WALÂYAH – ولاية

Literally and Etymologically: It is derived from the root w-l-y (و ل ي), literally signifying proximity, closeness, protective friendship, guardianship, authority and close alliance. It expresses both the state of being intensely close and the ma’nawî rank derived from that nearness.

As an Islamic Term: The station, state and journey of closeness to Allah, which unfolds through two distinct ma’nawî ways:

1. Qurbîyyah: The state of proximity achieved by an ‘abd through a step-by-step advancement, ascending through ma’nawî degrees by his taqwâ, ‘ibâdah and the purification of the nafs through riyâzah. This is the predominant characteristic of the tarîqah path.

2. Aqrabîyyah: The manifestation of Allah’s absolute closeness to His creation, wherein He directly draws the ‘abd to Himself without intermediaries, as expressed in the âyah "We are closer to him than his jugular vein [with Our ‘Ilm and Qoudrah]". Rather than relying on distant, step-by-step ascents, it opens a direct window to haqiqah through Allah's immediate closeness and grace. This is the supreme characteristic of the path of nubuwwah.

Thus, walâyah is the essence and essential haqiqah of ‘ubûdiyyah, wherein the mu’min’s personal desires are annihilated in seeking the absolute pleasure and approval of Allah, thereby becoming a locus of manifestation for the name al-Walî.

While modern secular or Western terminology often equates walâyah with "sainthood," the concept in Islamic theology is entirely free from ecclesiastic, canonised or institutionalised structures. It is not a bestowed clerical status, but a ma’nawî reality rooted strictly in tawhîd, ma‘rifatullah and adherence to the Sharî‘ah.

The connection between the terms Walâyah and Awliyâ:

If awliyâ represents the exceptional, exalted mu’mins who have been bestowed with the closeness of Allah, walâyah denotes the very path, process, attribute and inner capacity of that proximity. As elucidated within the Risale-i Nur, walâyah is the source of ma’nawî perfection and the proof of the living haqiqah of Islam.

The Degrees of Walâyah: As it is elucidated within the Risale-i Nur, especially 5th Letter and the 9th Section of the 29th Letter (Telvihat-ı Tis'a), walâyah manifests in three degrees:

1. Walâyah al-Sughrâ (The Lesser Walâyah): The well-known, common walâyah that journeys and ascents through the ma’nawî stations of the tarîqah and the Sufi path. It relies heavily on kashf and shuhûd, and it is within this degree that karâmât are most frequently manifested among the awliyâ. While its journeyers' kashf and shuhûd are sometimes temporarily obscured by ma’nawî intoxication (istighraq, sakr and jadhb), they preserve their degree as long as they maintain absolute reverence and acceptance for the decrees of the Sharî‘ah, without harboring any denial, derision, or disdain toward them.

2. Walâyah al-Wustâ (The Middle Walâyah): The intermediary path of walâyah where the awliyâ advance on the ma’nawî ascent and journey of their rûh, striving to eliminate the waswasa of the nafs by disciplined riyâzah.

3. Walâyah al-Kubrâ (The Greatest Walâyah): The supreme, direct path of the Sahâbah and the great muhaqqiqîn. It is a major highway that directly opens a window to haqiqah from everything, extracting the water of ma‘rifat like the staff of Mûsâ without being dependent on the lengthy paths of the tarîqah. It is the direct inheritance of nubuwwah and yields the purity of true tawhîd. It is the sublime degree of those who actively work to disseminate and protect Islam, the Sunnah and the Sharî‘ah, embodying the very mission of the Prophet (asm). Within this supreme degree, the manifestation of karâmât is exceptionally rare or absent, as its greatest and most ultimate karâmât is the absolute istiqâmah upon the Sunnah.

Selected excerpts from the Risale-i Nur Collection that elucidate the subject:

بِاسْمِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَاِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ

In his book Maktubat, Imâm al-Rabbânî (ra), a hero and a sun of the lineage of Naqshbandî Murshids, said, "I prefer the unfolding of a single matter of the haqiqah of îmân to thousands of azwâq, ecstasies and karâmât."

He also said, "The ultimate goal of all tarîqahs is the clarification and unfolding of the haqiqahs of îmân."

He also stated, "Walâyah is of three kinds: One is the lesser walâyah (Walâyah al-Sughrâ), which is the well-known walâyah, the second is the the middle walâyah (Walâyah al-Wustâ) and the third is the greatest walâyah (Walâyah al-Kubrâ). As for the greatest walâyah, it is to open a direct path to haqiqah through the inheritance of nubuwwah without entering the barzakh of tasawwuf."

He also stated, "On the Naqshbandî path, the ma‘nawî journey of the rûh is traversed with two wings" — that is, through having a firm belief in the haqiqahs of îmân and fulfilling the obligations (fardh) of religion. If there is a defect in these two wings, that path cannot be traversed. In which case, the Naqshbandî path consists of three ‘veils’ (layers):

The First — and the foremost and greatest — is direct service to the haqiqahs of îmân, which Imâm al-Rabbânî (ra) himself traversed in the latter period of his life.

The Second is service to the obligations (fardh) of religion and the Sunnah as-Saniyyah under the veil (layer) of tarîqah.

The Third is working toward the elimination of ma‘nawî diseases of the heart through the way of tasawwuf, undertaking the ma‘nawî journey with the foot of the heart. The first is in the degree of fardh, the second is wâjib, and this third one is in the status of Sunnah.

Since the haqiqah of the matter is such, I believe that if exalted personages such as Shaykh Abdulqâdir Jilânî (ra) and Shah Naqshband (ra) and Imâm al-Rabbânî (ra) were present in this age they would devote the entirety of their high resolve to the reinforcement of the haqiqahs of îmân and the aqâid of Islam. For they are the very source of eternal happiness. Any neglect in them causes eternal misery. One cannot enter Jannah without îmân, yet many have entered Jannah without tasawwuf. Man cannot live without bread, but he can live without fruit; tasawwuf is the fruit, while the haqiqahs of Islam are essential sustenance.

In former times, ceratin haqiqahs of îmân could only be reached through a ma‘nawî journey ranging from forty days to forty years. If now, through the rahmah of Janâb-i Haqq, a path is found to rise to those haqiqahs in forty minutes, remaining indifferent to such a path is surely by no means rational.

Thus, those who have read the thirty-three Words with attention conclude that they have opened just such a Qur’anic way. Since this is the haqiqah, I am of the conviction that the Words written regarding the mysteries of the Qur'an are a most appropriate remedy and salve for the wounds of this age, a most beneficial nûr for the body of Islam subject to the onslaughts of darkness and the truest guide for those bewildered in the valleys of dhalâlah.

You know that: If dhalâlah stems from ignorance, its elimination is easy. However, if dhalâlah arises from science and learning, eliminating it is difficult. In former times, the latter were one in a thousand, and of those, only one in a thousand could be brought to the right path through guidance (irshâd). For such people are full of self-conceit; they do not know, yet they suppose that they do know.

I believe that in this age, Janâb-i Haqq has bestowed the Words, proceeding from the ma‘nawî flashes of the miraculousness of the Qur’an and endowed with the quality of an antidote against this zandaqah of dhalâlah.

اَلْبَاقِى هُوَ الْبَاقِى

Said Nursî

The Fifth Letter

بِاسْمِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَاِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ اِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِ

My ‘azîz brother!

Regarding your first question: Why could the Sahabah not discover the corrupters with the eye of walâyah, leading to three of the four Rightly-Guided Khalîfahs falling as shahîds? Whereas it is said that the lesser Sahabah is greater than the greatest awliyâ?

The Answer: There are two Stations in this matter.

FIRST STATION: This question is solved by explaining a subtle mystery of walâyah. It is as follows:

The walâyah of the Sahâbah, referred to as the Greatest Walâyah (Walâyah al-Kubra), is a walâyah — aring from the legacy of nubuwwah and passing directly from the dhâhir1 to haqiqah without traversing the barzakh of tarîqah — that looks to the unfolding of closeness (Aqrabîyyah2 ) to Allah. Although this path of walâyah is exceptionally short, it is immensely elevated. Its wonders are few, but its virtues abundant. Kashf and karâmât appear infrequently upon it. Moreover, the karâmât of the awliyâ is mostly involuntary; wonders manifest through them unexpectedly as a bestowal (ikrâm) of Allah. The majority of these kashf and karâmât occur during the ma’nawî journey of their rûh as they traverse the barzakh of the tarîqah; they become a place of manifestation for these extraordinary states because they have detached, to a degree, from ordinary human limitations. The Sahâbah, however, by virtue of the reflection, gravitational attraction and elixir of prophetic companionship, were not obliged to traverse the vast sphere of the ma’nawî journey of the rûh within the tarîqah. In a single step and through a single gathering, they could pass directly from the dhâhir to haqiqah.

For example: Just as there are two ways to reach the Night of Qadr of last night:

One is to travel for a whole year until one arrives at that night again. In order to gain this proximity (Qurbiyyah), the distance of a year must be traversed. This is the way of those who enter upon ma'nawî journeying, which most of the people of tarîqah follow.

The second is to strip off the sheath of the material body bound by time, to rise by the rûh through divesting of materiality and to see last night's Night of Qadr along with the Night of 'Id, which is the day after tomorrow, as present together like today. For the rûh is not bound by time. When human feelings and senses rise to the level of the rûh, present time expands. Times which are the past and the future for others are the present itself for such a person.

Thus, according to this analogy, in order to reach last night’s Night of Qadr, one must rise to the level of the rûh and see the past just as one sees the present. The basis of this profound mystery is the unfolding of closeness (Aqrabîyyah) to Allah.

For example: The sun is close to us because its light, heat and similitude are in our mirror and in our hand. But we are far from it. If we perceive its closeness in terms of its luminosity, understand our relation to its reflected image in our mirror, which is its similitude, come to know it through that means and know what its light, heat and overall form are, its closeness (aqrabîyyah) unfolds to us and we recognise it as near to us and become connected with it.

If we wish to draw close to it and get to know it from the standpoint of our distance, we are compelled to an extensive journeying of thought and an intellectual ascent; such that, by ascending in thought to the samâwât via scientific laws and conceiving of the sun in there, and after understanding the light and heat in it as well as the seven colours within its light through lengthy scientific investigations, we can barely attain that ma’nawî proximity (qurbîyyah) which the first man attained through a little tafakkur in his own mirror.

Thus, just like this analogy, nubuwwah and the walâyah within the inheritance of nubuwwah look to the unfolding of the mystery of closeness (aqrabîyyah). Other kinds of walâyah, however, proceed mostly upon the basis of proximity (qurbîyyah) and are compelled to traverse numerous degrees in their ma’nawî journeying and ascent.

SECOND STATION: Those who gave rise to those events and instigated the fitnah did not consist merely of a few Jews, such that discovering them would prevent the fitnah. As numerous diverse nations entered Islam, many conflicting and contradictory currents and ideas became intermingled. Especially since the national pride of some among them was grievously wounded by the blows of 'Umar (ra), out of their very disposition, they were waiting for an opportunity to take revenge. For not only had their ancient religion been abolished, but their ancient rule and sovereignty, which were the source of their honour, had also been destroyed. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, they became emotionally inclined to seek revenge upon Islamic rule. For this reason, it was said that a group of clever and scheming munâfiqs, such as the Jews, exploited that social condition.

This means that preventing those events could only be achieved by rectifying the social life and diverse ideas of that time, not by the discovery of one or two instigators of fitnah.

If it is said: “While standing on the minbar, Hazrat ‘Umar (r.a.) called out

يَا سَارِيَةُ اَلْجَبَلَ اَلْجَبَلَ 3

to his commander Sâriyah, who was a month’s journey away, enabling Sâriyah to hear him and causing a victory in terms of military strategy through a command manifested as a karâmah. Although this demonstrates how keen his sight was, why did he fail to perceive his assassin, Fîrûz, standing right next to him through that piercing gaze of walâyah?"

The Answer: We answer this with the very answer that the Hazrat Ya’qûb (as) gave. {Note:

زِ مِصْرَشْ بُوىِ پِيرَاهَنْ شِنِيدِى چِرَا دَرْ چَاهِ كَنْعَانَشْ نَدِيدِى بَگُفْتْ اَحْوَالِ مَا بَرْقِ جِهَانَسْتْ دَمِى پَيْدَا و دِيگَرْ دَمْ نِهَانَسْتْ گَهِى بَرْ طَارُمِ اَعْلَى نِشِينَمْ گَهِى بَرْ پُشْتِ پَاىِ خُودْ نَبِينَم

That is to say, Hazrat Ya’qûb was asked: 'How was it that you caught the scent of Yûsuf's shirt coming from Egypt, yet failed to see him in the well of Canaan nearby?' He answered: 'Our state is like flashing lightning; at one moment it appears and at another it is hidden. At times it is as though we are seated on the highest spot and see everywhere, while at other times we cannot even see the top of our own foot.’

In conclusion: Although man is an agent endowed with free choice, according to the mystery of the âyah,

وَمَا تَشَاؤُنَ اِلاَّ اَنْ يَشَاءَ اللّٰهُ 4 ,

the execution of the Irâdah of Allah is fundamental and qadar is dominant. The execution of the Irâdah of Allah turns back human desire. The hadîth,

اِذَا جَاءَ الْقَدَرُ عُمِىَ الْبَصَرُ5

executes its decree. Once qadar speaks, human power cannot speak, and his partial will (juz’ al-ikhtiyârî) falls silent.

The Fifteenth Letter/Your First Question