An Analysis of the Verse of Wilāyah in the Light of Shi and Sunni Exegeses

Verse 55 of Sūrat al-Māʾidah is also known as Āyat al-Wilāyah (“The Verse of Guardianship”). It speaks about the guardianship (wilāyah) of God, His Messenger (peace be upon him), and those believers who establish prayer and give alms while in the state of bowing (rukūʿ): “Indeed, your guardian is only Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe — those who establish prayer and give alms while bowing down.” (al-Māʾidah 5:55) According to the exegetes and theologians of the Imāmī (Shīʿī) school, this verse is among the clearest proofs of the immediate Imamate of Imam ʿAlī (peace be upon him). On the other hand, Sunni exegetes have presented various interpretations of this verse by citing different contexts of revelation (shaʾn al-nuzūl). This article, employing a descriptive-analytical method, is divided into two stages: internal (textual) analysis, which examines the wording, structure, and contextual relations of the verse; and External (extra-textual) analysis, which investigates the circumstances of revelation, historical background, narrations, and exegetical opinions. The primary objective of this research is to uncover the true meaning of the verse and to clarify its relationship with the doctrine of Imamate on scholarly grounds. The study concludes that the incident of Imam ʿAlī (peace be upon him) giving his ring in charity and the revelation of the Āyat al-Wilāyah occurred in the final year of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him and his family) life, after Imam ʿAlī’s return from Yemen, on the evening of the Day of ʿArafah during the Farewell Pilgrimage (Ḥijjat al-Wadā