[Surah al-Tawbah: 71]
Thus, He made every believer an ally of every other believer. This does not entail that he is an infallible ruler over him, with no one else permitted to exercise authority over him.
Allah Most High also said:
“Surely the allies of Allah will have no fear, nor will they grieve—
those who believe and are mindful of Him.”
[Surah Yūnus: 62–63]
Thus, every God-fearing believer (1) is one of Allah’s allies, and Allah is his Protector. Allah Most High said:
“Allah is the Protector of those who believe.”
[Surah al-Baqarah: 257]
He also said:
“That is because Allah is the Protector of those who believe, whereas the disbelievers have no protector.”
[Surah Muhammad: 11]
He also said:
“Indeed, those who believed, emigrated, and strove with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah, and those who gave refuge and rendered aid”
(2)
down to His words:
“Blood relatives are more entitled to one another according to the Book of Allah.”
[Surah al-Anfāl: 72–75]
All these texts establish mutual loyalty among the believers: each is an ally of the other; they are the allies of Allah; and Allah, His angels, and the believers are supporters of His Messenger, just as Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe are the allies of the believers. Yet none of these texts states that one who is another’s ally is therefore his ruler to the exclusion of everyone else, or that he alone has authority over him rather than all other people.
The Sixteenth Point:
The distinction between walāya, with a fatha, and wilāya, with a kasra, is well known. Walāya is the opposite of enmity and is what is mentioned in these texts; it is not wilāya, with a kasra, which means political authority. These ignorant people construe an ally as a ruler, failing to distinguish between wilāya and walāya. A ruler is called a wālī; he is not called