From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   (Redirected from
Wilayat) Jump to: navigation, search For the subdivisions of the
Ottoman Empire, see Vilayet. For the Spanish movie, see Wilaya
(film).  A wilayah (Arabic: ولاية‎) or ولایت (velâyat) in
Persian, vilayet in Turkish or vilayat in Urdu, is an
administrative division, usually translated as "province",
rarely as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic "w-l-y",
"to govern": a wāli—"governor"—governs a wilayah, "that which is
governed". Under the Caliphate, the term referred to any
constituent near-sovereign state.  Use in specific
countries[edit]  In Arabic, wilayah is used to refer to the
states of the United States, and the United States of America as
a whole is called "الولايات المتّحدة الأمريكية" (al-Wilāyāt al-
Muttaḥidah al-Amrīkīyah) literally meaning "the American United
States".  Arab World[edit]  For Morocco which is divided into
provinces and wilāyas the translation "province" would cause the
distinction to cease. For Sudan the term state, and