Al-Baqarah: (257) Allah is the Protector of those who believe...

Issue 1: The Meaning of Al-Wali (الولى)

The word {الولى} (Al-Wali) is derived from Fa'eel (فعيل) in the sense of Fa'il (فاعل) (the doer). It comes from the saying: "So-and-so managed the affair" (wally fulanun al-shay'a), meaning he was close to it (yalihi wilayatan). He is Wali and Waliy.

Its origin is from Al-Wali (الولي), which signifies closeness (القرب). The poet of Hudhayl said:

"The visiting camels came short of your proximity, causing agitation."

From this root, it is said: "My house is adjacent to her house" (dari tali dariha), meaning it is close to it. Similarly, a helper or supporter (mu'āwin) is called a Wali because he is close to you through love and support and does not leave you.

The Wali (ruler/governor) is so named because he is close to the people through management, command, and prohibition. Hence, the term Mawla (المولى) is derived from this.

Consequently, the opposite of Wilayah (protection/guardianship) is Enmity (Adāwah), derived from adā (عدا), meaning to pass beyond or transgress. This is why Wilayah is the opposite of Adāwah.

Issue 2: The Proof for Allah's Specific Graces (Al-Aṭāf) for the Believers

Our scholars (Ashabuna) use this verse as proof that Allah's graces (al-aṭāf) concerning religion are more numerous for the believer than for the disbeliever.

The Argument:

1. The verse indicates that Allah, the Exalted, is the Wali of those who believe (waliyyu alladhīna āmanū) specifically and definitively.
2. The Wali of a thing is the one who undertakes what leads to a person's well-being and uprightness concerning the desired goal.
3. This is supported by the verse: {They prevent [people] from the Sacred Mosque, and they were not its protectors; indeed, its protectors are none but the righteous} (Al-Anfāl: 34). Allah made the caretaker of the Mosque's structure the Wali of it and negated that status for the disbelievers.
4. Since the meaning of Wali is the one responsible for interests (al-mutakaffil bi-al-masāliḥ), and Allah has designated Himself as the specific Wali of the believers, we know that Allah undertakes their interests more than those of the disbelievers.

The Mu'tazila Position: The Mu'tazila hold that Allah treated disbelievers and believers equally regarding guidance, success (tawfīq), and graces (al-aṭāf). This verse refutes their claim.

Mu'tazila Counter-Arguments (to explain the specificity):

1. Increased Graces: This specificity refers to an increase in graces, as mentioned in {And those who are guided - He increases them in guidance} (Muhammad: 17).
   • Rationale: Goodness and obedience lead to one another. When a believer attends a session where admonition occurs, his heart experiences humility, submission, and brokenness, a state different from one whose heart is hardened by disbelief and sin. This shows that graces applicable to the believer are not applicable to others. Thus, specifying the believers as Allah's Wali refers to this.

2. Reward in the Hereafter: Allah specifically rewards them in the Hereafter with eternal bliss and great honor.

3. Beneficiary of Guardianship: Although Allah is the Wali of all in the sense of being responsible for everyone's interests equally, the one who benefits from that guardianship is the believer. This justifies singling out the believer, similar to {a guidance for the righteous} (Al-Baqarah: 2).

4. Love: Allah is the Wali of the believers in the sense that He loves them, meaning He loves to honor them.

The Ash'ari Response to the Mu'tazila:

1. Response to (1) Increased Graces: If an increase in graces is possible, it becomes obligatory upon Allah according to your doctrine. Allah is only required to fulfill what is obligatory for the believer. This entire concept is equally applicable to the disbeliever. Moreover, the believer performed actions for which he deserved this increased grace from Allah.

2. Response to (2) Reward in the Hereafter: This is also weak because that reward is obligatory upon Allah. The Wali of the believer is the one who made him deserving of that reward from Allah; thus, his Wali is himself, not Allah.

3. Response to (3) Beneficiary: The distinction that the believer benefits from Allah's guardianship originates from the servant's action, not from Allah. Therefore, according to this view, the Wali of the servant is the servant himself, not another.

4. Response to (4) Love: If Wilayah here means love, then love means granting reward. This reverts to the second point, which has already been answered.

Regarding the statement: {He brings them out from darkness into light}

The commentators unanimously agree that darkness (al-ẓulumāt) here means disbelief (al-kufr), and light (al-nūr) means faith (al-īmān).

This verse explicitly states that Allah is the one who brings a person out of disbelief and into faith. This necessitates that faith is created by Allah, because if it were achieved by the servant's own creation, then the servant would be the one bringing himself out of disbelief into faith, which contradicts the explicit meaning of the verse.

Mu'tazila Responses:

1. Means of Guidance: The bringing out from darkness to light refers to the establishment of proofs, sending of prophets, revelation of books, the utmost encouragement toward faith, and the utmost warning against disbelief.
   • Al-Qadi said: Allah attributed misguidance to the idol in {My Lord, indeed they have led astray many of the people} (Ibrahim: 36) because the idols were a cause, in some way, for their misguidance. Therefore, attributing the bringing out from darkness to light to Allah, given the strength of the means He employed for those who believe, is more appropriate.

2. Passage to Paradise: The bringing out from darkness to light refers to Allah transferring them from the Fire to Paradise.
   • Al-Qadi said this is closer to reality because what occurs in the Hereafter is from Allah's action, so it is as if He performed it in this life.

Response to the Mu'tazila:

1. Response to (1) Means of Guidance:
   • First: This attribution (Iḍāfah) is literal regarding action, and metaphorical regarding incitement and encouragement. The principle is to take the word in its literal sense.
   • Second: If these encouragements are effective in tipping the scale of the call (al-dā'iyah), then the preferred becomes obligatory, and the less preferred becomes impossible. In that case, the Mu'tazila position is invalidated. If they have no effect on tipping the scale, they cannot be called "bringing out."

2. Response to (2) Passage to Paradise: This is also refuted for two reasons:
   • First: Al-Waqidi said that every instance of {from darkness to light} in the Qur'an refers to disbelief and faith, except for {And He made the darkness and the light} (Al-An'am: 1), which means night and day. He explained that disbelief is called darkness because it prevents perception, and faith is called light because it is the means for achieving perception.
   • Second: Transferring the believer from the Fire to Paradise is obligatory upon Allah according to the Mu'tazila, so it is not permissible to interpret the text this way.

The apparent meaning of {He brings them out from darkness into light} implies that they were in disbelief and then Allah brought them out to faith. There are two views here:

View 1: Literal Interpretation (Specific to Converts) This verse is specific to those who were disbelievers and then embraced Islam. Proponents cite narrations regarding the occasion of revelation:

1. Mujahid: It was revealed concerning a group who believed in Jesus (peace be upon him) and a group who disbelieved in him. When Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him), those who disbelieved in Jesus believed in him, and those who believed in Jesus disbelieved in Muhammad.
2. The verse was revealed concerning those who believed in Jesus in the manner of the Christians, then believed in Muhammad (PBUH) afterward. Their belief in Jesus, when they held the doctrine of Ittiḥād (unionism), was darkness and disbelief. Allah brought them out of that darkness into the light of Islam.
3. The verse was revealed concerning every disbeliever who embraced Islam through Muhammad (PBUH).

View 2: Metaphorical Interpretation (Applicable to All Believers) The verse applies to everyone who believes in Muhammad (PBUH), whether that belief followed disbelief or not.

• It is not impossible to say "He brings them out of darkness" even if they were never actually in darkness.
• Evidence for this permissibility:
  • Qur'an: {And you were on the edge of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it} (Al 'Imran: 103)—they were never in the Fire. {When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace} (Yunus: 98)—the punishment had not yet befallen them. In the story of Joseph: {I have abandoned the religion of a people who do not believe in Allah} (Yusuf: 37)—he was never in that religion. And {And some of you are returned to the most abject of age} (An-Nahl: 70)—they were not in that state yet.
  • Hadith: It is narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) heard someone say, "I testify that there is no god but Allah," and he said, "He is upon the natural disposition (al-fiṭrah)." When the person then said, "I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," the Prophet said, "He has exited the Fire," even though he was clearly not in it. It is also narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said to his companions: "You are tumbling into the Fire like locusts, and I am holding onto your belts." They were clearly not tumbling into the Fire.
  • Custom/Usage (Al-'Urf): If a father spends all his wealth, the son might say, "You have taken me out of your wealth" (meaning you left nothing for me), not that he was in it and then removed.
  • Substance: If a servant were left without Allah's success (tawfīq), he would fall into darkness. Thus, Allah's success becomes the cause for repelling those darknesses from him. There is a similarity between repelling (daf') and removing (raf') [i.e., taking out]. Therefore, using the term "bringing out" (ikhrāj) and "removing" (ib'ād) in the sense of repelling and lifting is permissible. And Allah knows best.

Regarding the statement: {And those who disbelieve, their protectors are the Taghūt}

Know that Al-Hasan read this as {their protectors} (awliyā'uhum - plural), supporting this with the subsequent verse: {The Taghūt brings them out}. However, this reading is anomalous (shādh) and contradicts the established text (al-muṣḥaf). Furthermore, we have already explained in the derivation of this word that it is singular, not plural.

Regarding the statement: {The Taghūt brings them out from light into darkness}: The Mu'tazila use this verse as proof that disbelief does not originate from Allah. They argue that Allah attributes it to the Taghūt metaphorically, by consensus, because the most apparent meaning of Taghūt is the idol. This is reinforced by {My Lord, indeed they have led astray many of the people} (Ibrahim: 36), where misguidance is attributed to the idol. Since this attribution is metaphorical by mutual agreement between us and you, it cannot serve as evidence for your side.

Regarding the statement: {Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally}: This could refer only to the disbelievers, or it could refer to both the disbelievers and the Ṭawāghīt (idols/false deities) together, serving as a warning and threat to all. If the term ulā'ika (those) is plural and can refer to both mentioned parties, it must refer to both. And Allah knows best what is correct.

[Verse 258] {Have you not considered the one who argued with Abraham concerning his Lord...}

(The translation proceeds to the next verse, covering the arguments regarding Nimrod and the man brought back to life.)