Walayah

Welayah or Walaya (Arabic: وَلاية, meaning "guardianship" or "governance") is a general concept of the Islamic faith and a key word in Shia Islam that refers, among other things, to the nature and function of the Imamate.^[1]

Welayah is something that can be granted to a person, community, or country that confers authority/guardianship to the wali (a person who has welayah) that they can exercise on behalf of someone else. For example, in fiqh, a father is wali of his children. The term wali holds a special importance in Islamic spiritual life and it is used with various meanings that relate to its different functions, including:

Next of kin
Ally
Friend
Helper
Guardian
Patron
Saint

In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu l-Lāh^[2] can denote one vested with the "authority of God:"

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ رَاكِعُونَ
"In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate: Only God is your wali and his messenger and those who believe, establish worship, and pay the poor due while bowing down (in prayer)."^{[Quran 5:55]}

^ Newman in Meri 2006, p. 734
^ "Walī (a., pl. awliyā;)"

[Newman_in_Meri_2006_734-1] Newman in Meri 2006, p. 734

[2] "Walī (a., pl. awliyā;)"

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