the lineage of the Israelites, but to recognize the same divine pattern repeating in our time, as stated in the Six Phases of Human Caliphate. In the East, in the lands once described as blessed, Allah is restoring the final ummah to understand the true meaning of mulūkan so that the rise of sovereignty may begin once more.

But if mulūkan marks the restoration of dignity and self-rule, a new question emerges:
What command comes next after this restoration?
Where is the land described as ardhul muqaddasah (the sacred land) in the following verse, and why does it determine the test of obedience for the Children of Israel?

To uncover these answers, we must proceed to Al-Mā’idah 5:21, the next divine command revealed right after the status of mulūkan was granted.
That is where the next secret begins.

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