Malik (Arabic: ??? ) is an Arabic word meaning "king". It has been adopted in various other, mainly Asian languages, and it is sometimes used in derived meanings. Malik is one of the names of Allah, "King" in the absolute sense. The term Malik is used in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan, especially among Pashtuns, for a tribal leader or a chieftain. Alternative forms are Malek and Maalik. The female version of Malik, Malika (or its Persian language cognate Malekeh), means "queen". The cognate Hebrew word melech (???) has the same meaning, and the name of the pagan god Moloch is derived from the same linguistic root. Political Primarily a Malik is the ruling monarch of a kingdom, called mamlaka; that term is however also used in a broader sense, like realm, for rulers with another, generally lower titles, as in Sahib al-Mamlaka. Malik is al