Wali (Islamic legal guardian)

Walī (Arabic: ولي, plural ʾawliyāʾ أولياء) is an Arabic word primarily meaning primarily "ally", from whnce other related meanings with Islamic cultural tones derive, such as "ally of God" or "holy man/saint",^[1] etc.^[2] "Wali" can also mean a "legal guardian", or ruler;^[3] someone who has "Wilayah" (authority or guardianship) over somebody else, and in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) is often "an authorized agent of the bride in concluding a marriage contract (Islamic Law)",^[2]

Traditionally, girls and women in Saudi Arabia, have been forbidden by law from travelling, obtaining a passport, conducting official business, obtaining employment, concluding a marriage contract, or undergoing certain medical procedures without permission from their guardian, who must be an adult Muslim male.^[4] However in 2019 these guardian restrictions on adult women in Saudi Arabia were lifted from traveling, undergoing certain medical procedures, obtaining passports, employment.^[5]^[6]

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Supreme Leader of the government is a wali al-faqih (guardian jurist), under the principle advanced by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that "in the absence of an infallible Imam", Islam gives a just and capable Islamic jurist "universal" or "absolute" authority over all people, including adult males.^[7]

^ Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban Jr.; Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Sudan. Historical Dictionaries of Africa (4 ed.). Lanham, Maryland, US: Scarecrow Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield. p. 361. ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0. Retrieved 2 May 2015. QUBBA. The Arabic name for the tomb of a holy man... A qubba is usually erected over the grave of a holy man identified variously as wali (saint), faki, or shaykh since, according to folk Islam, this is where his baraka [blessings] is believed to be strongest...
^ ^a ^b Hans Wehr, [Arab-English Dictionary] p. 1289
^ Hans Wehr, Arabic English Dictionary p.1100
^ World Report 2013 – Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 22 February 2014. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ "Saudi Arabia: Important Advances for Saudi Women". Human Rights Watch. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
^ Cite error: The named reference nyt-extends-2-8-2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "What is Wilayat al-Faqih?". Al-Islam.org. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 2017-02-13.

[1] Robert S. Kramer; Richard A. Lobban Jr.; Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Sudan. Historical Dictionaries of Africa (4 ed.). Lanham, Maryland, US: Scarecrow Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield. p. 361. ISBN 978-0-8108-6180-0. Retrieved 2 May 2015. QUBBA. The Arabic name for the tomb of a holy man... A qubba is usually erected over the grave of a holy man identified variously as wali (saint), faki, or shaykh since, according to folk Islam, this is where his baraka [blessings] is believed to be strongest...

[:1-2] Hans Wehr, [Arab-English Dictionary] p. 1289

[3] Hans Wehr, Arabic English Dictionary p.1100

[hrw-permission-4] World Report 2013 – Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 22 February 2014. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[hrw-important-2-8-2019-5] "Saudi Arabia: Important Advances for Saudi Women". Human Rights Watch. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.

[nyt-extends-2-8-2019-6] Cite error: The named reference nyt-extends-2-8-2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[what-wilayat-al-faqih-7] "What is Wilayat al-Faqih?". Al-Islam.org. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 2017-02-13.

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