From the past discussion the qualities of Wali have become completely clear; but there is no use of collective identification; on the contrary', human being should identify a particular Wali so that he may derive his religious issues from him. Thus, it is imperative that the implication of Wali should be sought. This is the topic of discussion in the fifth part. That is Al-Wali man Huwa: Who is the Wali?

Searching the implication of Wali is not possible without taking help from scholastic discussions, because pure intellectual discussions are not having personal and individual matters, as personal judgments do not have any role of proof. The prefaces of evidence should be completely personal and permanent. Thus, if we want to pursue the personal Wilayat of a perfect human being, it is not possible without taking help of textual discussions, except in the light of reason.

Divine Recognition And Sincerity Is Imperative In The Path Of Wilayat

The most important part in the discussion of Wilayat is this same third part: which shows the path to the Wali. As was mentioned before, every deed is a cause of divine proximity, which on its own is having the capacity of divine proximity. And one who performs this action should do so for the sake of the Almighty Allah. That is actual beauty should also be considered as well as the nominal beauty. And if some person is proximate to Allah, he can benefit from His proximity.

Acts based on these specialties are of two kinds: For obtaining the position of Wilayat, some acts have the position of obligatory acts and some are recommended acts; like there are some obligatory duties and some recommended acts to reach up to Paradise. In the same way, to reach up to the lofty stages of humanity, which is a kind of Paradise there are also some obligatory duties and some recommended acts. That, which is having most importance in this way and is having the position of a duty, is recognition and sincerity in act. As much recognition is there, as much would be sincerity in act.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said to Abu Dharr (r):

“O Abu Dharr, if human being has goodness (in the' meaning mentioned in Qur’an) he does not require too much of supplication. On the contrary, he is able to solve his problem with a little of goodness. Supplication is like salt in food. That, which is obligatory for human being is that he should have divine recognition and sincerity in the act, and he should supplicate with the tongue of his true condition and express his needs in accordance to his worth. In these circumstances verbal supplications are like sugar and salt in the food; but if human being is shortcoming in recognition and sincerity and he prays more that he should get the position of Wilayat in free and the gates of Paradise be opened for him, he should know that it would be of no use to him”.

The Almighty Allah has also promised saying:

“And (as for) those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways” (29:69).

That is if one struggles in our way, we guide him. There are many other implications and examples of effort and struggle in the way of Allah. Certainly, effort for divine recognition and identification of truth is its best example. In the same way, to traverse the path of truth, to make effort and struggle to remove every kind of individual and social obstacles; also, to purify that path from highway robbers is considered to be a holy war in the path of God.

And the result of that struggle and holy war is that the striver becomes eligible for special guidance of the Almighty Allah, although this guidance is not in the meaning of showing the way, because the Almighty Allah has given such guidance to all human beings, whether they be believers or infidels. On the contrary, here the implication is to convey to the seeker that, which he is seeking and which is connected to Wilayat.

Thus, in order to reach the lofty position of Wilayat the best course of action is divine recognition and sincerity and the conclusion of these two prefaces; or it is the effort for strengthening them. According to these Verses, contemplation, which shows the way of recognition and sincerity, is effective in this aim.

Worship Is The Only Medium Of Proximity

One of the numerous Verses, which mention that divine proximity is possible only through worship, is as follows:

“Nay! Obey him not, and make obeisance and draw nigh (to Allah)” (96:19).

Reading it makes prostration obligatory. The Almighty Allah commands His Messenger to prostrate and come near to Allah, it is clear that prostration implies prayers and worship. Since prostration is the highest position of prayer, therefore, by stating a part, the whole is implied and it denotes prayers.

Worship - Stepping Stone To Certitude

Another Verse, which mentions the same point, is as follows:

“Therefore, celebrate the praise of your Lord, and be of those who make obeisance” (15:98).

“And serve your Lord until there comes to you that, which is certain” (15:99).

These blessed Verses consider worship to be a medium of divine recognition and certitude. In these holy Verses, the word of ‘certain’ is used in its literal sense only. And if in the traditional reports it is compared to and interpreted as death, it is mentioned to be an implication of it and not that the meaning of certitude is interpreted. And the reason why certitude is applied to death is because in that condition, the dark veils of the world of nature are removed and sharp eyes of purgatory (Barzakh) see the beauty of realities and in this way all doubts and misgivings are removed and replaced by certainty.

Here the term of ‘until’ is also not in the meaning of cause; on the contrary, the meaning of benefit is derived. Therefore, here the interpretation of the Verse is not that the aim of worship is to get certainty; that if you worship you may reach up to certainty and thus if someone can reach certainty, he can leave worship acts. It is definitely not thus; on the contrary, the implication is that one benefit of worship is getting certainty and access to certainty is not possible without worship and servitude. For example, if it is said; Go up the ladder so that you may touch that high branch; it does not mean that as soon as you reach the branch you should leave the ladder; because leaving the ladder would definitely cause you to fall and die.

Therefore, the interpretation of the holy Verse is that certainty is based on the staircase of worship and keeping away from that, which takes human being to the high levels causes him to be thrown into the ditch of decadence.

“And whoever associates (others) with Allah, it is as though he had fallen from on high, then the birds snatch him away or the wind carries him off to a far-distant place” (22:31).

Practical Monotheism - Result Of Worship

Another point, which is worth attention in this Verse, is regarding whom is the certainty and what certainty is it to obtain, which this Verse invites us to worship? Definitely it is not certainty about the initial existence, because such a certainty is itself the source of worship and not that it is a best result of worship and a position of divine saints; on the contrary, this certainty is accompanied with all absolute qualities. It is compared to certainty in the existence of Allah. If there is certainty on absolute Lordship of Almighty Allah there is no more any imagination about the control and lordship of anyone else.

In the same way, the certitude of His absolute rulership rejects the rulership of all others. If someone reaches till this stage of certainty; that is along with certainty in the existence of Allah, he should also have certainty about the Lordship and ownership of Allah on the universe, he automatically begins to negate nominal ownership and considers it all to be the ownership of Allah; on the contrary, he considers himself and all his issues to belong to Allah.

If it becomes clear to anyone that powers of human perceptions and movements are under the control of Allah and belong to Him; whatever he accomplishes through those capacities, he thanks the Almighty Allah, considering them to be the property and power of Allah. That his good action were accomplished through hands, eyes and other organs, because in the whole universe, whatever a human being does, he does so as an agent of the Almighty Allah. The 4th to the 7th Verse of Surah al-Fath mention this:

“Allah’s are the hosts of the heavens and the earth” (48:4).

If attention is focused on this matter that there was need of this act in the system of existence and goodly act, it is possible that the Almighty Allah could have accomplished it through someone else. Thus, if a person gets the opportunity to perform a good deed, he should consider himself to be one who has been bestowed by the Absolute Lord and he should thank Him from the depths of his heart.

Practical Monotheism In Verses

The result of ‘masterly’ monotheism leading to practical monotheism is mentioned in the blessed Surah Yunus as follows:

“Say: Who gives you sustenance from the heaven and the earth?” (10:31).

“Or Who controls the hearing and the sight?” (10:31).

Who is the master of your ears and eyes? The reply is that Allah is the master of the ears and the eyes. That is the body of the ear and the eye is also the property of Allah. And the property of eyes and ears are also under the domination of Allah. That the Kingdom is in His control and He is the ruler of it. Allah is the owner as well as the master.

“Allah’s is what is in the heavens and the earth” (10:55).

“Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth” (5:17).

From the past discussion it becomes clear that it cannot be chimed that the Almighty Allah first created our powers and then gave them to us by way of loan, because though this explanation proves the ownership of powers for the Almighty Allah, but it entrusts their power to human being, because when some property is given to someone by way of loan during that period the person, who is having the property in his possession, has absolute control over it and not the one who has given it to him.

In other words, its ownership is taken away from the giver and is under the control of the loanee. Therefore, this clarification also is not compatible with recognition of Almighty Allah. The only justification, which is suitable to attribute perception and powers to human being and which is also not in negation of the absolute ownership of the Almighty Allah is that we should say that human being is a reflection of the beauty of truth.

The Interpretation Of Being A Reflection

It is necessary to mention that ‘reflection’ in the terminology of the Gnostics is that form, which is visible in the mirror and not the body of the mirror, because that, which becomes the cause that human being should be able see himself is that, which is present in the mirror and it shows the physical appearance of that person and not the glass and the material applied to its rear, which ordinary people call as a mirror.

Appearance Of Human Being

From this point of view, human being is an expression of such a being, which is a collection of all perfections. In this way, the meaning of Wilayat being restricted in the holy personality of the Almighty Allah is clarified, because whoever accepted on the basis of ‘Allah is the Wali’ or ‘Allah is the praised one’ that the absolute Wali is Allah, he can never accept Wilayat for himself or for anyone else in any corner of the world of possibility.

Thus, if someone says that he is having Wilayat on his perceptive and motive capacities, or says that he has obtained knowledge with great effort, such a person is in the curves and bends of the lanes of divine recognition and he has been unable to find the path of true monotheism. Whoever obtains this and realizes that human being in all conditions is a mirror of truth, expression of absolute perfection and an example of ‘He is the Wali’ such a person has nicely covered the stages of Practical Monotheism.

If the form present in the mirror wants to speak, it will say: I am the sign and expression of the owner of the form. So, a perfect human being, for whom this recognition is clear, says: I am the expression of ‘He is the Wali’. That is the act is performed by someone else; I am only its sign. And I indicate that he has performed this act. If this position of divine recognition is obtained, human being does not only talk of hearing and sight:

“Or Who controls the hearing and the sight?” (10:31).

On the contrary, he only says that, which the Almighty Allah has commanded His Messenger.

“Say: Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds” (6:162).

That is the life and death of human being, and even the worship acts are the properties of Allah. In any case, this justification is that straight path, which saves human being from being snared in the net of free will and destiny and prepares the way of acceptance of the true path of Wilayat, even though it is thinner than a strand of hair and sharper than a sword.

The Meaning Of Amr Bain al-Amrain (The Issue Between Two Issues)

The matter of compulsion and free will is not divorced from practical monotheism. Amr Bain al-Amrain can be interpreted in two ways: One of them is intricate and the second, more intricate. The intricate, which is well known, is that human being is having choice and he stands on the junction of good and evil; if he commits evil, he would be punished for it and if he performs a charitable deed, he would be deserving of rewards. There is neither compulsion nor free will That is neither the Almighty Allah has forced all acts on him nor has He entrusted him with all the acts; on the contrary, it is Amr Bain al-Amrain (The issue between two issues), although in rational discussions it is interpreted in a more intricate manner, and whose conclusion is practical monotheism. And from that the image in the mirror and the view of expressiveness is compatible. The Almighty Allah says in Surah an-Nahl:

“Whatever favour is (bestowed) on you it is from Allah” (16:53).

All the bounties that you have are from Almighty Allah. If someone has obeyed the Almighty Allah, this obedience is also a divine favour. Who is the giver of that bounty? It is possible to say that the Almighty Allah bestowed us with reason and choice, sent prophets and we obeyed only on the basis of them. Please pay attention: that from the aspect of this justification human being is supposed to be independent and free; and free will is nothing, except that the servant should be supposed free and independent before the Almighty Allah. Faqih Hamdani (q) says in Kitab Taharaf. Many scholars, who were negating compulsion, became involved in the trap of free will and they think that they have proved Amr Bain al-Amrain (The issue between two issues).

The main point is that if Wilayat and Lordship of Allah is absolute and unlimited, then in comparison to control and unlimited authority, it is not proper to suppose any other lordship and Wilayat. The appropriate thing is expressiveness of human being and being a mirror in the presence of Allah.

Effect Of Practical Monotheism On Human Character

If human being obtains the highest level of recognition; that not only that heavens and earth should be considered as properties of Allah, on the contrary, he should consider himself and all his properties to be under the control of His Wilayat and deem himself to be an expression of truth, a position of His majesty and a sign of that sign-less one, then he would pay utmost attention to his character and behaviour and endeavour not to commit any disrespect or carelessness in the presence of the Almighty Lord. In this regard, the advice that Messenger of Allah (S) gave to Abu Dharr is the best example, in which he says:

“O Abu Dharr, do you want to enter heaven?”

He replied: “Yes, may my parents be sacrificed on you”

The Messenger of Allah (S) said: “Then reduce your hopes and consider death as a certainty. And be modest from Allah in a way that is worthy of it”

Abu Dharr says: I said: “O Messenger of Allah (S), all of us are modest before the Almighty Allah”

The Holy Prophet (S) said: “Modesty from the Almighty Allah is not this; on the contrary, it is that you should not forget the grave and your decaying in it, you should control your stomach and food intake, you should control the head and the views that come to it (because Go knows all this). Whoever seeks divine miracles should shun the embellishments of the world. If you have covered these stages, you have obtained divine Wilayat”.

On another occasion it is narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) that he said: “O Abu Dharr those who view the world with the eyes of disinterest are divine saints (Awliya); although piety and abstemiousness are the signs of divine Wilayat; whoever is the Wali of Allah, he would be having piety and abstemiousness and it is not that one who is having piety and abstemiousness would be the Wali of Allah”.

In other words, that, which is necessary for reaching the highest position of Wilayat, is recognition of God and His beautiful names.

And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.