Question:

Some Muslims do not know that the Arabic term “Walī” (ولي) is attributed to God alone in some places of Qurʾān and only show verses in which it is also applied to people, where can one read these?

Answer:

In the 107th verse of the 2nd chapter “Al-Baqarahʾ” it says:

ألم تعلم أن الله له ملك السماوات والأرض وما لكم من دون الله من ولي ولا نصير

” Did you not know that God is the owner of the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and that you have no one close to you (Walī) and no helpers besides God?”

In the 55th verse of chapter 5 “Al-Māʾidah” it says:

إنما وليكم الله ورسوله والذين آمنوا الذين يقيمون الصلاة ويؤتون الزكاة وهم راكعون

“Your close one ( Walī ) is only God, His messenger and the believers who perform the prayer and give the alms while bowing down.”

Az-Zamakhsharī writes on page 297 of his Tafsīr-ul-Kashshāf:

وإنها نزلت في علي كرم الله وجهه حين سأله سائل وهو راكع في صلاته فطرح له خاتمه

“This was revealed because of Alī (a.) when a beggar begged him while he was bowing in prayer, after which he threw his ring to him.”

Aṭ-Ṭūsī writes on page 559 in the 3rd volume of At-Tibyān:

والطبري والرماني ومجاهد والسدي إِنها نزلت في علي عليه السلام حين تصدق بخاتمه وهو راكع وهو قول أبي جعفر وأبي عبد الله عليهما السلام وجميع علماء أهل البيت

“Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Ar-Rummanī, Mujāhid and As-Suddī handed down that the verse was revealed because of ʿAlī (a.) when he gave his ring as a alms while bowing and that is the view of Muḥammad Al-Bāqir (a.) and Jaʿfar Aṣ Aṣ-Ṣādiq (a.) and all the knowledgeable people of the house (a.).”

Comment:

The point is not how the term “Walī” (ولي) is to be understood, but that in the language used by Qurʾān it is not used for God alone.