‘Ali, ‘alaihi al-salam , was the friend, helper and...

‘Ali, ‘alaihi al-salam , was the friend, helper and supporter of the believers during the lifetime of the Prophet and after his death, in his presence and in his absence.

Besides, changing wali in the hadith to “friend”, or “helper” or supporter” would only produce incoherent and insensible statements: أنت وليي في كل مؤمن بعدي “You are my friend over every believer after me.” “You are my lover over every believer after me.” “You are my supporter over every believer after me.” “You are my friend over every believer after me.” The Messenger of Allah was absolutely above making such kinds of statements.

Moreover, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah himself cautions: إن أراد الموالاة لم يحتج ان يقول بعدي If he had intended friendship, he did not need to say “after me”.[^9] But, can we interpret “my wali ” in the hadith to mean “my ruler”? This depends on the exact intended meaning. For instance, Allah says about His Prophet: قل يا أيها الناس إني رسول الله إليكم جميعا Say: “O mankind! Verily, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.”[^10] He was the Messenger appointed by Allah.

The Qur’an also states about him: أم تريدون أن تسألوا رسولكم كما سئل موسى من قبل Or, do you want to ask your Messenger as Musa was asked before?[^11] Does this mean that the people appointed the Messenger? Of course, they never did! Rather, he was appointed by Allah – hence, the Messenger of Allah – and sent to the people – and thereby their Messenger.

This is a similar verse: أم لم يعرفوا رسولهم فهم له منكرون Or is it that they did not recognize their Messenger so they deny him?[^12] In the light of the above, the following conclusions can be drawn about the word “messenger”: “The Messenger of Allah” means the messenger appointed by Allah. “Your Messenger” means the Messenger sent to you. “Their Messenger” means the Messenger sent to them. In the same manner: The wali of the Prophet over his Ummah is the wali appointed by him over them.

The wali of the Ummah is the wali appointed over them or by them. As such, the hadith “You are my wali over every believer after me” may mean “You are the wali I have appointed over every believer after me”. This is perfectly in line with Hadith al-Wilayah too. Another probable meaning of “my wali ” in the hadith is “my heir”. One of the rarer meanings of wali is “heir”.