We have tried your people in your absence , and al-Samiri has led them astray.

We have tried your people in your absence , and al-Samiri has led them astray.”[^5] And: ولما رجع موسى إلى قومه غضبان أسفا قال بئسما خلفتموني من بعدي When Musa returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, “What an evil thing is that which you have done during my absence ! So, what does “after me” mean in Hadith al-Wilayah ? Was ‘Ali, ‘alaihi al-salam , thereby the wali of the Ummah in the event of Muhammad’s death, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa aalihi ?

Or, was he their wali next in rank to the Messenger with the latter alive? Or was he the wali only in the temporary absence of the Prophet? In the event of any of these cases, what exactly would wali and “after me” mean? In order to determine these, one must first analyze the text and grammar of the hadith itself. There is a clear difference between these two statements: علي ولي كل مؤمن بعدي ‘Ali is THE wali (wali) of every believer after me.

And: علي ولي لكل مؤمن من بعدي ‘Ali is a wali (waliyyun) of every believer after me. The actual word in Hadith al-Wilayah is al-wali (الولي) – THE wali . However, since it is immediately followed by kulli (كل), its first two letters are hidden for a smoother pronunciation. Yet, the word remains pronounced as wali – indicating that it is a definite noun. Its indefinite form is waliyyun . This indefinite form can only be followed by likulli (لكل) in order to retain its indefinite status.

The singular definite personal noun, followed by kulli (كل), is sometimes adopted to name a rank, status or quality that is absolutely exclusive to someone. The Qur’an too has used it in this sense, with regards to Allah. For instance, it says: قل أغير الله أبغي ربا وهو رب كل شيء Say: “Shall I seek a lord ( rabban ) other than Allah, while He is THE Lord ( Rabb ) of every thing?”[^6] The last part of this verse adopts the exact same grammatical format as Hadith al-Wilayah .

It apparently seeks to declare that absolutely no other lord of everything exists besides Allah – not at a higher, equal or even lower level - and has used that format to strongly and completely convey its message. For all intents and purposes, only Allah exists as the sole Lord of everything. There is no superior, concurrent or inferior lord – for any purpose – besides Him. Another similar verse is this: قل من رب السماوات والأرض قل الله ….

قل الله خالق كل شيء Say: “Who is THE Lord of the heavens and the earth?” Say: “Allah”....