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Classes of Special Form of Positive Wala

So far we have observed that the question
of having affection towards Imam Ali and other members of the Ahl al-Bayt is
incontrovertible. The only point which requires some further consideration is the exact
sense of the affection which has been enjoined in this and other verses and in the hadith
of the Holy Prophet. To make the point clear we have to see in what context the words Wala
and Walayat translated by us as affection, have been used in the Holy Qur'an and the
Sunnah with reference to the Ahl al-Bayt. Generally speaking these words have been used in
four different senses.

Wala of Love or Kinship

Wala of love or kinship means that the Ahl
al-Bayt are the kinsfolk of the Holy Prophet and the Muslims have been asked to hold them
in love and esteem to a greater degree than what general Wala demands. A number of the
verses of the Holy Qur'an and many sayings of the Holy Prophet which have come down to us
both through the Shi'ah and the Sunni sources, show that the love of the Ahl al-Bayt
including Imam Ali is one of the basic tenets of Islam. In this connection two questions
arise

The first question is why after all the
people have been called upon to hold the Ahl al-Bayt in love and esteem and why this love
has been declared to be a means of gaining proximity to Allah? Suppose everybody
recognizes the Ahl al-Bayt and loves them; what will be the practical advantage of that?
We know that all the Islamic teachings are based on reason and philosophy. If affection
towards the Ahl al-Bayt is one of the basic instructions of Islam, there must be a
philosophy behind it.

The answer to this question is that
exhortation to love the Ahl al-Bayt does really have a philosophy. It is neither a
superfluous demand nor a recompense to the Prophet or the Ahl al-Bayt themselves. The Holy
Qur'an has said "Say: I ask you no reward for my preaching save love and affection
toward my progeny" The Holy Prophet explains that the advantage of having love for
the Ahl al-Bayt or the Prophet's Family accrues to the believers themselves.

This love is a prelude to all kinds of Wala
prescribed by Islam. It binds the people to the Holy Family and gives them an opportunity
to be benefited by its teachings, practice and precepts.

The second question is whether the love of
the Ahl al-Bayt is a feature peculiar to the Shi'ah or all the Muslim sects believe in it.
To answer this question it may be said that it is not a feature peculiar to the Shi'ah.
All the Muslim sects attach importance to it. Imam Shafi'i, one of the four Imams of the
Sunni, in his famous verses says "Let everybody know that if the love of Muhammad's
descendants means to be a Rafizi, I am a Rafizi ".

Imam Shafi'i also says "O Ahl al-Bayt!
Allah has made it obligatory in the Qur'an to love you. It is a matter of pride for you
that without invoking blessing on you, prayer is not valid,". Again he says in his
verses "After having seen that the people have chosen different ways which have led
them to the Ocean of deviation and ignorance. I have, in the name of Allah, embarked the
ship which may lead me to safety. The Ahl al-Bayt of the Holy Prophet are that very ship
We have been ordered to hold fast the rope of Allah, and that rope is their love".
[1]

Zamakhshari and Fakhruddin al-Razi, who
bitterly oppose the Sh'iah on the question of succession to the Holy Prophet, quote him in
their commentaries on the Qur'an as having said "He who dies adhering to the progeny
of Muhammad dies the death of a martyr; his sins will be forgiven he dies the death of a
repentant and his faith will be regarded as perfect". [2]

Imam Ali also says in Nahj al-Balaghah, in
the end of sermon 232 "He who dies in his bed, but acknowledges the rights of Allah,
His messenger and tbe Ahl al-Bayt is as good as one who dies a martyr in the battlefield
He will be rewarded for his good intentions, which will be regarded as a substitute for
his fighting with his sword".

Ibn al-Fariz, the well-known Egyptian
mystic and lyric poet, who is compared to the Persian poet, Hafiz, says addressing Allah
"If I do not earn Your pleasure, my life will be wasted and will go in vain. But I
have no means to please You except the bond of my affection towards the progeny of
Muhammad, a descendant of Qusayy''. [4]

In this case it is possible that by using
the word Wala he might have meant a higher feeling, but there is no doubt that the word
signifies love.

Mulla Abd al-Rahman Jami is a man about
whom Qazi Nurullah Shustari has said that the two Abd al-Rahman(s) — Abd al-Rahman
Jami and Abd al-Rahman ibn Muljim Muradi, have hurt Imam Ali. Still he has rendered into
Persian verse the ode composed by Farazdaq in praise of Imam Ali ibn Husayn al-Sajjad.

He has narrated a story that after the
death of Farazdaq somebody saw him in a dream and asked him what treatment was meted out
to him by Allah. Farazdaq said that he was delivered from sins and sent to Paradise on
account of the ode he had written in praise of Ali ibn al-Husayn. Jami himself adds that
it would not be surprising if all people were delivered because of this ode. Jami has also
written some lines about Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, who imprisoned and tortured Farazdaq. He
says "Had Hisham been sagacious and virtuous, he would not have done wrong to
Farazdaq, and, instead of imprisoning him, would have awarded him a robe of
honour".[5]

Thus the Shi'ah and the Sunni do not differ
on the question of Wala of love. Only the Nasibis are inimical towards the Prophet's
House. They are denounced by the whole Muslim society and regarded to be as dirty as the
infidels. Fortunately in modern times they have become almost extinct. These days a few
persons are seen here and there who sporadically write books with the sole purpose of
widening the gulf between the various sects of the Muslims. Persons of similar character
exist in our own ranks also. All those persons, who work to create discord among the
Muslims, whether they call themselves Shi'ah or Sunni, are the lackeys of imperialist
powers.

Zamakhshari and Fakhruddin al-Razi,
immediately after quoting the above saying of the Holy Prophet, quote one more of his
sayings according to which he said "He who dies disliking the progeny of Muhammad
will die as an infidel and will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise".

Imam al-Sadiq has said "The filthiest
thing that the Almighty has created, is the dog, and he, who is hostile to us, is even
filthier than that''. [6]

This kind of Wala, if it is ascribed to the
Ahl al-Bayt and it is said that they are entitled to it, may be called the Wala of Kinship
and if it is ascribed to the Muslims as their duty, it may be called the Wala of Love.

There is no doubt about the fact that the
root of the word "Wala" and its derivatives give the sense of love. We come
across the word, Muwal especially in Ziarats in the sense of friend. For example, we say
"We are friends of those who are your friends and we are enemies of those who are
your enemies".

There are two other points which deserve
consideration. Firstly, is the word "Waly" used in the sense of friend and
secondly in what sense has it been used particularly in the verse "Surely Allah is
your Waly .." which proves the Walayat of Imam Ali?

Some people believe that the word
"Wala" used in the Holy Qur'an, invariably means friend. But if you look at its
use minutely, you can observe that it means something different. For example, take the
verse

Allah is the Waly of the believers
and it is He who takes them out of the darkness into light". (al-Baqarah, 2 258)

It does not mean that Allah is the friend
of the believers. It means that Allah in His kindness takes special care of the believers,
and they enjoy His special protection. Similarly take the verse "The Waly (s) of
Allah have nothing to fear, nor will they be grieved ". It does not mean that the
friends of Allah have nothing to fear. Here the word, Waly has been used as a past
participle. Hence that verse means that those who are looked after by Allah have nothing
to fear. The same is the case with the verse "The believers, men and women, are the
Waly of one another". It does not mean that the believers are friends of one another.
On the other hand it means that they take care of one another and influence the destiny of
one another. That is why the next verse says "They enjoin the right and forbid the
wrong". This makes the answer to the second question clear. In the verse in question
the intention is not that Allah, the Prophet, and Imam Ali are the friends of the
believers. The intention, in fact, is to say that they have an authority to deal with the
affairs of the Muslims.

Even if it is presumed that the word
"Waly" has the meaning of friend also, this meaning is not appropriate in the
context of this verse, for it does not make sense to say that Allah, Prophet Muhammad and
Imam Ali are the only friends of the believers. This shows that those Sunni exegetes of
the Holy Qur'an who hold that this verse does not say anything more than that Ali is a
friend of the believers and as such should be an object of their love, are misunderstood.

As a matter of fact, in this verse Wala
does not signify mere love. It indicates something higher. The explanation we propose to
give later will make the point clear.

[1] Al-Kuna wa al-Alqab by Muhaddith
al-Qummi and Nur al-Absar by Shiblanji.

[2] Al-Kuna wa al-AIqab by Muhaddith
al-Qummi.

[3] Al-Tafsir al-Kabir by Fakhruddin
al-Razi Vol. 27, p. 166 and Al-Kashshaf by Zaamakhshari Vol. 4 commentary on verse 32nd of
Surah al-Shura.

[4] Qusayy was the fourth ancestor of the
Holy Prophet.

[5] Silsilatul Zahab.

[6] Wasail al-Shi'ah, Vol. 1, p. 159, New
Edition.