The meaning of Wilayah Traditional polemical debate has not been over the cause of descent of this verse. As we shall evidence later, past Sunni Ulema have recorded in their Tafseers in Muttawatir traditions that the verse descended in honour of Maula Ali (as). Traditional Sunni scholarship has not denied the cause of the descent; the difference has been over the meaning of Wali in this the verse. We shall leave it to Ansar.Org to explain the two positions. Ansar.org states: Meaning and contextThis verse is called the “Verse of Wilayah” due to the appearance of the word wali in it. Linguistically the word wilayah may have one of two meanings. Wilayah as Authority The one meaning is authority. The wali would then be the possessor of authority. The Shi’ah have arbitrarily latched on to this meaning, seeking thereby to prove the Imamah of ‘Ali radiyallahu ‘anhu. By coupling this meaning of the term to the narrations which will come under discussion in due course—the gist of which is that Sayyiduna ‘Ali radiyallahu ‘anhu once gave his ring to a beggar whilst in the state of ruku’, and that the verse was revealed on that occasion—they draw the conclusion that the only legitimate authority in the Muslim community is that of Allah, His Messenger and the Imam. Any other kind of authority, like that of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman radiyallahu ‘anhum, for example, is then illegitimate and contradicts the Qur’an. This is indeed the Shia position. Wali essentially carries two meanings, sovereign authority or friendship. Interestingly the Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Arabic, page 1100 defines Wali as: ‘to take over the government….to be in power, hold supreme power….to follow in succession’. If Wali is interpreted as Master in the context of this verse, then it would make Allah (s), the Prophet (s) and those that give Zakat whilst bowing down in prayer to be the Master over the believers. If it also proven that the individual that gave Zakat in such a state, then it would be logical to assert that the individual that Allah (swt) describes as the Master over the believers during the lifetime of the Prophet (s) succeeds him as the Master at the helm of the State after him (s). Naturally Ansar.Org find such an interpretation of Wali in the context of this verse as unacceptable, since doing so, takes their first three khalifas out of the equation, which is why the author stresses the importance of rejecting this notion. It also destroys the orthodox Sunni stance that no nass (text) occurs relating to the Prophet (s) appointing a successor after him (s). Our assertion is that: (a). the verse descended in honour of Imam Ali (as) (b). Wali here means Master Now the best means of ascertaining the meaning of such a term would be to analyse the Hadeeth literature. After all, if Imam Ali (as) was indeed a Wali (friend) of the believers, then can Hadeeth literature point to the Holy Prophet (s) clarifying this fact and using the term Wali in this context? It is interesting to note that at no point has the author sought to site any Hadeeth literature that would point to Imam Ali (as) being the Wali of the believer from the context of friendship, had he done so, then his work would have been done, and no doubt the financial incentives from King Fahad would have doubled for him. His omission is quite intentional, for Imam Ali (as) has indeed been referred to as the Wali of the believers in Sunni Hadeeth literature but certainly not in the context of friendship. Allamah Dr Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri al-Hanafi in his book dealing with the traditions in honour of Maula Ali (as) ‘Kanzul Muttalib fee Fadail Manaqib Ali ibn Abi Talib’ records this on page 62: “Hadhrath Imran bin Husain narrates the Prophet (s) said ‘verily ‘Ali is from me and I am from him. He is the Wali of every believer after me. [Sahih al-Tirmidhi, Vol 5, Page 236, al Sahih by Ibn Habban Volume 1 page 383, Mustadrak al Hakim , Vol. 3, p. 119, Sunan al Nasai Volume 5 page 132, by Ibn Abi Sheeba Volume 6 page 383 Musnad Abu Yala Volume 1 page 293]” Imam Nisai in ‘Khasais’, Imam Hakim in his ‘Mustadrak’ and Ibn Hajar Asqlani in ‘Al-Istiab’, Mulla Mutaqi Hindi in ‘Kanz ul Ummal’, Dahabi in ‘Talkhees Mustadrak’ and Al-Baani the Wahabi in ‘Silsilat al-ahadith al-Sahiha’ have decalred the tradition ‘Sahih’. There is no doubt that Imam Ali (as) was always the friend of the believers. If the intention of the Prophet (s) was to clarify that Ali (as) was the friend of the believers what would have been the logic of him using the term ‘He is the Wali of every believer after me‘? It is clear that Rasulullah (s) was now referring to a different relationship that would exist between Ali (as) and the believers after him, one that would be implemented following his (s) death. It is logical that this can only refer to the station of authority, that the Imam (as) would attain as the Khaleefa after the Prophet (s). Now for Ansar.Org this tradition causes them a major headache? How do they react? They are left with two options: (a). Ali (as) was the fourth rightly guided Khaleefa (b). Ali (as) was the immediate Khaleefa after the Prophet (s) If they embrace the first option that they no doubt will, how can this be held in tandem, with this hadith that cited Ali (as) as being the ‘Wali of every believer after me‘? Should the first three Khaleefa’s not be counted as believers in this tradition? If they are not, then they are not believers (Momineen). If they are counted as believers then what prevented them from adhering to the words of our Prophet (s) and accepting him as the Wali of every believer after the Prophet (s)? Ansar.Org is now left in a difficult position. They either declare that their first three leaders were not believers, or they deem them as rejecters of the dictates of Muhammad al Mustafa (s). It is only their desire to protect the doctrine of man made Imamate that has forced them to stress that Ali (as) was merely the friend of the believers and nothing more. Ansar.org states: Meaning and context This verse is called the “Verse of Wilayah” due to the appearance of the word wali in it. Linguistically the word wilayah may have one of two meanings.Wilayah as Authority The one meaning is authority. The wali would then be the possessor of authority. The Shi’ah have arbitrarily latched on to this meaning, seeking thereby to prove the Imamah of ‘Ali radiyallahu ‘anhu. By coupling this meaning of the term to the narrations which will come under discussion in due course—the gist of which is that Sayyiduna ‘Ali radiyallahu ‘anhu once gave his ring to a beggar whilst in the state of ruku’, and that the verse was revealed on that occasion—they draw the conclusion that the only legitimate authority in the Muslim community is that of Allah, His Messenger and the Imam. Any other kind of authority, like that of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman radiyallahu ‘anhum, for example, is then illegitimate and contradicts the Qur’an. Wilayah as Friendship The other meaning of wilayah, which in this sense might also appear as walayah, is a relationship of affection, attachment and solidarity in which each individual becomes the friend and protector of the other. In this sense the wali is then that person or entity whom you regard as your friend, your ally, the one with whom you associate, who can be counted upon to protect you and defend your rights. In this sense it stands opposed to terms such as “enemy”, “foe” and “adversary”. In order to see which of these two meanings apply to the verse, one needs to look at the context in which it stands. The Verse of Wilayah is the 55th verse of Surah al-Ma’idah. In order for us to get the complete picture of the context in which it stands, we need to go back a few verses. In verse 51 Allah Ta’ala says: O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Christians as your awliya (plural of wali). They are the awliya of one another. Whoever amongst you takes them as his awliya is one of them. Verily Allah does not guide the unjust people. It can be seen from this verse that Allah Ta’ala is definitely not speaking of wilayah in the sense of authority. What is being spoken of here is taking non-Muslims as allies, friends and protectors. When Allah then says in verse 55 that “your true wali is only Allah, His Messenger and the Believers” it is clear that it is wilayah in the sense of mutual solidarity and friendship, and not wilayah in the sense of authority, that is meant. This meaning of wilayah is repeated again in verse 57: O you who believe, do not take as your awliya those who take your religion for a mockery and fun from amongst those who received the Scripture before you, and from amongst the disbelievers. In light of the fact that in the preceding as well as successive verses wilayah is used in the sense of the relationship we have described earlier, it is unacceptable, and indeed most incoherent, to claim that in this verse in the middle it has been used in the sense of authority. The meaning of the verse of Wilayah is therefore that a Muslim’s allegiance should be only to Allah, His Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, and the Believers. Of the exclusive and pre-emptive right to authority which the Shi’ah seek to read into it, the verse does not speak at all.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:20:38 +0000
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