And whoever takes for wali Allah...

And whoever takes for wali Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, they, indeed, are the party of Allah; they are the ones who shall achieve victory (Qur'an, 5:55-56).'" You, may Allah support righteousness through your own person, know that the meaning of the word "wali" in such a context is "one who has the top priority in faring with one's affairs." We say "Such and such is the minor's wali ." Lexicographers have made it clear that whoever takes charge of someone's affairs is the latter's wali .

The meaning of the verse, therefore, is as though Allah says that "the ones who take charge of your affairs and have priority even over your own lives in faring with the latter are: Allah, the Almighty and Omniscient, His Messenger, and ‘Ali," for in ‘Ali alone have all these qualities been combined: faith, saying the prayers, and offering zakat even while prostrating in prayers, and for whom these verses were thus revealed.

The Almighty has in these verses reserved wilayat for Himself and for both His Messenger and wasi in the same manner. The wilayat of Allah, the Almighty and Omniscient, is general and inclusive. So is the wilayat of the Prophet as well as his wali ; it carries the same meaning. It is not possible to apply to it in this context the meanings of "supporter, loved one, etc.," since such a restriction [of application] is groundless, as is quite obvious.

I believe this is a quite clear matter, and praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Sincerely, Sh [^1]: This is why people in Syria call a Shi’ah "mutawali," due to his taking for mawla Allah, His Messenger, and those who have truly believed, that is, those in whose honour the same verse was revealed. Linguistically, the "mutawali" is singular, and the "mutawla" are the Shi’ahs. They are so-called because they accepted the wilayat of ‘Ali and (as).

[^2]: It is hadith number 5991 of the ones cited in Kanz al-’Ummal on page 391, Vol. 6. [^3]: He died in 337.

Ibn Khallikan mentions him in his Wafiyyat al-A’yan saying: "He was the unique authority of his time in the science of exegesis; he wrote Al-Tafsir al-Kabir, which surpassed all other books of tafsir," and he goes on to say: "He is mentioned by ‘Abdul-Ghafir ibn Isma’il al-Farisi in his book Siyaq Nisabur, where the author lauds him and describes him as ‘accurate in transmitting, trustworthy.'" Previous…