Wilayat & Its Scope

Chapter Six

Wilayat & Its Scope

1. What is Wilayat?

    "Wilayat," derived from wila,' means power authority or a right of certain kind. In Shi'a theology, "wilayat" is the authority invested in the Prophet and the Ahlul Bayt as representatives of Almighty Allah on this earth.
    According to the late Murtaza Mutahhari, wilayat has four dimensions:
    The right of love and devotion (wila'-e muhabbat): This right places the Muslims under the obligation of loving the Ahlul Bayt.
    The authority in spiritual guidance (wila-'e imamat): This reflects the power and authority of the Ahlul Bayt in guiding their followers in spiritual matters.
    The authority in socio-political guidance (wila'-e zi 'amat): This dimension of wilayat reflects the

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    right that the Ahlul Bayt have to lead the Muslims in social and poitical aspects of life.
    The authority of the universal nature (wila-e tasarruf): This dimention reflects universal power over the entire universe that the Prophet and Ahlul Bayt have been vested with by the grace of Almighty Allah.¹
    Using this division of wilayat's dimentions, I would like to point out the areas of agreement and disagreement among the various Muslims groups.

The First Dimention : The Right of Love

    All Muslems unanimously accept the first dimention of wilayat of Ahlul Bayt. Loving the Ahlul Bayt is one of the "dharuruyyat ad-din, the essential parts of the Islamic faith." The inclusion of salawat² in the daily ritual prayers is a sufficient proof of this. See the famous anti-Shi'a books like as-Sawa'iqu l-Muhriqa of Ibn Hajar al-Makki and Tuhfa-e Ithna Ashariyya of Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi, and you will relize that the Sunni polemicists labour painfully to explain that they are against the Shi'a people but not against the Shi'a Imams for they know that loving the Ahlul Bayt is an essential part of Islamic faith.
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1. See, Murtaza Mutahari, wilayah: the station of the Master (Wala ha wa wilayat ha), tr. Yahya Cooper, Tehran: World Organization for Islamic services, 1982.

2. Salawat means praying for Allah's blessing on Propet Muhammad and his Ahlul Bayt. This is included in the daily ritual prayers by all Muslems.

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    leaving for the Ahlul Bayt is enshrined in verse 42: 23 that we have already discussed in the last chapter. Here I shall just quote one more hadith from the Sunni sources. Imam Ali said, "By Allah the One Who has spilt the grain and created the soul, verily the Prophet (as) has promised that none shall love me but the believer and none shall hate me but the hypocrite."¹ Actually Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari and Abu Sa'id al-Khudair, the two famous companions of Prophet, used to say: "We did not identify the hypocrites but by thir hatred for Ali.²
    It is a common view of Shi'a scholars that whoever rejects one of the dharuriyyat ad-din, then he is no longer considered a member of the Islamic faith.³ It is also based on this pricinple that the Khawarij and the Nawasib (i,e, those who express hatred or enimosity towards the Ahlul Bayt) are considered as non Muslems by Shi'a jurists.⁴
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1. An authentic and Sahih hadith narrated by an-Nasa'i, Khasa'is Amiri l-Mu'minin Ali bin Abi Talib (Beirut: Daru l-Kitab, 1987) p.101-102; the annotator, al-Athari, has given many more quotations like Sahih of Muslim, Sahih of at-Atirmidhi, and others.

2. Narrated by Ahmed bin Hanbal and at-Tirmidhi, both in the section of al-manaqib, as quoted in Muhibbu d-Din at -Tabari, Dhakha'ru l- Uqba fi Manaqib Dhawi l-Qurba,ed. Akram al-Bushi (Jeddah; Maktabatu's Sahaba, 1995) p.165.

3. On the rejection of the dharuruyyat, see al-Majlisi, "Risalah fi l-Itiqadat," Manahiju 'l-haqq wa n-Najat, ed. Sayyid Hasan Bani Taba (Qum: Murtakaz-e Athar, Shi'a. 1372 solar AD) p.308-309; Sayyid Muhammad Kadhim al-Yazdi, al-Urwatu l-Wuthqa (Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, 1392) p.24.

4. As-Saduq, I'tiaqdat l-Imamiyya, p.94; in its English translation, the Shi'ite creed, see p.85. Also see any standard text on Shi'a jurisprudenc in the section on "najasat" under "kafir."

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The Second Dimention: The Spiritual Guidance

    The second dimention of the wilayat is a commonly held belief of the Shi'as as well as majority of the Sunnis who belong to Sufi orders. Nothing reflects this more than the interpreatation fiven by Maulawi Salamat Ali, a Sunni scholar of India, to the Hadith of Ghadir. He write in at-Tabsira, "The Ahlu 's-Sunnah do not doubt the Imamate of Amiru l-Mu'minin [Ali]: and that is indeed the essence of faith. It is, however, necessary that import of the ahadith of Ghadir be the spiritual Imamate and not [the political] khilafat. This is the meaning derived from the statements of the Ahlu 's-Sunnah and the scholars of Sufism, and, consequently, the allegiance of all the [Sufi] orders reach Amiru 'l-Mu'minin 'Ali bin Abi Talib and through him they are connected to the Messenger."¹
    Other than the Naqshbandi order, all Sufis trace the chain of their spiritual masters back to the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt, ending with Imam 'Ali bin Abi Talib as the spiritual authoriry par excellence after the Prophet.² The Naqshbandi order traces its spiritual leadership back to Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq and then follows the line through his mother to Muhammad bin Abi Bakr and then to Abu Bakr. This diversion from
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1. As quoted by the late Allamah Mir Hamid Husayn al-Musawi who them refutes it to prove the universal Imamate of Imam 'Ali through hadith of Ghadir. See al-Milani, Nafahatu 'l-Azhar fi khulasatti Abaqati 'l-Anwar, vol.9 (Beirut: Daru l-Mu'arrikhi 'l-'Arabi, 1995) p.311.

2. Sayyid Hussain Nasr, "shi'ism and Sufism,"p.103.

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Imam as-Sadiq to Abu Bakr is, however not valid because Muhammad bin Abi Bakr was raised from a very young age by Imam 'Ali bin Abi Talib who married Muhammad's mother, Asma bint Umays, after Abu Bakr's death, The only spiritual master that Muhammad bin Abi Bakr knew was Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (AS).

The Third & Fourth Dimensions :
Socio-Political & Universal Authority

    The third and fourth dimensions of wilayat are unique Shi'i beliefs, and they are considered as part of the dharuriyyat al-madhhab, the essential parts of Shi'a sect." It is the common view of our cholars that anyone who rejects one of the dharuriyyat al-madhhab, is not considered a member of the Shi'a sect.

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    It is important to note that whenever the Shi'as use the term "Imamate" or "Imam", it encompasses all the four dimensions of wilayat. It excludes neither the spiritual and universal authority nor the social and political leadership.¹ In this sense, the Shi'i term "Imamate or Imam" is more comprehensive then the Sunni term Khilafat" or "Khalifa". In books dealing with the Shi'a-Sunni debate of the leadership after the Prophet, the focus is more on the socio-political leadership but not in the sense of denying the spiritual and universal authority of theImam. So while reading or discussing the issue of succession ot Prophet Muhammad (w.s.a.), one should not lose the universal import of the status of an Imam from the Shi'a point of view.

2. The Universal Wilayat

    It seems necessary to explain the fouth demension of the wilayat in more detail for the benefit of the readers.
    The fourth dimension is the universal authority that the Prophet and the Ahlul Bayt have been vested with by the Almighty Allah. It is an authority that makes it possible for the wali to exercise his power over everything that exists. In the words of Ayatullah al-Khumayni, "It is a vicegerency pertaining to the whole
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1. See Mutahari, wilayah, p.72; also see Mutahari's Imamat wa Rahabari, p.163 as quoted by our teacher Sayyid Muhsin al-Kharrazi, Bidayatu 'l-Ma'arifi 'l-Ilahiyya vol.2, p.12-16.

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of creation, by virtue of which all the atoms in the universe humble themselves before the holder of authority."¹ This authority of the shosen servant of Allah is totally dependent on His discretion and power. It should not be seen in the horizonal form but in the vertical form vis-a-vis the power of Almighty Allah. As long as we maintain the vertical hierarchy of the power, we have safeguarded the tawhid (unity of oneness).
    For example, all Muslims believe that it is Allah who gives life and death to the People. The Qur'an itself says,
    "Allah takes the souls at the time of their death." (39; 42)
    But at the same time, the Qur'an also attributes death to the angels by saying,
    "Say: It is the angel of death (who is given charge of you) who shall cause you to die." (32: 11)
    If you place the imports of these two verses side by side (i e, horizontal form), then you are guilty of shirk, polytheism: but if you place them in the vertical form (with the power of the angels beneath and dependent upon the power of Allah), then you have safeguarded teh tawhid.
    Similarly, if we place power and authority of the Prophets and the Imams in the vertical form (with the conviction that their power is beneath and dependent upon the power of Allah), then we have
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1. The full quotation will come later on in this chapter.

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safeguarded the tawhid as well as the status of the chosen servants of Allah.
    The Qur'an gives various example of the persons who had been given the authority on the universe.

    1. Descirbing the powers that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, had given to Prohet Isa bin Maryam (as), the Qur'an quotes him as follows:
    " I make out of the clay the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and becomes a [real, living, flying] bird with Allah's permission;
    I heal the blind and the leprous;
    and I bring the dead back to life with Allah's permission;
    and I inform you what you are eating and what you store in your houses ..." (3:48)
    2. Describing the powers given to Prophet Sulayman, the Qur'an says:
    " Then We made the wind subservient to him; it blew by his command gently to wherever he desired.
    And (We also made subservient to him) the jinn: each (of them as) builder and diver, and others fettred in chains.
    This is Our gift, therefore give freely or withhold, without reckoning. Most surely he had a nearness to Us and an excellent resort." (38:36-40 also 21:81-82)
    3. Describing the power of Asif bin Barkhiya, the vizier of Prophet Sulayman, the Qur'an describes the scene of the moments before the Queen of Sheba and her entourage came to visit him :

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    "He (Sulayman) said, O Chiefs which one of you can bring her to me (i.e Queen of Sheba's) throne before they come to me in submission.'
    One audacious among the hinn, I will bring it to you before you rise from your place : and most surely I am strong and trustworsthy for it.
    (But) one who had the knowledge of some of the Book said, I will bring it to you in the twinkling of an eye. Then when he saw it (i. e. the throne) settled beside him, he said. This is the grace of my lord that He may try me whther I am grateful or ungrateful ..."' ( 27; 38-40)
    In these three example from the Qur'an, we see that Almighty Allah had blessed some of his chosen servants with the power to breathe life to a shape of an animal, to bring the dead back to life, to cure the blind and the leprous, to subjugate the jinn for their work, to bring an iterm from far away in the twinkling of an eye, etc. These examples are sfficient to how that such powers can be given and have been given by Allah to those whom He likes. It is this power that is referred to in Shi'a theology as "al-wilayah at-takwiniyya - the power over the universe or the universal authority."
    Allah has given various ranks to the Prophets and messengers (2: 253; 17; 55), and all Muslims are unanimous in believing that the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad al-Mustafa, is higher in rank than all the Prophets and messengers.¹ All Prophet and
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1. As-Sadiq, I'tiqadat, p.92-93; in its English translation, the Shi'ite Creed, p.84-85; al-Majlisi, "Risala fi l-I'tiqadat," p.310

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messengers had come to prepare their societies for the acceptance of the final and universal Messenger of God, Muhammad (s. w. a.). If prophet like Sulayman, Dawud, 'Isa, and Musa, and also Sulayman's vizier, Asif, were blessed with power over the nature, then it follows by necessity that Prophet Muhammad must have been blessed with greater power over the universe. Two ecxamples have been clealy mentioned in the Qur'an. The ability of the Prophet of Islam to travel into space and beyond with his human body (17; 1: 53: 5-18), and the parting of the moon by pointing towards it with his finger (54;1)¹
    Imam Ali and the other Imams of Ahlul Bayt are believed by the Shi'as be higher in rank than all Prophets and messengers except the Prophet of Islam (s. w. a.).² It follows as a necessity that they also have the powers that the Prophet had been blessed with by Almighty Allah.
    At this point, I will only refer to one verse from the holy Qur'an on this issue. During the early days in Mecca, when the idol worshippers were rejecting the claim of the Prophet, Allah revealed a verse to console him by saying :
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1. On parting of the moon, see in Shi'a sources, at-Tabrasi, Majma'u l-Bayan, vol.5.p 186; at-Tabtaba'i, al-Mizan fi Tafsiri l-Qur'an, vol.19.p 60-72 who also refutes the objections raised by the materialist minded Muslims how like to interpret all such verses in metaphorical sense. In Sunni sources, see al-Fakhr ar-Razi, at -Tafsiru l-kabir, vol.15, p.26; as-Suyuti, ad-Durru l-Manthur, vol, 6.p.133; Mawdudi, Tafhim l-Qur'an, vol.5, p.230-231.

2. As-Saduq I'tiqadat, p.92-93; in its English translation, The shi'ite Creed, p.84-85; al-Majlisi, "Risala fi I-Itiqadat" p.310.

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    "And those who disbelieve say, You are not a messenger, Say, Allah is sufficient as a withness (between me and you) and the one who has knowledge of the Book."(13; 43)
    Prophet Muhammad is being consdoled that it doesn't matter if the idolaters do not believe in your claim; it is sufficent that Allah and the one sho has knowledge of the Book are withnesses to the truth of you claim. Whom is Allah referring to as a withness to the truth of the Prophet's claim? Who is this person 'who has knowldge of the Book? According to Shi'i report, supported by Sunni sources, it refers to Ali bin Abi Talib.¹⁰⁴ These was definitely no one among the companions of the Prophet who could claim that he had more knowledge about Islam than Ali bin Abi Talib.
    How does the description "having knowledge of the Book" prove the universal authority for Ali? If you recall, Asif Barkhiya, Sulayman's vizier, had so much power over nature that he could bring the throne of the Queen of Sheba before the "twinkling of an eye". Asif has been described as someone who had "ilmun min al-kitab - knowledge of a portion of the Book," not "the knowledge of the entire Book." In
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1. Among Sunni references, see Ibn al-Maghazili ash-Shafi'i, Manaqib al-Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, p.313 (hadith # 358); as-Suyuti, ad-Duru l-Manthur, vol.4. (beirut: Dar al-Fikr, n.d.) p.669; al-Qanduzi, Yanabi'u l-Muwaddah (Beirut; 1390/1970) p.121. For further refrences, see ash-Shahid at-Tusari, Ihqaqu l-Haqq, vol.3, p.280, vol.14 p.362-365, vol.20, p.75-77. For a critical review of the counter reports cited by some Sunni scholars, see at-Tabataba'i, al-Mizan, vol.11. p.423-428.

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comparison to this, Imam Ali has been described by Allah as someone who had "ilmu l-kitab -- knowledge of the Book", not just a portion of the Book. Therefore, it is not difficult to conclude that the poewer of Imam Ali over nature must be many degrees greater than that of Asif Barkhiya who brought the throne from far away before the "twinkling of an eye".
    Again, as an important reminder, I msut state that this belief is to be held in the vertical form vis-as-vis the power of Alimighty Allah, and only in that format can we preserve the concept of tawhid in which Allah is the the Absolute power and souuce of the all power. It is to remind us of the total dependency of the chosen ones upon Allah's will and power that He commands the Prophet to say, I do not control any benefit or harm for myself except as Allah pleases." (7: 188) This is not a denial of habving power, it is affirmation of the belief that whatever power he has is according to the wish and pleasuer of Almighty Allah.

3. Wilayat : Spiritual vs Political

    The learned sholar's article in the Bio-Ethics Encyclopaedia (in which he wrote that the Prophet Muhammad "had left no explicit instruction regarding sucession to his regious-political authority") generated heated discussion among the commuity. The responses that the learned scholar wrote to the community and the comments he subsequently made in the majlises of Muharram 1419 at Toronto, portray the confusion about the concept of wilayat.

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(A) "Spiritual Only, Not Political"

    First the learned scholar claimed that the wilayat of the Prophet and the Imams was only spiritual and not political. He said:
    By the way, the Prophet (s. a. w.) was never recognized as the political leader. No, that is not correct at all. He was recognized as Rasulullha, the envoy of God, the Messenger of Allah (a,t). There was no politics there was no political language attached to it. It isn't that what the mordens are telling us; the way Iran is telling us time and again that the Prophet was political leader. No, He was recognized fundamentally and essentially as a prophet of God.¹
    "Task of prophethood was to lead the society to perfection. And that perfection could not be done individually -- it had to be done as members of the community, the sunnah. Ummah means a community under the Prophet as prophet, not a political leader.
    "Now we know why 'man kuntu mawlahu fa hadha Aliyn mawlahu' meant something very very important. The Prophet (s. a. w.) could have said, man kuntu khalifa fa hadha khalifa'. He could have said, man kuntu hakiman fa hadha hakiman.
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1. This is again an example of saying one thing in his acadamic work and saying something else when talking to the Shi'a community. Dr. Sachedina, as mentioned earlier, has written in Islamic Messianism the Islam began as political movement and later on acquired religious emphasis. now he is saying that the Propeht was recognized fundamentally as a prophet of God and was never recognized as political leader.

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    He is not using any of the terminology that we would use in the mormal political sense of carrying on the authority of the political lerader ... .
    "Look at the word chosen by Allah (s.t) for guidance. After all the Prophet is ' ma yantiqu 'anil hawa in huwa illa wahyun yuhaa.' He is given instructions. 'Mawla': what does the word 'mawla' mean? Allah (s.t.) says in the Qur'an 'wal kafirun lays lahum mawla.' The disbeliever has no mawla. They don't have a mawla---they don't have a protector, they don't have a parton, they don't have somebody who cares for them. This is the meaning of mawla ..."¹
    The learned scholar says that nubuwwat did not include political leadership and that word mawla used by the Prophet in Ghadir did not mean khalifa (political successor) or hakim (ruler). In other words he is excluding the third dimension of wilayat from the term "mawla" and restricting it to the second dimension (i.e., spiritual guidance). In his attempt to convince his audience, he makes up hypothetical and grammatical incorrect Arabic sentences which make no sense. For example, the sentence "man kuntu [lahu] khalifa fa hadha [lahu] khalifa---- for whomsoever iam his successor, this is his successor." Was the Prophet "khalifa---successor" of any one from the audience? Of course, not; and that is why he did not
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1. Dr.Sachedina's 2^nd speech of Muharram 1419 in Toronto. He has perhaps inadvertently quoted the Qur'anic verse incorrectly, it is not wal kafirun laysa lahum mawla,' it is wa anna l-kafirin la mawla lahum.' (47:11)

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use the term "khalifa" in the hadith of Ghadir.
    As discussed in one of the previous chapters, to understand the meaning of mawla as uesd by the Prophet for Imam 'Ali, one does not have to go far. Just ponder upon the question he asked the Muslims before presenting 'Ali as their "mawla": he asked them, "Do I not have more authority over you then you have over yourselves? A lastu awla bi kum min anfusikum?"¹ When they replied by saying, "Certainly,O Messenger of Allah," then he said, Man kuntu mawlahu fa hdha 'Aliyun mawlahu---- Of whomsoever I am the master, this Ali is his master." Prophet Muhammad (s.s.w.) is surely talking about a master who has more authority (awla) over the people than they have over themselves, and that includes authority in political matters also. And therefore, there was no need for the Prophet to say,'Man kuntu [alayhi] hakiman, fa hadha ['aliyahi] hakiman.'
    The learned scholar continues his talk:
    "The Prophet (s.a.w.) when he introduces Imam 'Ali's authority in the community, what does he say? 'Man kuntu mawlahu fa hadha 'Aliyun mawlahu.' What he means is that 'whoever regards me as a perfect example to be followed to the ultimate goal of salvation, 'Ali is the man who should be followed.' The question was of obedience. Mawla, one who should be obeyed, one who should not be disregarded. In the sense, Allah
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1. This question of the Prophet is based on the verse 33:6 of the Qur'an.

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is Mawla. Allah is the Mawla of deen, that path on which you cannot afford to disobey Allah (s.w.t.) ... ."¹
    Is this following and obedience restricted to spiritual matters and does it not include social-political issue?