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Wala of Imamate
Wala of Imamate" signifies
religious authority, i.e. a position which makes the Imam a model for others who have to
follow him and take instructions from him. Such a position automatically implies the
infallibility of the Imam. It is the same position about which the Holy Qur'an, while
referring to the Holy Prophet, says
The Messenger of Allah is certainly a
good example for those of you who have hope in Allah and believe in the Last Day and
remember Allah very often". (al-Ahzab, 33: 21)
Say: If you love Allah, follow me;
Allah will love you and forgive you your sins". (Ale Imran, 3: 31)
These verses of the Holy Qur'an put forward
the Holy Prophet as a model for others who are required to mould their conduct according
to his and to follow in his footsteps. This in itself is a proof of his infallibility,
because if he were liable to commit mistakes and sins Allah would not have introduced him
as the leader and the guide.
After the Holy Prophet the Ahl al-Bayt
succeeded to this position. There is a hadith quoted on the authority of about 30
companions of the Holy Prophet by most of the Sunni scholars in their books of hadith,
history and biography of the Prophet. According to it the Holy Prophet has said "I am
leaving behind among you two authorities, the Book of Allah and my Ahl al-Bayt. They shall
not be separated from each other till they arrive at the Fountain of Kauthar. If you go
ahead of them or fall short of expectations, you shall be misled. Do not try to teach
them, for they know better than you''. [1]
Here the Holy Prophet has associated the
Ahl al-Bayt with the Book of Allah as its co-equal. In respect of His Book, Allah
says
Falsehood cannot come at it from any
direction". (Ham-mim, 41: 42)
If falsehood could come at the Ahl al-Bayt,
how could they be its co-equal? Similarly if they had not been infallible like the Holy
Prophet, they could not succeed him as the leaders of the ummah. The contents of the
hadith show that it could apply only to certain infallible persons. As Nasiruddin Tusi has
pointed out, no one except the Ahl al-Bayt is infallible, nor does anybody claim
infallibility for anyone else. Hence the hadith can apply only to the Holy Imams (of the
Shi'ah).
Ibn Hajar 'Asqalani says: "The Holy
Prophet has told the people that they would be misled if they go ahead of the Ahl al-Bayt
or fail to follow them. He has also said that they know better than others. This saying of
the Holy Prophet proves that the Ahl al-Bayt, who reached the highest level of knowledge
and were worthy of religious leadership, were superior to others. [2]
Hafiz Abu Na'im reports on the authority of
Ibn Abbas that the Holy Prophet said "Whoever desires to live like me and to die like
me should select Ali after me as his Waly and should follow the Imams of my family who
have been endowed with knowledge and intelligence. Unlucky are those who deny their
excellence and disregard my kinship to them. Such people shall be deprived of my
intercession on their behalf".[3]
That kind of religious leadership which
makes every word and action of the leader authoritative is called Imamate. It is a sort of
walayat in the sense that it implies a sort of control over the affairs of the people.
Every teacher and every guardian, as a
rule, exercises some control over those who are under his tutelage. Naturally the teacher
appointed by Allah should have a greater control.
The verse
Your Waly can be only Allah, His
Messenger and those who believe, tbose who are steadfast in prayers and pay zakat while
they are bowing". (al-Mai'dah, 5 55)
envisages this kind of Walayat. This does
not mean that this verse does not imply some other kinds of Walayat which we propose to
mention later. What we intend to point out is that this verse speaks of Imamate and
religious leadership and authority. In a number of the sayings of the Holy Prophet also
the word "Waly" has been used for an Imam.
This kind of Wala when used with reference
to an Imam means religious authority and the right of leadership, and when used with
reference to the Muslims means the acknowledgement of this right.
[1] Al-Sawaiq al-Mohriqah by Ibn Hajar
al-Shafi'i pp. 148 and 226 printed at Al-Muhammadiah Press, pp. 89 and 126 printed at
Al-Maimaniah Press, Majma al-Zawa'id Vol. 9 p. 163 printed in Beirut. Yanabi al-Mawaddah
by Qandozy al-Hanafi pp. 41 and 335 printed at Al-Hayderiah Press, pp. 37 and 296 printed
in Istanbul. Al-Dur al-Manthur by Suyuti Vol. 2 p. 60 printed in Egypt, Al-Ghadir by
Allama Amini Vol.1 p.34, Vol.3 p.80 printed in Beirut. Kanz al-Ummal by Alauddin Hindi
Vol. 1 p. 168 hadith serial No.958 second edition, printed in Hyderabad.
[2] Al-Sawaiq al-Mohriqah.
[3] Hulyatul 'Ulya, Vol. 1, p. 86.
