Encyclopedia of Islam

wahy

  See 

revelation

.

walaya

The Arabic word walaya comes from a root 

meaning “to be near.” The related concept of 

wilaya, generally referring to guardianship or 

the 

aUthority

 that derives from it, has a range of 

meanings in Islamic law, politics, Shii cosmology, 

and s

UFism

. Wilaya can thus mean legal guardian-

ship, the administration of a province, a province 

K  706  

wahy

---

itself, or the sainthood of a Sufi 

saint

 (wali) or a 

Shii 

imam

.

The form walaya is often used in Shiism as 

an alternative vocalization of wilaya, to refer to 

the spiritual authority thought to reside with the 

Imams, and it is thus closely tied to the question of 

succession after the death of the prophet m

Uham

-

mad

, which is the central point on which Shiis 

differ from Sunnis. Shiis believe that Muhammad 

designated as his successor his son-and-law and 

cousin  a

li

 

ibn

  a

bi

  t

alib

 when he announced at 

the oasis of Ghadir Khumm: “For whomever I am 

the authority (

mawla

), Ali is his authority.” Thus, 

for Shiis, the spiritual and political authority of 

the Muslim community should have passed to Ali. 

Though political authority was assumed by three 

caliphs

 before it came to Ali, and after his murder 

it was claimed by Muawiya and his descendants, 

Shiis believe spiritual authority, and especially 

esoteric knowledge of the q

Uran

, passed directly 

to Ali, and from him to his sons Hasan and 

Husayn. Walaya then passed to Husayn’s son and 

continued in a line of descent for another eight 

generations (in the dominant Twelver Shiism). 

These 12 figures are known as Imams (leaders), 

who served as representatives of God on earth. 

The 12th Imam, 

al

-m

ahdi

, disappeared leaving 

no heirs, though he is still thought to maintain a 

spiritual presence.

Some Shii scholars distinguish between wilaya

(the authority of the Imams) and walaya, which 

refers to devotion and loyalty to the Imam, which 

is incumbent on Shiis, and is even considered a 

pillar of faith.

See also F

ive

 

pillars

; t

Welve

-i

mam

 s

hiism

; 

wali

.

Mark Soileau