Arabic · noun · Spirit & the Divine

Wali

वली
said wa-LEE
also written: wali, vali, auliya
Meaning

A saint or friend of God, one brought near through piety and granted spiritual authority.

Literally: friend of God; saint

How Iqbal uses it

A "friend of God" — the saint near to God through love and obedience, granted His protection and favour (wilayat, sainthood). The Sufi tradition reveres the auliya as guides and intercessors. Iqbal honours genuine sanctity and the love that produces it, while resisting the popular cult of saints and shrines that, in its decayed form, fostered passivity and superstition in place of living, active faith.