The Guardian in 5:55: Fakhr al-Rāzī’s Evidence

Qur’an 5:55 · Al-Māʾidah · With other exegetes

إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُمْ رَٰكِعُونَ

Your guardian is only Allah, His Messenger, and the faithful who maintain the prayer and give the zakāt while bowing down (5:55)

The question

Is the guardianship (wilāyah) of “the faithful who give the zakāt while bowing down” the friendship of all believers, as Fakhr al-Rāzī argues, or the authority of the one who gave alms while bowing, ʿAlī?

Views answered: Fakhr al-Rāzī · Sunni exegetes and theologians (Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid)

Jawādī Āmulī’s argument

Āyatullāh Jawādī Āmulī holds that the verse has its own context and occasion of revelation and sets up a one-way guardianship: the right to act on others’ behalf, which cannot be shared by all, as the restriction innamā shows. He answers each of Fakhr al-Rāzī’s arguments: the surrounding verses on friendship do not decide this one; a guardian who will act in the future can be called “guardian” now, as an heir or executor is; applying a plural word to a single person is not figurative; “while bowing down” describes a state, not a third group of people; and the claim that the verse was revealed about Abū Bakr rests on a report with no named companion.

Views compared

Fakhr al-Rāzī’s arguments are given as al-Tasnim reports them. Each point opens al-Tasnim at that place.

The surrounding verses Read →

Sunni exegetes and theologians; Fakhr al-Rāzī

Read with 5:51 and 5:57, “guardian” means friend and ally, and the verse has no single referent.

Jawādī Āmulī

The verse’s context is independent: it has its own occasion of revelation, uses the singular walī where the others have the plural awliyāʾ, and sets up a one-way guardianship, unlike the mutual friendship of 9:71.

A guardian before he governs Read →

Fakhr al-Rāzī

ʿAlī was not Imam when the verse came down, so “guardian” would be used for one who will only hold the role in future.

Jawādī Āmulī

Like an heir or executor, he could be called guardian beforehand; and with innamā, the Prophet being the only guardian in his lifetime shows that this guardianship would be exercised after him.

A plural for one person Read →

Fakhr al-Rāzī

The verse has seven plural words; using them for one person is figurative and needs evidence.

Jawādī Āmulī

Using the plural to mean one is different from applying a plural to its one instance, which is not figurative at all; Rāzī mixed the two. The verse of mubāhala does the same.

Three groups of people Read →

Fakhr al-Rāzī

At the time, people were of three kinds: those who prayed, those who gave zakāt, and those bowing; so “the faithful” means all believers.

Jawādī Āmulī

“While bowing down” describes a state, not a quality of a group; and a reliable occasion of revelation says ʿAlī gave zakāt while bowing.

Revealed about Abū Bakr Read →

Fakhr al-Rāzī, from ʿIkrima

The verse was revealed about Abū Bakr only.

Jawādī Āmulī

The report names no companion, and Abū Bakr never gave zakāt while bowing; Abū Dharr’s narration, which Rāzī himself quotes, shows it was revealed about ʿAlī.

Reading guide

Each step opens al-Tasnim at that point.

1. The surrounding verses
2. A guardian before he governs
3. Fakhr al-Rāzī’s three arguments that the verse means all believers
4. Revealed about Abū Bakr?
5. One referent, one Imam in each age

The whole commentary on 5:55 → · The same verse in al-Mizan’s Key Debates ↗