The wilaayah of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him)
Question

                Was the caliph ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib Waliy-Allah, as mentioned in the hadeeth of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that ‘Ali is “your ruler (waliy) after me” or “I am of ‘Ali and ‘Ali is of me”? Are these things true?

Are ‘Ali, Faatimah, al-Husayn and al-Hasan of the same status as the Prophets (not the Messengers)?
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: 

    ‘Ali ibn 
    Abi Taalib (praise be to Allah) – according to the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah 
    wa’l-Jamaa‘ah – is one of the honoured close friends (awliya’ – sing. waliy) 
    of Allah and one of the guided leaders (imams). He is the fourth of the 
    Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the fourth of the ten who were given the glad 
    tidings of Paradise, who are the best of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased 
    with them). His virtues and good qualities are too many to be counted, to 
    such an extent that some of our scholars compiled books focusing only on 
    them, such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Manaaqib ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, 
    and Imam an-Nasaa’i in Khasaa’is ‘Ali. 

    Secondly: 

    Among his 
    virtues are the following: 

    The 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “You are of me and 
    I am of you.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 2699 

    Al-Haafiz 
    Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    That is, 
    in lineage, relationship by marriage, in seniority (in Islam), in love and 
    in other ways. End quote. 

    Fath 
    al-Baari, 
    7/507 

    Another of 
    these qualities was mentioned in the report narrated by ‘Imraan ibn Husayn 
    (may Allah be pleased with him who said: 

    The 
    Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sent out an 
    army and appointed ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib as their leader. He went out on the 
    campaign, and he acquired a slave woman as booty. They objected to that, and 
    four of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) made an agreement and said: When we meet the Messenger of 
    Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), we will tell them about 
    what ‘Ali did. 

    When the 
    Muslims returned from a journey, they would start by visiting the Messenger 
    of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then they would go to 
    their homes. When the army came back, they greeted the Prophet (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him), and one of the four stood up and said: O 
    Messenger of Allah, have you not seen that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib did such and 
    such? The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    turned away from him. Then the second one stood up and said something like 
    what he had said, and he turned away from him. Then the third one stood up 
    and said something like what he had said, and he turned away from him. Then 
    the fourth one stood up and said something similar to what they had said. 
    The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) turned to 
    him, with anger visible on his face, and said:

    “What do 
    you want from ‘Ali, what do you want from ‘Ali, what do you want from ‘Ali? 
    ‘Ali is of me and I am of him. He is the waliy of every believer after I am 
    gone.” 

    Narrated 
    by Ahmad, 33/154, Mu’sasat ar-Risaalah edition; at-Tirmidhi, no 3712; and 
    many others, all of them via Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan, who said: Yazeed ar-Rashk 
    told me, from Mutarriq ibn ‘Abdullah, from ‘Imraan ibn Husayn. Adh-Dhahabi 
    (may Allah have mercy on him) said it is one of the reports narrated only by 
    Ja‘far. End quote from Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala’, 8/199 

    Our 
    scholars differed concerning this hadeeth; there are two views: 

    1.

    The first 
    view is that the hadeeth is acceptable. 

    
    At-Tirmidhi said: 

    This 
    hadeeth is hasan ghareeb; we know of it only through this isnaad from the 
    hadeeth of Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan. End quote. 

    Al-Haakim 
    said: 

    It is 
    saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim. End quote. Adh-Dhahabi did not 
    say anything about it. 

    
    Al-Mustadrak, 
    3/119 

    It was 
    classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan as he narrated in his Saheeh, 
    15/374 

    Ibn ‘Adiyy 
    (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Abu ‘Abd 
    ar-Rahmaan an-Nasaa’i included it in his Sihaah, but al-Bukhaari did 
    not include it (in his Saheeh). End quote. 

    
    Al-Kaamil, 
    2/146 

    Al-Haafiz 
    Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Its isnaad is qawiy. End 
    quote. 

    
    Al-Isaabah, 
    4/569 

    It was 
    classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Silsilah as-Saheehah, no. 2223 

    Their 
    evidence for the soundness of this hadeeth is that many of the scholars 
    regarded Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan ad-Dab‘i as thiqah (trustworthy) and that they 
    found other two corroborating reports of the hadeeth, the first of which is 
    from Ibn ‘Abbaas in Musnad Ahmad (1/330) and in Musnad 
    at-Tayaalisi (4/470 – Hajar edn under the supervision of Shaykh ‘Abd 
    al-Muhsin at-Turki). Its isnaad includes Abu Balj, concerning whom there is 
    a difference of opinion. The second corroborating report is from the hadeeth 
    of Buraydah ibn al-Husayb in Musnad Ahmad (38/118). Its isnaad 
    includes Ajlah ibn ‘Abdullah al-Kindi, who is a Shi‘i and da‘eef. It was 
    also narrated by more than one narrator from Buraydah with different 
    wording; one such report appears in Saheeh al-Bukhaari, no. 4350. 

    2.

    The second 
    view is that the hadeeth is da‘eef (weak). 

    Shaykh 
    al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    It is 
    false and fabricated according to the consensus of hadeeth scholars. End 
    quote. 

    Minhaaj 
    as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, 
    7/385 

    It was 
    classed as da‘eef by the commentators on Musnad Ahmad (Mu’sasat 
    ar-Risaalah edn.) 

    The reason 
    for their describing it as da‘eef is Ja‘far ibn Sulaymaan ad-Dab‘i who was 
    the only one to narrate it. Yahya ibn Sa‘eed al-Qattaan regarded him as 
    da‘eef. ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Mahdi did not feel at ease with his hadeeth. 
    Al-Bukhaari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some of his hadeeth go 
    against other scholars. ‘Ali ibn al-Madeeni said: He narrated a great deal 
    from Thaabit, and the rest of his hadeeth are munkar (rejected). 

    Ibn Sa‘d 
    said: He was thiqah (trustworthy) but there was some weakness in him. See 
    Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, 2/97. 

    As the 
    hadeeth scholars were also unanimously agreed that he was an extreme  Shi‘i 
    who reviled Mu‘aawiyah, a number of scholars favoured the view that the 
    hadeeths which were narrated only by him were to be regarded as da‘eef, 
    because the hadeeth narrated only by someone like him is not to be accepted, 
    especially since what he narrated in this case is something that supports 
    his bid‘ah (innovation). This is the view we are inclined to favour with 
    regard to the hadeeths which speak of virtues (of ‘Ali). 

    Thirdly: 

    Even if we 
    assume that the hadeeth is saheeh and acceptable, there is no evidence in it 
    whatsoever to support what the Shi‘ah want to prove about the caliphate 
    belonging to ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) after the death of the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). This is for a number of 
    reasons: 

    1.

    The word 
    waliy has many meanings in Arabic; what evidence do the Shi‘ah have that 
    what it means here is caliphate? Al-Fayroozabadi (may Allah have mercy on 
    him) said: Waly may mean closeness, nearness, or rain after rain. 
    Waliy may mean: loved one, friend, or supporter. Wilaayah may mean rulership 
    or authority. Wala’ may mean ownership. Mawla may mean owner, slave, the one 
    who manumits a slave, the manumitted slave, companion, relative such as a 
    cousin and so on, neighbour, ally, son, paternal uncle, guest, partner, or 
    sister’s son. Al-Waliy may mean the Lord, the Helper, or the Bestower of 
    blessings; or it may mean the recipient of blessings, lover, follower or 
    son-in-law. End quote. 

    
    Al-Qaamoos al-Muheet, 
    p. 1732 

    2.

    If what is 
    meant is rulership and caliphate, then how could the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) have said “the waliy of every believer after I 
    am gone”, when ‘Ali was the caliph only of those who lived at his time, and 
    he was not the leader of every believer until the Day of Resurrection? 

    3.

    In some 
    versions of the hadeeth it says, “The waliy of every believer in this world 
    and in the Hereafter.” Musnad Ahmad, 5/179. This version indicates 
    that what is meant by waliy here is not rulership; how could he be a ruler 
    of the believers in the Hereafter?! 

    4.

    We have 
    not heard of this hadeeth being quoted by ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with 
    him) or by any of his supporters or even by any of the noble Sahaabah (may 
    Allah be pleased with them), as evidence for the caliphate of ‘Ali (may 
    Allah be pleased with him) after the death of the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him). 

    The 
    correct meaning of this word is love, help and support. Love for ‘Ali ibn 
    Abi Taalib (may Allah be pleased with him) is obligatory upon every 
    believer, as is helping and supporting him in adhering to the truth. 

    Shaykh 
    al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    The words 
    “He is the waliy of every believer after I am gone” are falsely attributed 
    to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Rather 
    during his life and after his death he is the waliy of every believer, and 
    every believer is his waliy in life and in death. Wilaayah (love, support, 
    friendship) that is the opposite of enmity is not limited to any particular 
    time. As for wilaayah in the sense of rulership, the word should be waali 
    (ruler) and not waliy; thus the wording would be, “the waali (ruler) of 
    every believer after I am gone”, as it is said that in the funeral prayer, 
    when both the waliy (the next of kin) and the waaliy (ruler or governor) are 
    present, the waaliy (ruler) is given precedence with regard to leading the 
    prayer, according to the view of most scholars; others said that the waliy 
    (next of kin) should be given precedence. 

    The words 
    “ ‘Ali is the waliy of every believer after I am gone” cannot be attributed 
    to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), because if he had 
    meant muwaalaah (in the sense of loving ‘Ali) , he would not have 
    needed to say “after I am gone”; if he had meant rulership, he would have 
    said “waalin ‘ala (ruler over) every believer”. End quote. 

    Minhaaj 
    as-Sunnah, 
    7/278 

    See also 
    the answer to question no. 26794 

    He (may 
    Allah have mercy on him) also said: 

    There is 
    nothing in these words to clearly suggest that what is meant is caliphate. 
    That is because the mawla is like the waliy. Allah, may He be 
    exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

    “Verily, 
    your Waliy (Protector or Helper) is Allah, His Messenger, and the 
    believers...”

    
    [al-Maa’idah 5:55]

    “but 
    if you help one another against him (Muhammad SAW), then verily, Allah is 
    his Mawla (Lord, or Master, or Protector, etc.), and Jibrael (Gabriel), and 
    the righteous among the believers, and furthermore, the angels are his 
    helpers”

    
    [at-Tahreem 66:4]. 

    It is 
    clear that the Messenger is the waliy of the believers and that they 
    are also his mawlas. It is also clear that Allah is the Waliy of the 
    believers and that they are His awliya’ (pl. of waliy, i.e., close friends), 
    and that the believers are awliya’ of one another. So muwaalaah (love) is 
    the opposite of enmity and it is affirmed in the case of both parties. 
    Because one of the two parties (namely Allah) is greater in status, His 
    wilaayah towards them is in the sense of kindness and grace, and the 
    wilaayah of the other party (the believers) is obedience and worship. Just 
    as Allah loves the believers and the believers love Him, muwaalah is the 
    opposite of enmity, war and betrayal. The disbelievers do not love Allah and 
    His Messenger, and they fight and oppose Allah and His Messenger. Allah, may 
    He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

    “Take 
    not My enemies and your enemies (i.e. disbelievers and polytheists, etc.) as 
    friends”

    
    [al-Mumtahanah 60:1].

    And He 
    will requite them for that, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

    “And if 
    you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger”

    
    [al-Baqarah 2:279]. 

    He is the 
    Waliy of the believers, and He is their Mawla. He brings them forth from the 
    depths of darkness to the light. As that is the case, then what is meant by 
    saying that Allah is the Waliy and Mawla of the believers, and that the 
    Messenger is their waliy and mawla, and that ‘Ali is their mawla, is that 
    muwaalaah which is the opposite of enmity. 

    The 
    believers take Allah and His Messenger as friends in the sense of muwaalaah 
    that is the opposite of enmity. This ruling is firmly established for every 
    believer. And ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is one of the believers 
    whom the believers take as friends and allies (awliya’). 

    This 
    hadeeth affirms that ‘Ali is a believer in the true sense and testifies that 
    he is deserving of muwaalaah (love) both inwardly and outwardly. This is a 
    refutation of what his enemies among the Khaarijis and Naasibis say about 
    him, but it does not suggest that the believers do not have any mawla other 
    than him. How can that be the case when the Messenger of Allah (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him) has mawaali (pl. of mawla), who are the 
    righteous believers. Similarly, ‘Ali also has mawaali, namely the believers 
    who take him as a friend. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) said: “Aslam, Ghifaar, Muzaynah, Juhaynah, Quraysh and the Ansaar have 
    no mawla except Allah and His Messenger.” They are described as mawaali of 
    the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) just as 
    the righteous believers are described as his mawaali, and Allah and His 
    Messenger are their mawla. 

    To sum up, 
    there is a difference between the waliy, mawla etc. and the waali. Wilaayah 
    in the sense of that which is the opposite of enmity is one thing, and 
    wilaayah in the sense of rulership is something else. The hadeeth refers 
    only to the former, not the latter. The Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) did not say, “If I am someone’s waali (ruler), ‘Ali is 
    also his waali”; rather the wording is: “If I am someone’s mawla (close 
    friend), then ‘Ali is also his mawla.” 

    This is 
    one of the things which indicate that he was not referring to caliphate. The 
    fact that he is the waliy of every believer is true during the lifetime of 
    the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and is not deferred 
    until the time after the Prophet’s death. With regard to caliphate, he could 
    not become caliph until after the Prophet’s death. Thus it is known that 
    this is not what is meant here. 

    The 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is closer to the 
    believers than their own selves, during his lifetime and after his death, 
    until the Day of Resurrection; if he appointed someone to a position of 
    authority during his lifetime – or if we assume that he appointed someone to 
    a position of authority matters during his lifetime, or we assume that he 
    appointed to take charge after his death, and that person became caliph 
    either on the basis of a text or consensus – then that person would be more 
    entitled to the position of caliphate and he would be closer to the 
    believers than their own selves. But no one other than the Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) could ever be closer to any 
    believer than his own self, especially during his lifetime. With regard to 
    ‘Ali or anyone else being the mawla of every believer, this is true and 
    applied to ‘Ali during the lifetime of the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) and after his death, and after the death of ‘Ali. So 
    today ‘Ali is still the mawla of every believer, but today he is not waali 
    (ruler, in charge) over people. The same applies to the rest of the 
    believers; they are awliya’ of one another, in life and in death. End 
    quote. 

    Minhaaj 
    as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, 
    7/322-325 

    Fourthly: 

    With 
    regard to the claim that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Faatimah, al-Hasan and 
    al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them all) are of the same status as the 
    Prophets, this is a false and invalid claim. In fact it is kufr (disbelief) 
    that nullifies a Muslim’s ‘aqeedah (belief), because it is contrary to the 
    consensus of the scholars that no one other than the Prophets can attain the 
    status of the Prophets. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of 
    the meaning):

    “Allah 
    chooses Messengers from angels and from men. Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, 
    All-Seer”

    
    [al-Hajj 22:75].

    The 
    Messengers and Prophets are the chosen from among Allah’s creation. Anyone 
    who claims otherwise is required to produce evidence, and no one can ever 
    prove that ‘Ali, Faatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn are of the same status as 
    the Prophets except by lying, distorting and fabricating hadeeths and 
    reports.

    Shaykh 
    al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Whoever 
    exaggerates about the awliya’ (close friends of Allah, “saints”), or those 
    whom they call the awliya’ of Allah, or the “people of Allah”, or the wise, 
    or the philosophers, and other names that they regard as akin to the title 
    of prophet, and they regard them as being like the Prophets or better than 
    the Prophets, should be asked to repent. If he repents, all well and good, 
    otherwise he is to be executed.

    End quote 
    from as-Safadiyyah, 1/262 

    Shaykh 
    Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Whoever 
    believes that someone other than the Prophets is better than them, or equal 
    to them, has disbelieved. Consensus on that point was narrated by more than 
    one of the scholars. What good can there be in a people whose beliefs imply 
    that they are disbelievers? 

    End quote 
    from Risaalah fi’r-Radd ‘ala ar-Raafidah, p. 29. See also: al-Fasl 
    fi’l-Milal wa’l-Ahwa’ an-Nihal, 4/21 

    And Allah 
    knows best.