الأَولِيَاءُ — أَحِبَّاءُ اللهِ وَخَاصَّتُهُ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمَ عَلَيهِمُ وَجَعَلَهُمُ الوُسَطَاءَ بَينَهُ وَبَينَ خَلقِه
Al-Awliyaa (الأَولِيَاء — the friends/saints/guardians of Allah; singular: waliy; from *w-l-y* meaning nearness, adjacency, guardianship, and love; Quran 10:62-63: *'Verily, the awliya' of Allah — no fear upon them and they shall not grieve — those who believed and were mindful'*; the term encompasses multiple meanings simultaneously: (1) those who are close/near to Allah; (2) those whom Allah loves and who love Allah; (3) those under divine guardianship and protection; (4) those through whom divine blessing flows into the world) are the human beings whom the divine tradition has identified as living in a sustained relationship of proximity to Allah — characterized by ongoing divine love, presence, and blessing. The Quran's portrait of the waliy: (1) they have no fear and no grief (10:62-63) — suggesting that proximity to Allah resolves the two fundamental human anxieties about the future and the past; (2) they are those who believe and are mindful (muttaqun) — the station of walaya is inseparable from iman and taqwa; (3) they receive divine protection: *'Whoever is an enemy of My waliy, I declare war upon him'* (Bukhari hadith qudsi) — making enmity toward the waliy a declaration of war against Allah. The Sufi hierarchy of awliya': the tradition developed elaborate structures of the hierarchy of awliya' — the highest being the qutb (pole/axis) around whom the spiritual world revolves; below the qutb are the awtad (pegs, 4), the abdal (substitutes, 7 or 40), and the nujaba (nobles, 300 or 313); all together they constitute the *rijal al-ghayb* (men of the unseen) who maintain cosmic spiritual balance. The Ismaili ta'wil: the awliya' of Allah are not randomly distributed throughout history but form a hierarchical chain — with the Imam as the supreme waliy in each age, the Du'at as his awliya', and the mumin community as awliya' of each other, collectively forming the walayah-network that links to Allah.
The Nature of Walaya
From waliy to awliya’: The root w-l-y captures a cluster of meanings that are theologically inseparable: proximity (being close/adjacent), love (the affection that draws near), and guardianship (the responsibility that comes with proximity). The divine awliya’ are thus those who are simultaneously: near to Allah, loved by Allah, and responsible for those in their care. These three — proximity, love, guardianship — define the triple nature of walaya.
No fear, no grief: The Quranic promise to the awliya’ — that they shall have no fear and no grief — addresses the two fundamental temporal anxieties: fear is oriented toward the future (what bad will come); grief is oriented toward the past (what good has been lost). The waliy, whose heart is anchored in Allah’s proximity, is liberated from both: the future is in Allah’s hands and therefore not fearful; the past belongs to Allah’s decree and therefore not grievable.
See also: Understanding Walayah, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Imamah, Al Qurb, Mahabbah, Tasawwuf
The Ismaili Awliya’ Structure
The hierarchical chain: In Ismaili theology, the awliya’ are not a random collection of pious individuals but form a structured hierarchy: the Imam is the supreme waliy (waliy al-waqt — the waliy of the age), appointed by divine designation (nass); the Du’at al-Mutlaqin are the awliya’ of the Imam; the mumin community are awliya’ of each other. This structure means that attachment to the Imam’s walayah is attachment to the supreme waliy — and through the Imam, connection to the Prophet and through the Prophet to Allah.
See also: Imamah, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Misaq The Covenant, Understanding Walayah, Wali Al Asr, Tayyibi Dawat, Nubuwwa
See also: Understanding Walayah, Tawil Esoteric Interpretation, Imamah, Al Qurb, Tasawwuf, Dai Al Mutlaq Institution, Misaq The Covenant, Wali Al Asr, Tayyibi Dawat, Nubuwwa