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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Master and Mastership Chapter 7: Wala’ of Control It is the highest stage of Wilayat. All the other kinds of Wilayat besides being due to the personal purity and sanctity of the are either related to their kinship to the Holy Prophet or to their own intellectual and social capability. Anyhow, in both these cases, it is not more than a legal arrangement. But the Wilayat of Control implies a sort of extraordinary and God-given power and authority.

Let us first see what its meaning and significance are according to those who believe in it. The idea of innate Wilayat is related on the one hand to the hidden human capacity to attain perfection, and on the other to the bond which exists between man and Allah. The God-given supernatural Wilayat means that man by marching on the path of submission and worship gets closer and closer to Allah and can even reach a position, where his spirituality, which is a reality, gets concentrated in him.

He becomes the head of the caravan of spirituality, the master of the conscience of the people, the witness to their deeds and the competent authority of his age. The world has never been without such a spiritual leader. In other words it has never been without a perfect man. In this sense Wilayat is different from Prophethood (Risalat), Caliphate (Khilafat), Executorship (Wisayat) and Imamate (Imamat) in the sense of authority in religious matters.

Its non-identity with Prophethood, Caliphate and the factual non-identity of Wilayat with Prophethood, Caliphate and Executorship does not mean that a Prophet, his executor or successor is not a Waly. It means only that the nature of Prophethood and similarly that of Caliphate and Executorship is different from that of Wilayat. Otherwise all great Prophets, especially the last one of them, were holders of Divine Wilayat in full measure.

When we say that the non-identity of Wilayat with Imamate is only conceptual, we mean that both the terms signify the same position, though from different points of view. In Islamic terminology the word "Imamate" has also been used frequently in the sense of this spiritual Wilayat. In its wider sense Imamate means leadership. A religious authority, a political or social leader and a spiritual guide are all called Imams.

From the Shi'ah point of view there are three aspects of Wilayat and in respect of each of them the word "Imamate" has been used. Its first aspect is political.