Conclusion

This book examined a single Prophetic declaration:

إِنَّ عَلِيًّا مِنِّي وَأَنَا مِنْهُ وَهُوَ وَلِيُّ كُلِّ مُؤْمِنٍ مِنْ بَعْدِي

“ʿAlī is from me and I am from him, and he is the walī of every believer after me.”

The evidence presented establishes that this narration is authentic by Sunni standards, transmitted through multiple independent chains, and affirmed by leading Sunni hadith authorities across centuries. Attempts to dismiss it through selective narrator criticism, conjecture, or appeals to later consensus do not withstand scrutiny when measured against established principles of hadith methodology.

The meaning of walī in this context is likewise clear. When the Prophet ﷺ speaks of wilāyah, he defines it through authority, guardianship, and priority, not mere affection. This is confirmed by Qurʾānic usage, Prophetic precedent, and classical Arabic lexicography. To reduce walī here to friendship, while preserving its authoritative meaning in other contexts, is linguistically and methodologically inconsistent.

Most decisive is the phrase “after me” (min baʿdī). Love and loyalty toward ʿAlī were already established during the Prophet’s lifetime. What begins only after his passing cannot be affection, companionship, or moral encouragement. It can only be a role that becomes operative in his absence. The wording is deliberate, sequential, and unambiguous. It signifies succession.

The denials examined throughout this work do not arise from obscurity in the text, but from unease with its implications. Declaring an authenticated Prophetic report fabricated because it conflicts with post-Prophetic events reverses the proper order of evidence. Revelation is not interpreted by history; history is judged in light of revelation.

The conclusion, therefore, is unavoidable. The Prophet ﷺ did not leave the Ummah without appointed authority. He named it.

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be upon him, was declared the walī of every believer after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, inheriting the Wilāyah that the Prophet himself exercised over the Ummah.

History records what occurred.
The Prophetic declaration records what was intended.