The Notion of walayah from Imam al-Ridha’s Perspective

of Shiite history, few concepts are more important than that of walayah - aterm which may designate, at one and the same time, the nature of theauthority of the Shiite imam, the principle underlying the relationship of thedisciple to the Imam and the common bond between all persons whoconsidered themselves to be members of the shi’a of Imam Ali(a.s.). Thepresent paper attempts to reconstruct the view Shiites had of themselves- bothas individual believers and as a believing community-from the origins of theShiite movement. This study is concerned to analyze the ways in which theboundaries of the Shiite community were determined and the nature of Shiiteidentity was conceived. Its main source can be the canonical Imamite hadithliterature, and in particular. One of the crucial Islamic sources that can havean important role in this study is sayings of infallible Imams. One of theseleading Imams is Imam al-Ridha, who has occupied an important position inMuslim culture and history. This paper studies the concept of walayah fromhis perspective. In doing so, it will refer to his sayings. The findings of thisresearch show that the meaning of walayah derives from the root w-l-y. Thereis a particular connection between walayah and the figure of Ali b. Abi Talibin the event of Ghadir Khumm. The usage of walayah and wilayah show theirconnection to the issue of authority over the Muslim community

کلیدواژه ها:

Shi’ism ، walayah ، infallible Imams ، Imam al-Ridha ، Islam