Wala of Leadership
It means the right of social and political leadership.
Indeed a society must have a leader. The person qualified to take charge
of the social affairs of the Muslims and to control their destinies is
called Walyy-u Amr al-Muslimin (Administrator of the affairs of the Muslims).
During his lifetime Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, held this position
which was granted to him by Allah. Following his death, it was attained
by the Ahl al-Bayt. There exists undeniable evidence to prove this fact.
Besides the Hadith of Ghadir, several verses of the Holy Qur'an point out
this kind of Wala. "
Obey Allah, the Messenger and those of you who are
in charge of your affairs''.[1] (al-Nisa,
4 59).
"The Prophet has more authority over the believers
than that which they have over their selves". (al-Ahzab, 33:6)
There is no dispute about the fact that the Prophet held
this position which was a right given to him by Allah and not by the people.
Our Sunni brethren also agree with us on this point. The only debatable
question is regarding the person, who holds this position after him. To
avoid chaos and confusion there must be somebody who may administer the
affairs of the Muslims and whom they must obey. Did Islam devise any procedure
in this respect? If it has, what is that? Has it allowed the Muslims to
choose somebody as a successor to the Prophet or did the Prophet before
his demise designate a particular person to succeed him?
In this connection we should see what duties, according
to the Holy Qur'an, the Prophet performed with regard to the social affairs
of Muslim community.
It is inferred from the Holy Qur'an and the life of the
Prophet that he simultaneously held three positions.
Firstly he was the Imam, religious leader and the law-giver.
Whatever he said or did was authoritative. The Qur'an says
"If the Messenger orders you to do something, obey
it, and if he forbids somethings abstain from it". (al-Hashr, 59:7)
Secondly his decisions with regard to any internal disputes
and any lawsuits were binding and valid.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an (Muhammad)
"I swear by your Lord, they will not be true believers
until they make you judge of what is in dispute between them and find in
themselves no dislike of that which you decide, and submit with full submission
". (al-Nisa, 4: 65)
In this sense the use of the word 'Walayat" is correct,
but, in fact, we do not find it being used as a judicial term.
Thirdly he held political and social Walayat. Besides
preaching and explaining the commands of Allah and adjudicating the disputes
among the Muslims, he administered their social and political affairs.
He was Walyy-u Amr al-Muslimin. The following verses envisage this aspect
"Obey Allah, His Messenger and those of you who
are in charge of your affairs". (al-Nisa, 4: 59)
"The Prophet has more authority over the believers
than that which they have over their selves". (al-Ahzab, 33: 6)
The Prophet had a fourth position also. We will mention
it later.
The Holy Prophet ruled over the people formally and led
them politically. He collected taxes from them and administered their financial
and economic affairs according to the command of the Holy Qur'an. (Vide
al-Tauba 9 103)
This position of the Holy Prophet out of the three preceding
positions, constitutes the basis of the question of Caliphate.
It may be mentioned that the word "imam" is also used
for the religious leaders and guides from whom the outlines of religion
are to be acquired. In this sense the Sunni Muslims apply it to Abu Hanifah,
Shafi'i, Malik and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.[2] It
is also often applied to the political and social leaders.
The Holy Prophet has said: "The heart of a Muslim cannot
put up with treachery in respect of three things
- Devotion to the cause of Allah (i.e. whatever one does should
be only to seek Divine pleasure).
- Benevolence for the leaders in the matter of the guidance
of the Muslims (i.e. to render them sincere advice, whether they like it
or not, and to guide them to the right path as and when there is a danger
of their deviating from it).
- Unwavering support to the community (i.e. to prefer the interests
of the society to one's own interests).
Imam Ali in one of his letters recorded in Nahj al-Balaghah
says "The betrayal of the community is the worst treachery and the deceiving
of the Muslim leaders is the most abominable fraud".
It is evident that deceiving the Imam amounts to deceiving
all the Muslims. If a person by deceiving his captain, endangers the ship,
he in reality betrays all the passengers aboard it.
It is evident that in the above saying of Imam Ali the
word "Imam" has been applied to the social and political leader.
We have read in Islamic history that the Muslims including
the Holy Imams often addressed their contemporary Caliphs as Imams. In
this connection it may be borne in mind that the Imam in this sense may
either be just or unjust. In either case the Muslims have certain duties.
According to a well-known hadith, which is considered
to be authentic by both the Shi'ah and the Sunni, the Holy Prophet said:
"The best jihad is to say what is true before an unjust Imam". Similarly
the Holy Prophet is reported to have said "Three persons cause damage to
religion Unjust Imam, ignorant pietist and immoral scholar".
On the top of all these the Qur'an itself mentions the
Imams who invite the people to Hell. "We have made them Imams inviting
to Hell". (al-Qasas, 28 41)
Anyhow, there is no doubt that the word "Imam" is applied
mostly to the just and virtuous leaders. According to the Shi'ah terminology
it is applied exclusively to the twelve infallibles whose names are
- Imam Ali b. Abi Talib—al-Murtaza
- Imam Hasan b. Ali—al-Mujtaba
- Imam Husayn b. Ali—al-Shaheed
- Imam Ali b. Husayn—al-Sajjad
- Imam Muhammad b. Ali—al-Baqir
- Imam Ja'far b. Muhammad—al-Sadiq
- Imam Musa b. Ja'far—al-Kazim
- Imam Ali b. Musa—al-Riza
- Imam Muhammad b. Ali - al-Taqi
- Imam Ali b. Muhammad—al-Naqi
- Imam Hasan b. Ali—al-Askari
- Imam Muhammad b. Hasan—al-Mahdi, (May peace be upon Muhammad
and his vicegerents)
[1] From the Shi'ah point of
view, since the Major Occultation of Mahdi, the Imam of the Age in 329
A.H. no particular person has been appointed to be the head and leader
of the Muslim ummah. That is why in the hadiths related to leadership during
this period only the general qualities and characteristics required to
be possessed by a leader have been mentioned. This shows that it is upto
the people themselves to choose a person as their leader, having those
qualities and characteristics. The main qualifications of a ruler during
Occultation are: (a) Faith in Allah, His revelations and the teachings
of His Prophet. The Holy Qur'an says: "Allah will never let the disbelievers
triumph over the believers". (al-Nisa, 4 141). (b) Integrity, adherence
to the laws of Islam, and earnestness about dheir enforcement. When Allah
told Prophet Ibrahim that he had been appointed the Imam, the latter asked
whether anyone of his family would also attain that position. In reply
Allah said "My covenant does not include the wrong-doers".
(al-Baqarah, 2:124). Prophet Daud was told by Allah "O Daud! We have
made you our representative on the earth. Therefore judge rightly between
people ". (Sad, 38 26). (c) Adequate knowledge of Islam, appropriate
to his prominent position. The Holy Qur'an says: "Is he who guides
the people to the truth more worthy to be followed or he who does not guide
unless he himself is guided?"(Yunus, 10:35). (d) Enough competence
for holding such a position and freedom from every defect not in keeping
with Islamic leadership. (e) His standard of living being equal to that
of the low-income people . In this connection there is enough material
in the sermons of Imam Ali and in the epistles he sent to his officials.
In a number of episdes it has been emphasized that an administrative officer
should be free from love of money, ignorance, inefficiency, outrage, timidness,
bribery, and violation of Islamic injunctions and conventions and should
not be guilty of shedding blood.
[2] The four Imams of the
Sunnis are Abu Hanifah No'man bin Thabit who was a slave of Banu Taymullah.
He died in 150 A.H. Abu Abdillah Malik bin Anas died in 179 A.H., Abu Abdillah
Muhammad bin Idris Shafi'i Muttalibi died in 204 A.H. and Abu Abdillah
Ahmad bin Hanbal Zahli Sheybani, died in 241 A.H.