A comparative study of the Wilayah from the point of view of Shams Tabrizi and Ibn Arabi

Wilayah (governorship) is the essence of prophet’s prophecy and mission, and it is considered as their root and mine, because there is no prophet or messenger unless he first received governorship and became a guardian, and received prophethood and mission according to the capacity of his governorship. Based on an examination of the thoughts of the mystics Shams Tabrzi and Ibn Arabi, it is known that based on his services and work, Ibn Arabi considers himself the end of Muhammadiyah's wilayah in his era. In his opinion, prophethood is of external nature while "wilayah" is of the inner nature. That is, prophecy is not repeatable and can be terminated, but the wilayah (meaning guardianship) is always going on and the matter of the position of guardianship and governorship is open and it is an internal matter, and anyone can become the possessor of guardianship or wilayah at any time, which has degrees, strengths, and weaknesses. Ibn Arabi attributes absolute and complete wilayah to the holy existence of Hazrat Amir (Imam Ali) and Hazrat Hojjat (a.s.), but he does not attribute absolute and complete wilayah to himself. In criticizing Ibn-Arabi's thought, Shams Tabrizi takes advantage of his own words and shows him the inaccuracy of his thinking. According to Shams, not only did the Prophet (pbuh) reach the extreme level of self-righteousness; but also, dealing with the Shari'ah through commanding and prohibiting people was considered an additional virtue over seeking the truth for him, not a defect in it.