Sunni Islam
In religious uses, it is generally short for Waliullah (Arabic ولي الله) or friend of God. Belief in the Awliya is an agreed upon article of faith in Sunni Islam having been mentioned in the earliest creeds to the most recent. Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi mentions them in his creed:
We do not prefer any of the saintly men among the Ummah over any of the the Prophets but rather we say that any one of the Prophets is better than all the awliya' put together.We believe in what we know of Karamat, the marvels of the awliya' and in authentic stories about them from trustworthy sources. —Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi, Al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah
Islamic books of Aqeedah are not meant to be exhaustive of every branch of faith but rather to clarify points deviated from by non-Sunni sects. Thus al-Tahawi clarifies some Sufis mistaken belief that the awliya could become greater than prophets and confirmed the majority of Sunni Muslims' belief that the awliya can perform miracles.
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