KHUTAB V: 11. THE MEANINGS OF WALĪ AND ITS DERIVATIVES

11. THE MEANINGS OF WALĪ AND ITS DERIVATIVES

The word walī  (وَلِيْ) derived from the verb waliya  (وَلِيَ)  which has many meanings: to be near (someone or something), to be close (to), to adjoin (something), to be adjacent (to); to follow (someone or something), to border (on something); to be a friend (of someone), be friends (with someone);  to be in charge, manage, run, administer, govern, rule, have power (authority or the command).

The word walī  (وَلِيّ)  has also many meanings derived from its verb mentioned above, as follows: near, nearby; neighbouring, adjacent; close; (its plural: awliyā’ (أَوْلِيَاء, helper, supporter, benefactor, sponsor; friend, close associate; relative; patron, protector; legal guardian, curator, tutor; a man close to God, holy man, saint; proprietor, possessor, owner.

The expression waliyyullāh (وَلِيُّ اللّه) is usually translated as “the friend of God” because of someone’s piety and constant consciousness of Him. The expression waliyyul ’amr (وَلِيُّ الأَمْر) means “the responsible manager, the man in charge; ruler; tutor, legal guardian”. The expression waliyyul ‘ahd(وَلِيُّ الْعَهْد)  means “successor to the throne, heir apparent, crown prince.”

Another derivative of the above term is mawlā (مَوْلَى) ; its plural is mawālī (مَوَالِيْ) . It means: master, lord (hence the term al-Mawlā means “the Lord”); protector, patron; client; charge; friend, companion, associate.

There are two verbal nouns of this term, namely, walā’  (وَلاَءْ)  and wilāyah  (وِلاَيَة): The term walā’  (وَلاَءmeans: friendship,  amity; benevolence, goodwill; fidelity, fealty, allegiance; devotion, loyalty; clientage. The term wilāyah (وِلاَيَة means: sovereign power, sovereignty; rule, government.

The general meaning of walī and its derivatives is: “the protector, the helper, the person in charge of someone’s affairs, the guardian.” Al-H.usayn al-Dāmaghānī (d. 478 AH/1086 CE) mentions ten meanings of the term walī (وَلِيْ) and its derivatives in the Qur’ān according to Qur’ānic commentators, as follows:

1.    Agnate, paternal relative (الْمَوْلى = الْعَصَبَة), as in the following verse:

وَإِنِّي خِفْتُ الْمَوَالِيَ مِنْ وَرَائِي وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا...  (مريم ١٩ :٥)

 “And verily, I fear my relatives [in the male line] after me,

 and my wife is  barren…”  (Q. 19:5)

2.    Son (أَلْوَلَد) , as in the following verse:

... فَهَبْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا (مريم ١٩ :٥)

“So give me from yourself an heir [i.e., a son].” (Q. 19:5)

The above verse is the prayer of Prophet Zakariyyā (Zechariah a.s.) to Allah to be blessed with a son who would be a heir for him

3.    Companion, friend  (الصَّحِب) as in the following verse:

مَنْ يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُرْشِدًا (الكهف ١٨ : ١٧)

He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly guided; but he

 Whom He sends astray, for him you will find no guiding

 friend to lead him (to the Right Path). (Q. 18:17)

4.    Near relative (اْلمَوْلى = الْقَرِيْب), as in the following verse:

يَوْمَ لَا يُغْنِي مَوْلًى عَنْ مَوْلًى شَيْئًا وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ  إِلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ اللَّهُ

إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ (الدخان  : ٤١-٤٢)

The Day when a near relative cannot avail a near

relative in aught, and  no help can they receive, except

him on whom  Allah  has mercy. Verily, He is the

 All-Mighty, the Most Merciful (Q. 44:41-42)

5.    Protector (اْلمَوْلَى), as in the following verse:

ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ مَوْلَى الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا وَأَنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ لَا مَوْلَى لَهُمْ (محمد  ٤٧: ١١ )

That is because Allah is the Protector of those who believe,

 and the   disbelievers have no  protector. (Q. 47:11)

6.    Lord (اْلمَوْلَى = الرَّبّ), as in the following verse:

قُل أَغَيْرَ اللّهِ أَتَّخِذُ وَلِيًّا فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضِ وَهُوَ يُطْعِمُ وَلاَ يُطْعَمْ... (الأنعام ٦ :١٤)ْ

Say (O Muhammad): “Shall I take as a Lord any other

 than Allah,  the Creator of the heavens and the earth?

 And it  is He Who feeds but is not fed” …(Q. 6:14)

7.    Protector, supporter in religion(اْلمَوْلى مِنَ الْوِلاَيَةِ فِي الدِّيْن)    , as in the following verse:

الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ

 يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ

 وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُولَئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (التوبة ٩ :٧١)

The believers, men and women, are protectors (supporters)

 of one  another  [in religion]; they  enjoin what is just and

 forbid what  is evil; they  observe regular prayers, practice

 regular  charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger.

On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah

is Exalted in power, Wise. (Q. 9:71)

8.    Client, freed slave (اْلمَوْلَى = المُعْتَق),  as in the following verse:

ادْعُوهُمْ لِآَبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا آَبَاءَهُمْ

 فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ (الأحزاب ٣٣ : ٥)

Call them (adopted sons) by (the names of) their fathers,

 that is more just  with Allah. But if you know not their

 father’s (names, call them) your brothers in

Faith and freed slaves…(Q. 33:5)

     The term mawlā is one of the aḍdād (words which have opposite meanings), so that it means “the person who frees a slave?” as well as “a freed slave” as above.

9.    God (الإله) , as in the following verse:

أَلَا لِلَّهِ الدِّينُ الْخَالِصُ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاء مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى

 اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ... (الزمر ٣٩ : ٣)

Surely, the religion (i.e. worship and obedience) is for

 Allah only. And those who take gods besides Him (say):

 “We worship them only that they may bring us

nearer to Allah” …(Q. 39:3)

10.  To be loyal and sincere to each other (الْمُنَاصَحَة)  as in the following verse:

يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا (النساء ٤ : ١٤٤)

O you believe! Take not for loyalty and sincerity

 disbelievers instead of believers.  Do you wish to offer

 Allah a manifest proof against yourselves? (Q. 4:144)

Learning the various meanings of a term in the Qur’ān belongs to one of many sciences of the Qur’ān, called    الوُجُوْهُ وَ النَّظَائِرُ  فِيْ القُرْآن (lit. “Meanings and Equivalents”) usually translated as “Homonyms and Synonyms in the Qur’ān.” Al-Zarkashī put it in number four of the 47 branches of the Qur’ānic sciences in his work al-Burhān, whereas al-Suyūt.ī (d. 991 AH/1505 CE) put it in number 39 of the 80 branches in his work al-Itqān.

Another important science of the Qur’ān is nāsikh and mansūkh (abrogating and abrogated verses of the Qur’ān), put as number 47 of the 80 sciences of the Qur’ān. Early scholars consider it dealing with explaining specifying general terms, restricting the unrestricted, explaining the obscure, elaborating the general concept, and abrogating pre-Islamic traditions and religious prescriptions. Scholars of later generation consider it as the specification of a legal judgment of something to a certain period, and the specification by lifting the legal judgment of something from particular people. Therefore it is important to know which of these verses was revealed earlier. This led us to another science of the Qur’ān called asbāb al-nuzūl (lit. “the causes of revelation”), namely the occasions or incidents leading to the revelation of a particular verse.

          Without knowing this asbāb al-nuzūl one may misunderstand the verses of the Qur’ān and quotes it out of context, citing verses dealing with facing the enemy in the battlefield as facing people in peaceful situation. No wonder some people consider Islam a dangerous religions that teaches its followers to wipe out non-Muslims from the face of the earth. Being on this earth is like being in the battlefield, either to kill or to be killed. You do not come to the battlefield to embrace the enemy who intend to kill you. Killing is unavoidable, sometimes necessary to protect oneself. Here the verses dealing with killing the enemy were revealed.  

          In Islam fighting is only the last resort, a necessary evil to defend oneself. The Qur’ān says:

أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَاتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ  (الحج: ٣٩) .  

“To those against whom war is made, permission is given

[to fight], because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah

 is most powerful for  their aid.” (Q. 22:39)

Therefore, there is no “holy war” in Islam which is the Crusades’ terminology. There is no term “h.arb muqaddasah” (which literally means “holy war”) in Islam. The term jihad literally means “striving”, and what is called “holy war” is only a part of it. The companions of Prophet upon their return from a battlefield said:

رَجعْنَا من الْجِهَاد الْأَصْغَر إِلَى الْجِهَاد الْأَكْبَر

“We are returning from the minor jihad to major

 jihad, (i.e., controlling oneself).”

          The Prophet s.a.w. said:

أفْضَل الجِهَادِ كلِمَةُ حَقِّ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِر (رواه أحمد و ابن ماجة والنسائي)

The best jihad is telling the truth in front of a despotic

ruler (Reported by Aḥmad,  Ibn Mājah and al-Nasā’ī)

The prescription of fighting which is called in the Qur’ān kurh (hated, detested) but sometimes things we detest could have blessing in disguise.  Allah said:

كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ( البقرة: ٢١٦)

Jihad (holy fighting in Allah’s cause) is ordained for you

 (Muslims) though you dislike it, and it may be that you dislike

 a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which

 is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know. (Q. 2:216)

 Self-defence is the right, even obligation of every individual, community, and nation. Even in animal kingdom every animal has a means to defend itself. Even germs have means to defend themselves. Our own body itself is a battlefield between our white blood and the harmful/attacking germs. In this case it is necessary to kill in order to survive. Although fighting and killing is permitted, torture is prohibited. The Prophet said that if you slaughter (the animal), do it well, do not sharpen the knife in front of it.

In conclusion, any text taken out of context could be misleading. The Muslim scholar Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH/1328 CE) said: “Half scholar (i.e., Muslim scholars with insufficient knowledge) is dangerous to the religion (of Islam), like half (i.e., an unqualified) physician, he is dangerous to the patients. The English proverb says, “Little knowledge is dangerous.” (CIVIC, 29.03.13)

المراجع:  

1.    الدامغاني , الوجوه والنظائر في القرأن الكريم

2.    ابن الحوزي, الوجوه والنظائر في القرأن الكريم

3.    ابن الأنباري , كتاب الأضداد

4.    المكتبة الشاملة