What the verse really means is that every believer is a friend and ally of Allah and His Messenger. The Exalted says, “Allah is the Protector of those who believe” (al-Baqarah 257), and the Messenger ﷺ said, “I have a stronger claim on every believer than he has on himself” (1). That is the genuine bond of loyalty (walāʾ). There is no doubt that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may Allah be pleased with him, receives his share of this verse just like any other believer; he was certainly one who established the prayer, paid the alms, and bowed and prostrated. Yet we cannot claim that the verse is exclusive to him and does not include anyone else. ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, falls under its scope, and so do Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿAbbās, Khālid ibn al-Walīd, and all the other Companions—every one of them is encompassed by this verse.

As for az-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām, the Messenger ﷺ said about him, “Every prophet has a disciple, and my disciple is az-Zubayr” (2). Nevertheless, they still claim that az-Zubayr is among the leaders of unbelief. If az-Zubayr—the Prophet’s own disciple—is deemed a leader of unbelief, how could the Prophet’s closest Companions be branded leaders of unbelief? And what should one think of a man whose intimate associates are, by that reckoning, leaders of unbelief? Such a man would inevitably resemble them, whether by direct implication or simply through companionship. Hence the ḥadīth—though its chain requires investigation—states, “A person follows the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look carefully at whom he befriends” (3).