Wali

Walī (Arabic: ولي‎, plural Awliyā' أولياء), is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "helper", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" (authority or guardianship) over somebody else. For example, in fiqh, a father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu l-Lāh can be used to denote one vested with the "authority of God":