Wali - Shia Term

Shia Term

Wali not only means "authority" to Shias, but is also used as a short form of Waliullah, the one vested with the "authority of God". Waliullah references the authority that was vested in Muhammad, then succeeded by Ali (the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad; husband of his daughter Fatimah) as the first of twelve divinely appointed "Imams, or male descendants of Muhammad through his daughter. According to this view, there is always an "Imam of the Age", and the twelfth is in occultation until God will command him to establish His government on earth. For Shias, following this "Wali" and believing in [Walayah" (divine authority) is mandatory. The Shia accordingly include the phrase Ali-un-Wali-ul-lah ("Ali is God's appointed Wali") in their shahada.

Shias corroborate the revelation of the Quranic verse 5:55 with the incident widely narrated in both Sunni and Shia narrations (ahadith) where Ali gave his ring in charity to a beggar while bowing in prayer, and cite the verses use of the word إِنَّمَا to indicate that the subjects are specific, not general.

Another disputed use of "wali" in the Quran includes the verse:

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ أَوْلِيَاءَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ
"Oh you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as your Wali; they are but Wali of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a Wali, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people." —Quran, sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida), ayah 51

Sunnis interpret this verse to mean that a Muslim may not take a Christian or Jew as a friend, whereas Shias reject this and interpret the verse in a political sense to mean that Christians and Jews should not act as authorities over Muslim people.