The Verse of Wilaya is a verse of the Quran which the majority of interpreters concur was revealed concerning Imam Ali. It reads:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYour guardian (Wali<\/em>) is only Allah (SWT), God\u2019s Messenger, and the faithful who maintain the prayer and give the Zakat<\/em>\u00a0while bowing. Whoever takes for his guardians Allah (SWT), God\u2019s Messenger and the faithful (should know that) the confederates of Allah (SWT) are indeed the victorious\u201d (Q5:55-6).<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Imam Ali (AS), Ibn Abbas, Ammar, Jabir, Abu Rafi\u02bf, Anas ibn Malik and Abd-Allah ibn Salam relate the same story about the context of verse 5:55 (Hindi, tradition no. 6137; al-Fakhr al-Razi 12\/26 and Nisaburi,\u00a0Tafsir<\/em>, 6\/154): Namely that on one occasion a beggar came to the mosque and asked for people\u2019s help, but nobody gave him anything. It was at this moment that Imam Ali (AS), who was bowing in prayer, signaled for the beggar to take the ring from his finger. The man took the ring and went away. When the Prophet (PBUH) heard about this, he asked God:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAppoint an assistant for me from my Family, just as you did for Moses!\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Gabriel came to reveal the above verse (5:55) to the Prophet (PBUH) as a response to his request. The renowned poet of the Prophet\u2019s (PBUH) day, Hassan ibn Thabit, has composed the following lines in praise of Imam Ali (AS):<\/p>\n
\u2018Who gave his ring in charity while bowing \/ and whose soul is filled with secrets?<\/em><\/p>\n
Who slept in Muhammad\u2019s (PBUH) bed while he traveled by night on the Day of the Cave?<\/em><\/p>\n
Who has been named faithful in nine frequently recited verses?\u2019 (Ibn al-Jawz\u012b, 18)<\/em><\/p>\n
The word \u2018Wali<\/em>\u2019 in the verse denotes \u2018guardian\u2019 or \u2018someone with authority rather than \u2018friend\u2019 because describing Imam Ali (AS) as a friend of the Muslims would not single him out for mention. The Quran calls all Muslims friends of one another:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe believers, men and women, are friends (Awliya\u02be<\/em>) of one another\u201d (Q9:71).<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Thus, the only reasonable meaning of \u2018Wali<\/em>\u2019 in this context would be \u2018guardian,\u2019 \u2018leader\u2019 or \u2018authority.\u2019 The term \u2018Wali<\/em>\u2019 in Arabic denotes \u2018guardian\u2019 as in the Prophet\u2019s (PBUH) Hadith:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIf a woman marries without the consent of her guardian (Wali<\/em>), her marriage would be invalid\u201d (Ibn Hanbal, 6\/66).<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
This is also the meaning intended by the verse, which mentions three guardians for the Muslims: Allah (SWT), God\u2019s Messenger, and the faithful.\u2019 The latter term has been further specified as \u2018who maintain the prayer and give the Zakat<\/em>\u00a0while bowing \u2018(Q5:55). As we can see, the third guardian is none other than Imam Ali (AS), who gave Zakat<\/em>\u00a0while bowing in prayer. Furthermore, if the word \u2018Wali<\/em>\u2019 meant \u2018friend\u2019 or another similar word, it would have been meaningless to restrict its meaning by talking about maintaining prayers and paying\u00a0Zakat<\/em>\u00a0because Muslims are all friends with each other. As we can see, the above verse adds the condition of paying Zakat<\/em>\u00a0while bowing in prayer to the condition of belief in God and offering prayers. By doing so, it restricts the possible referents of the verse to the point that, as far as history can show, there will be only one guardian that could be considered as the referent of the verse; Imam Ali (AS).<\/p>\n
A question answered<\/h4>\n
One might ask why the verse says: \u2018the faithful\u2019 (plural) not \u2018the faithful man\u2019 (singular) if it only refers to Ali (AS). The simple answer is that in Arabic sometimes the plural is used instead of singular to pay special respect to someone or something, as when God says:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe have indeed sent it down in the Night of Power\u201d (Q97:1).<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Zamakhshari argues in his\u00a0Kashshaf<\/em>\u00a0that the plural is used here in order to encourage people to act in a similar way, namely, to know the value of such good deeds and to be so generous as to pay Zakat<\/em>\u00a0to the poor even before their prayers are finished (1\/468).<\/p>\n
Source:\u00a0Sh\u012ba Islam: History and Doctrines, Ayatull\u0101h Ja\u02bffar Sub\u1e25\u0101n\u012b, Chapter 4<\/p>\n
Imam AliThe Chosen Successor of the Greatest Prophet (S.A.W)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n