# Wilaya

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Not to be confused with [Walayah](/source/Walayah).

For the subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire, see [Vilayet](/source/Vilayet).

A **wilaya** or **wilayah** (Arabic: وِلَايَة, plural وِلَايَات *wilāyāt*;[1] [Classical Persian](/source/Classical_Persian): ولایت *wilāyat*; Urdu: ولایت *vilāyat*; Turkish: *vilayet*) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "[province](/source/Province)" or occasionally as "[governorate](/source/Governorate)". The word comes from the [Arabic root](/source/Semitic_root) "*w-l-y*", "to govern": a *[wāli](/source/W%C4%81li)*—"governor"—governs a *wilāya*, "that which is governed". Under the [Caliphate](/source/Caliphate), the term referred to any constituent near-sovereign state.

## Use in specific countries

In Arabic, *wilaya* is used to refer to the [states](/source/U.S._state) of the [United States](/source/United_States), and the United States of America as a whole is called الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية (*al-Wilāyāt al-Muttaḥida l-Amrīkiyya*), literally meaning "the American United States".

### North Africa and West Asia

For [Morocco](/source/Prefectures_and_provinces_of_Morocco), which is divided into provinces *and* wilāyas, the translation "province" would cause the distinction to cease. For [Sudan](/source/Sudan), the term *state* and for [Mauritania](/source/Mauritania), the term *region* is used.

- [Provinces of Algeria](/source/Provinces_of_Algeria)
- [Provinces of Oman](/source/Provinces_of_Oman)
- [Regions of Mauritania](/source/Regions_of_Mauritania)
- [States of Sudan](/source/States_of_Sudan)
- [Governorates of Tunisia](/source/Governorates_of_Tunisia)

The [governorates of Iraq](/source/Governorates_of_Iraq) ([muhafazah](/source/Muhafazah)) are sometimes translated as provinces, in contrast to official Iraqi documents and the general use for other Arab countries. This conflicts somehow with the general translation for *muḥāfaẓa* ([governorate](/source/Governorate)) and *wilāya* (province).

### China

In the ethnically diverse [Xinjiang](/source/Xinjiang) region of Northwest China, the seven undifferentiated [prefectures](/source/List_of_prefectures_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China) proper (; that is, not prefecture-level cities, autonomous prefectures, etc.) are translated into the [Uyghur language](/source/Uyghur_language) as ۋىلايەت (*wilayet*). For the other, more numerous types of [administrative divisions in Xinjiang](/source/List_of_administrative_divisions_of_Xinjiang), however, Uyghur uses Russian loanwords like *oblasti* or *rayoni*, in common with other Xinjiang languages like [Kazakh](/source/Kazakh_language).

### Kenya and Tanzania

In Kenya and Tanzania, the term *wilaya* is a [Swahili](/source/Swahili_language) term which refers to the administrative districts into which provinces are divided.

- [Districts of Kenya](/source/Districts_of_Kenya)
- [Districts of Tanzania](/source/Districts_of_Tanzania)

### Southeast Asia

In [Malay](/source/Malay_language) (both in [Malaysian](/source/Malaysian_language) and [Indonesian](/source/Indonesian_language) standards) and [Tausug](/source/Tausug_language), *wilayah* or *wilāya* is a general word meaning "territory", "area" or "region".

In [Thailand](/source/Thailand), it is the standard Malay term[2] used to translate a "[province"](/source/Provinces_of_Thailand)".[3]

In [Malaysia](/source/Malaysia), the term

- *Wilayah Persekutuan*, often shortened to "Wilayah" in colloquial speech, refers to the three [federal territories](/source/Federal_Territories_(Malaysia)) under direct control of the federal government: [Kuala Lumpur](/source/Kuala_Lumpur), [Labuan](/source/Labuan) and [Putrajaya](/source/Putrajaya).
- *Wilayah Ekonomi Pantai Timur*, is translated as [East Coast Economic Region](/source/East_Coast_Economic_Region)

In the [Philippines](/source/Philippines), the term

- *Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg* refers to the province of [Sulu](/source/Sulu), Philippines.

### Ottoman Empire

Main article: [Vilayets of the Ottoman Empire](/source/Vilayets_of_the_Ottoman_Empire)

Traditionally the provinces of the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire) were known as *eyâlet*s, but beginning in 1864, they were gradually restructured as smaller *vilâyet*s—the Turkish pronunciation of the Arabic word *wilāya*. Most were subdivided into [sanjaks](/source/Sanjak).

The current [provinces of Turkey](/source/Provinces_of_Turkey) are called *il* in Turkish.

### Islamic State

The [territory under the governance](/source/Territory_of_the_Islamic_State) of the [Islamic State](/source/Islamic_State) (ISIS) is referred to them as officially being divided into *wilayah*,[4] often translated into English as "[province](/source/Province)". An example is [Islamic State – Khorasan Province](/source/Islamic_State_%E2%80%93_Khorasan_Province) and [Islamic State - West Africa Province.](/source/Islamic_State_%E2%80%93_West_Africa_Province)

### Al-Shabaab

Main articles: [Islamic Emirate of Somalia](/source/Islamic_Emirate_of_Somalia) and [Al-Shabaab (militant group)](/source/Al-Shabaab_(militant_group))

Territory controlled by Al-Shabaab (officially the Islamic Emirate of Somalia) is broken down into *wilaya*s or local administrations.*[5][6]*

### Central Asia and Caucasus

The [Classical Persian](/source/Classical_Persian) word for *province* (*wilāyat*) is still used in several similar forms in [Central Asian](/source/Central_Asia) countries:

- [Provinces of Afghanistan](/source/Provinces_of_Afghanistan) (Pashto: ولايت, *wilāyat*, plural: ولايتونه, *wilāyatuna*), subdivided into [districts](/source/Districts_of_Afghanistan) (Pashto: ولسوالۍ, *wuləswāləi* or Persian: ولسوالی, *wolaswālī*)
- [Regions of Tajikistan](/source/Regions_of_Tajikistan) (singular: viloyat, plural: viloyatho), subdivided into districts (Tajik: ноҳия, *[nohiya](/source/Nohiya)* or Russian: район, *raion*)
- [Regions of Turkmenistan](/source/Regions_of_Turkmenistan) (singular: welaýat, plural: welaýatlar), subdivided into districts (Turkmen: *etrap*)
- [Regions of Uzbekistan](/source/Regions_of_Uzbekistan) (singular: viloyat, plural: viloyatlar), subdivided into districts (uz-latn: *tuman*)

During the [Soviet period](/source/Soviet_Union) the divisions of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were called *[oblasts](/source/Oblast)* and *[raions](/source/Raion)*, using [Russian](/source/Russian_language) terminology.

In the [Tsez language](/source/Tsez_language), the districts of [Dagestan](/source/Dagestan) are also referred to as "вилайат" (*wilayat*), plural "вилайатйоби" (*wilayatyobi*). But the term "район" (*[rayon](/source/Raion)*), plural "районйаби" (*rayonyabi*) is also used.

[Caucasus Emirate](/source/Caucasus_Emirate), a self-proclaimed successor state to the unrecognized [Chechen Republic of Ichkeria](/source/Chechen_Republic_of_Ichkeria), is divided into vilayats.

### South Asia

The Classical Persian word for province (wilāyat) is still used in several similar forms in South Asian countries as well:

(Pashto: ولايت, wilāyat, plural: ولايتونه, wilāyatuna), subdivided into districts (Pashto: ولسوالۍ, wuləswāləi or Persian: ولسوالی, wolaswālī)

## See also

- [Vilayet](/source/Vilayet)
- [Three *valli* of Sicily](/source/Three_valli_of_Sicily)

## References

1. Wehr, Hans (1979), “ولاية”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, *A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic*, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, page 1289

1. Malay is an [official language](/source/Languages_of_Thailand#Officially_recognized_languages) recognized by the Thai government.

1. Liow, Joseph Chinyong (2016). *Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia*. p. 123. ISBN 978-1107167728.

1. Caris, Charles C. & Reynolds, Samuel (July 2014). ["ISIS Governance In SyrIa"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190412064408/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISIS_Governance.pdf). *Understanding War*. Institute for the Study of War. p. 14. Archived from [the original](http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/ISIS_Governance.pdf) on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.

1. Harrington 2021.

1. Maruf, Harun & Joseph, Dan (2018). *Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al-Qaeda's Most Powerful Ally*. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-03748-0. [JSTOR j.ctv6mtfn2](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv6mtfn2)

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