If he wanted to repeat his former sayings...

If he wanted to repeat his former sayings, it was based on God's order, ﴾And admonish, for admonition indeed benefits the faithful . ﴿ (Q: 51/55). ﴾So admonish, for admonition is indeed beneficial . ﴿ (Q: 87/9). Concerning the Guardian Verse ( aya wilayat ), he writes, ”according to Shi'ite belief, while 'Ali was bowing down in his prayer, a beggar came to the mosque and asked for help. 'Ali gave him his ring for charity; and this verse came down concerning him.

They believe that the term 'guardian' ( wali ) in this verse refers to 'leadership' which is exclusive to God, the Messenger of God and the faithful, and the concept of 'while bowing down' is 'Ali, since he gave alms while he was bowing down. Our exegetists and traditionists have not preserved it.

From our (the Sunnite) point of view it is not the case.[^3] It concerns all the Immigrants and the Helpers, since the pronoun is in the plural form ( alladhina ), figuratively speaking, although we can sometimes use it for singular nouns, there is no reason here to ignore its real meaning.

The phrase 'while bowing down' does not have a real and practical meaning, since alms giving during saying one's prayers renders it invalid; its real meaning is ﴾those who are humble**.**﴿.[^4] We say many Sunnite and Shi'ite exegetes and traditionists including, Muqatil b. Sulayman, Baladhuri, Jassas, Tha'alibi,[^5] Suyuti,[^6] as well as all Shi'ite ones have narrated this verse as concerned with 'Ali.

Had he consulted the exegetical and traditional literature he would not have said, “Our exegetes and traditionists have not preserved it.” The plural pronouns are used for singular nouns on other occasions in the Holy Qur'an. During the Battle of Dhat al-Riqa', a man of Banu Muharib called Ghaurath (or 'Amr b. Jihash of Banu Nadhir) went to the Messenger of God (S.A.W.A.) as he was sitting with his sword in his lap, and asked to be allowed to look at it.

When a people ( qawmun ) set out to extend their hands against you, but He withheld their hands from you . ﴿ (Q: 5/11).