Wilāya
Definition
Wilaya — authority or power — is one of the key conditions that determines the method by which the obligation of forbidding evil is discharged. Al-Ghazali identifies three levels of addressing wrong, corresponding to three levels of wilaya: those with political or legal authority can use compulsion; those with social authority can use strong verbal rebuke; and those with no authority except their own conscience can use the weakest form — disapproval in the heart. He emphasises that using the method appropriate to one's level of authority is not a weakness but a wisdom — exceeding one's authority often makes the situation worse.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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