{{Short description|Arabic title}} {{distinguish|text = Alhurra TV channel}} {{other uses|Hurra (disambiguation)}} '''Al-Hurra''' ({{Langx|ar|حُرَّة|lit=free woman}})<ref>{{Cite web|last=Project|first=Living Arabic|title=The Living Arabic Project - Classical Arabic and dialects|url=https://www.livingarabic.com/dictionaries?q=%D8%AD%D9%8F%D8%B1%D9%91%D8%A9&dc%5B%5D=classical&dc%5B%5D=nafrican&st=1&new_google_recaptcha_token=03AGdBq26IzX6lyRHtyO7ruC2lBZKzZzeEVZq1Zkv4BSuqdrL3-JcDp7AIGppwNSRoHdS_9whtzu840CMtRaVJ4kKz6bsT5mpts7MygKMljcMbtIbvbiMFHK_zHxbHCd_zpIxy6x_3nL3Nz4KSM7ccKyGhqURM2mgHTeUr3KaVmw01DVeQiLw0J7cqh4mEkPDIdJ7tJbPMwGRGewvEOwz3byqDlJOuXJoN0wp63ILcFc-sYEz688vT1GCOTmWJTrwobVu6f95nGHhRAkOQw9sq70pCB1iCv2tbceXLiG8NGSoAhfk03i_2WArNLLs3s-DqYQOc73-jBdTlBInQJ3bch7uCnjfR30PmD6wKwunpG-Hw6aUmyq7ONuRk97Zy_RnyC2R2rXGVcgiuVm74ru1uKy_LNwiHyp4ACBaVUZvLT_ZSDPBlXE476jnsi3QfZyVYg74vv1jkD_D1Q2N-jyLyA1lhfNO1pflwZg|access-date=2021-01-21|website=www.livingarabic.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boloix-Gallardo|first=Bárbara|date=2014|title=Beyond the Ḥaram: Ibn al-Khaṭīb and His Privileged Knowledge of Royal Nasrid Women|url=|journal=Medieval Encounters|volume=20|issue=4–5|pages=383–402|doi=10.1163/15700674-12342180}}</ref> was an Arabic title historically often given to, or used to refer to, women who exercised power or had a position of power or high status.
In a harem, the title al-hurra was often used to refer to a legal wife of aristocratic birth, to distinguish her status from that of the concubine bought at the slave market, who was referred to as ''jarya'',<ref name="auto">Mernissi, Fatima; Mary Jo Lakeland (2003). The forgotten queens of Islam. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-579868-5}}.</ref> and used to describe a Muslim aristocratic woman who was "free" in the sense that she was not a slave;<ref name="auto"/> it is related to the style ''Sayyida'' (Mistress or lady), the feminine word of ''sayyid'' (Master or Lord).<ref name="auto"/> However, while the title Al-hurra was given to women as an alternative to the titles ''malika'' (Queen), ''Sultana'' (female sultan) and ''Sitt'', (Lady), there was no exact male equivalent to the title of al-hurra.<ref name="auto"/>
The title Al-hurra was often granted to women who wielded political power, but did not necessarily mean they were sovereigns: Alam al-Malika and Sayyida al Hurra, for example, bore this title. Both had political offices; not as sovereigns, but as political adviser and governor respectively.<ref name="auto"/>
==Noted title holders== * Asma bint Shihab * Arwa al-Sulayhi * Alam al-Malika * Aixa * Sayyida al Hurra
==References== {{Reflist}} * Mernissi, Fatima; Mary Jo Lakeland (2003). The forgotten queens of Islam. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-579868-5}}. {{DEFAULTSORT:hurra }} Category:Islamic honorifics Category:Women monarchs Category:Arabic words and phrases Category:Heads of state Category:Royal titles Category:Noble titles of women Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership