Hence the necessity of a human wali in the human realm - a...

Hence the necessity of a human wali in the human realm - a centre - an insan al-kamil - exemplifying the way of overcoming the particular limitations of that realm for the purpose of salvation and eternal becoming - to be more and more. Now just as the Ka’bah is the centre and the House of God or the House of al-Wali, it is also the symbol of the human wali. The human wali in his turn is the living example and standard of this symbol, mediating between it and God.

The wali par excellence after the Prophet (S) was Amir al-Mu’minin Imam ‘Ali (‘a). In defending himself against the attacks and accusations of the Khawarij he said: قد قال الله عزوجل : (ولله على الناس حج البيت من استطاع إليه سبيلا( ولو ترك الناس الحج لم يكن البيت ليكفر بتركهم إياه ولكن كانوا يكفرون بتركهم ايّاه ، لأنّ الله قد نصبه لكم علما، وكذلك نصبني علما حيث قال رسول الله ( صلى اله عليه وآله وسلم ) : يا علي ، أنت مني بمنزلة الكعبة تؤتى ولا تأتي.

Surely God has said, “And it is the duty of mankind toward God to make pilgrimage to the House - for those who are able to find a way to go to it”. So if the people do not perform the Hajj , it is not for the Ka’bah to be (accused) of unbelief due to their keeping away from it, rather it is the people who disbelieve (i.e. become kafir) by staying away from the Ka’bah.

This is because it is surely Allah who has set the Ka’bah for you as a standard (or point of reference); and similarly He has appointed me as a standard, as the Prophet (S) said: “O’ ‘Ali, you are like the Ka’bah - you are approached and you don’t approach.”5 Hence the man born in the Ka’bah and the first holder of the station of walayah after the Prophet (S) is the inner reality and substance of the Hajj.

Through the mediation of the Imam - the holder of the station of walayah - the Ka’bah plays its fundamental role as the channel of Divine grace and the sustainer of religion and livelihood of the people; for in one of its most significant meanings walayah is nothing other than the Divine channel of grace. Previous…