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CHAPTER 1 Walåyah in the Islamic Tradition In the search for an understanding of Shi˜ite identity in the earliest period of Shi˜ite history, few concepts are more important or more elusive than that of walåyah—a term that may designate, at one and the same time, the nature of the authority of the Shi˜ite Imåm, the principle underlying the relationship of the disciple to the Imåm, and the common bond between all persons who considered themselves to be members of the sh¥˜at ˜Al¥. Despite the importance of this concept in Shi˜ite thought and consciousness, it is one that has received relatively little scholarly treatment in the field of Shi˜ite studies. While there is considerable material available on the concept of imåmah or the Shi˜ite doctrine of the imåmate, and while the concepts of walåyah and imåmah are intimately related in Shi˜ite thought, it is only quite recently that serious study is beginning to be devoted to the religious and spiritual implications of walåyah, most importantly and recently in the work of Amir-Moezzi.1 Amir-Moezzi’s analysis of the term in its Shi˜ite context is detailed and profound, and examines the concept of walåyah as it relates to the ontological reality of the Imåm, the Shi˜ite disciple’s love and devotion to the Imåm, and what he refers to as the “theology of the metaphysical Imåm.”2 The concept of walåyah, however , is both more comprehensive and more prevalent than imåmah in the earliest period of Shi˜ite history,3 and, as we aim to demonstrate, is also intimately connected to notions of Shi˜ite individual and communal identity. In this chapter, we examine the meaning of the term walåyah and its related cognates within the broader Islamic tradition—from its usage in the Qur˘an and early Islamic society, to its esoteric interpretation in 15 16 The Charismatic Community Sufi or Islamic mystical discourse, as well as in some later Shi˜ite theosophical writings that were heavily influenced by the mystical tradition—in order to elucidate its full connotation in Shi˜ite thought. In this way, we hope to demonstrate that walåyah, far from being an amorphous term with multiple meanings in different forms of Islamic discourse, is a fundamental and unitive concept that underlays notions of spiritual identity and community in a variety of Islamic contexts , even if one is hard-pressed to find a single English word that can adequately convey its rich and nuanced meaning. THE MEANING OF WAL‹YAH The word “walåyah” is one of several nouns that can be formed from the Arabic root w-l-y, and while this root can have numerous meanings depending on its context, all of its related cognates can be said to designate a type of relationship between persons of either equal or unequal stature. It can, for example, be used for the relationship between lord and servant, patron and client, ruler and subject, as well as between paternal relations or friends. Due to the peculiarity of this root, both parties to these various relationships—even those of a nonsymmetrical character—can be designated as “mawlå,” such that in classical Arabic the word “mawlå” may denote both master or lord, servant or dependent. The other personal noun that is frequently formed from this root is “wal¥,” which can be synonymous with mawlå, but which is most commonly used to denote parties to a relationship of friendship or near kinship, or to relationships entailing inheritance. There are two verbal nouns derived from this Arabic root, walåyah and wilåyah, and while these two are indistinguishable in an unvocalized text, they are not entirely coterminous in meaning. Both words may serve as verbal nouns expressing the action of waliya/yal¥, which can mean: (1) to be near, adjacent or close to something; (2) to be a friend or relative of someone; and (3) to manage, administer, rule or govern, to have authority, power or command. While the two words walåyah and wilåyah generally refer to different aspects of the verb’s meaning, the boundaries between the two are not always clear. The word walåyah may refer to all three actions covered by this verb, as well as the state of being a “wal¥” or a “mawlå,” but it is most commonly applied to the first two types...

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