Waláyat means, etymologically, “power to dispose” (taṣarruf), and wiláyat means “possession of command” (imárat). Waláyat also means “lordship” (rubúbiyyat); hence God hath said: “In this case the lordship (al-waláyat) belongs to God who is the Truth” (Kor. xviii, 42), because the unbelievers seek His protection and turn unto Him and renounce their idols. And wiláyat also means “love” (maḥabbat). Walí may be the form fa`íl with the meaning of maf`úl, as God hath said: “And He takes charge of (yatawallá) the righteous” (Kor. vii, 195), for God does not leave His servant to his own actions and attributes, but keeps him under His protection. And walí may be the form fa`íl, equivalent to fá`il, with an intensive force, because a man takes care (tawallí kunad) to obey God and constantly to fulfil the obligations that he owes to Him. Thus walí in the active meaning is “one who desires” (muríd), while in the passive meaning it denotes “one who is the object of God’s desire” (murád). All these meanings, whether they signify the relation of God to Man or that of Man to God, are allowable, for God may be the protector of His friends, inasmuch as He promised His protection to the Companions of the Apostle, and declared that the unbelievers had no protector (mawlá).[[117]] And, moreover, He may distinguish them in an exclusive way by His friendship, as He hath said, “He loves them and they love Him” (Kor. v, 59), so that they turn away from the favour of mankind: He is their friend (walí) and they are His friends (awliyá). And He may confer on one a “friendship” (wiláyat) that enables him to persevere in obedience to Him, and keeps him free from sin, and on another a “friendship” that empowers him to loose and bind, and makes his prayers answered and his aspirations effectual, as the Apostle said: “There is many a one with dirty hair, dust-stained, clad in two old garments, whom men never heed; but if he were to swear by God, God would verify his oath.” It is well known that in the Caliphate of `Umar b. al-Khaṭṭáb, the Nile, in accordance with its usual habit, ceased to flow; for in the time of Paganism they used annually to adorn a maiden and throw her into the river to make it flow again. `Umar therefore wrote on a piece of paper: “O river, if thou hast stopped of thy own will, thou doest wrong, and if by command of God, `Umar bids thee flow.“ When this paper was thrown in, the Nile resumed its course.
My purpose in discussing saintship and affirming its reality is to show you that the name of saint (walí) is properly applied to those in whom the above-mentioned qualities are actually present (ḥál) and not merely reputed (qál). Certain Shaykhs formerly composed books on this subject, but they became rare and soon disappeared. Now I will commend to you the explanation given by that venerable spiritual director who is the author of the doctrine—for my own belief in it is greater—in order that much instruction may be gained, not only by yourself, but also by every seeker of Ṣúfiism who may have the good fortune to read this book.
Section.
You must know that the word walí is current among the vulgar, and is to be found in the Koran and the Apostolic Traditions: e.g., God hath said, ”Verily, on the friends (awliyá) of God no fear shall come, and they shall not grieve“ (Kor. x, 63); and again, ”God is the friend (walí) of those who believe” (Kor. ii, 258). And the Apostle said: “Among the servants of God there are some whom the prophets and martyrs deem happy.” He was asked: “Who are they? Describe them to us that perchance we may love them.” He replied: “Those who love one another, through God’s mercy, without wealth and without seeking a livelihood: their faces are luminous, and they sit on thrones of light; they are not afraid when men are afraid, nor do they grieve when men grieve.” Then he recited: “Verily, on the friends of God no fear shall come, and they shall not grieve” (Kor. x, 63). Furthermore, the Apostle said that God said: “He who hurts a saint (walí) has allowed himself to make war on Me.”
These passages show that God has saints (awliyá) whom He has specially distinguished by His friendship and whom He has chosen to be the governors of His kingdom and has marked out to manifest His actions and has peculiarly favoured with diverse kinds of miracles (karámát) and has purged of natural corruptions and has delivered from subjection to their lower soul and passion, so that all their thoughts are of Him and their intimacy is with Him alone. Such have been in past ages, and are now, and shall be hereafter until the Day of Resurrection, because God has exalted this (Moslem) community above all others and has promised to preserve the religion of Muḥammad. Inasmuch as the traditional and intellectual proofs of this religion are to be found among the divines (`ulamá), it follows that the visible proof is to be found among the Saints and elect of God. Here we have two parties opposed to us, namely, the Mu`tazilites and the rank and file of the Anthropomorphists (Ḥashwiyya). The Mu`tazilites deny that one Moslem is specially privileged more than another; but if a saint is not specially privileged, neither is a prophet specially privileged; and this is infidelity. The vulgar Anthropomorphists allow that special privileges may be conferred, but assert that such privileged persons no longer exist, although they did exist in the past. It is all the same, however, whether they deny the past or the future, since one side of denial is no better than another.
God, then, has caused the prophetic evidence (burhán-i nabawí) to remain down to the present day, and has made the Saints the means whereby it is manifested, in order that the signs of the Truth and the proof of Muḥammad’s veracity may continue to be clearly seen. He has made the Saints the governors of the universe; they have become entirely devoted to His business, and have ceased to follow their sensual affections. Through the blessing of their advent the rain falls from heaven, and through the purity of their lives the plants spring up from the earth, and through their spiritual influence the Moslems gain victories over the unbelievers. Among them there are four thousand who are concealed and do not know one another and are not aware of the excellence of their state, but in all circumstances are hidden from themselves and from mankind. Traditions have come down to this effect, and the sayings of the Saints proclaim the truth thereof, and I myself—God be praised!—have had ocular experience (khabar-i `iyán) of this matter. But of those who have power to loose and to bind and are the officers of the Divine court there are three hundred, called Akhyár, and forty, called Abdál, and seven, called Abrár, and four, called Awtád, and three, called Nuqabá, and one, called Quṭb or Ghawth. All these know one another and cannot act save by mutual consent.
Here the vulgar may object to my assertion that they know one another to be saints, on the ground that, if such is the case, they must be secure as to their fate in the next world. I reply that it is absurd to suppose that knowledge of saintship involves security. A believer may have knowledge of his faith and yet not be secure: why should not the same hold good of a saint who has knowledge of his saintship? Nevertheless, it is possible that God should miraculously cause the saint to know his security in regard to the future life, while maintaining him in a state of spiritual soundness and preserving him from disobedience. The Shaykhs differ on this question for the reason which I have explained. Those belonging to the four thousand who are concealed do not admit that the saint can know himself to be such, whereas those of the other class take the contrary view. Each opinion is supported by many lawyers and scholastics. Abú Isḥáq Isfará´iní[[118]] and some of the ancients hold that a saint is ignorant of his saintship, while Abú Bakr b. Fúrak[[119]] and others of the past generation hold that he is conscious of it. I ask the former party, what loss or evil does a saint suffer by knowing himself? If they allege that he is conceited when he knows himself to be a saint, I answer that Divine protection is a necessary condition of saintship, and one who is protected from evil cannot fall into self-conceit. It is a very common notion (sukhan-i sakht `ámiyána) that a saint, to whom extraordinary miracles (karámát) are continually vouchsafed, does not know himself to be a saint or these miracles to be miracles. Both parties have adherents among the common people, but opinion is of no account.
The Mu`tazilites, however, deny special privileges and miracles, which constitute the essence of saintship. They affirm that all Moslems are friends (awliyá) of God when they are obedient to Him, and that anyone who fulfils the ordinances of the Faith and denies the attributes and vision of God and allows believers to be eternally damned in Hell and acknowledges only such obligations as are imposed by Reason, without regard to Revelation, is a “friend” (walí). All Moslems agree that such a person is a “friend”, but a friend of the Devil. The Mu`tazilites also maintain that, if saintship involved miracles, all believers must have miracles vouchsafed to them, because they all share in faith (ímán), and if they share in what is fundamental they must likewise share in what is derivative. They say, further, that miracles may be vouchsafed both to believers and to infidels, e.g. when anyone is hungry or fatigued on a journey some person may appear in order to give him food or mount him on an animal for riding. If it were possible, they add, for anyone to traverse a great distance in one night, the Apostle must have been that man; yet, when he set out for Mecca, God said, “And they (the animals) carry your burdens to a land which ye would not have reached save with sore trouble to yourselves” (Kor. xvi, 7). I reply: “Your arguments are worthless, for God said, ‘Glory to Him who transported His servant by night from the sacred mosque to the farther mosque’” (Kor. xvii, 1). Miracles are special, not general; but it would have been a general instance if all the Companions had been miraculously conveyed to Mecca, and this would have destroyed all the principles of faith in the unseen. Faith is a general term, applicable to the righteous and the wicked alike, whereas saintship is special. The journey of the Companions to Mecca falls under the former category, but inasmuch as the case of the Apostle was a special one, God conveyed him in one night from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to a space of two bow-lengths from the Divine presence; and he returned ere the night was far spent. Again, to deny special privileges is manifestly unreasonable. As in a palace there are chamberlains, janitors, grooms, and viziers, who, although they are equally the king’s servants, are not equal in rank, so all believers are equal in respect of their faith, but some are obedient, some wise, some pious, and some ignorant.
Section.
The Shaykhs, every one, have given hints as to the true meaning of saintship. Now I will bring together as many of these selected definitions as possible.