Abu Abdallah Muhammad b. Ali al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi and his followers have their doctrine especially based on sainthood (wilayat) and used to explain the true nature of sainthood, the degrees of saints, and the observance of the proper arrangement of their ranks.

Walayat means, etymologically, “power to dispose” (tassuruf), and wilayat means “possession of command” (imarat). Wilayat also means “lordship” (rububiyyat); hence, God hath said, “In this case, the Lordship (al-walayat) belongs to God who is the Truth” (Qur’an, 18:42) because the unbelievers seek His protection and turn unto Him and renounce their idols.

Wilayat also means “love” (mahabbat). Wali may be the form fa`il (subject: who enacts according to Divine Law) with the meaning of maf`ul, (object: on whom the Divine works) as God hath said, “And He takes charge of (yatawalla) the righteous” (Qur’an, 7:195). A wali is strongly committed to fulfilling his obligations to Him. Thus, Wali, in active meaning, is “one who desires” (murid), while in the passive sense, it denotes “one who is the object of God’s desire” (murad).

God hath said, “He loves them, and they love Him” (Qur’an, 5:59), so that they turn away from the favor of humankind: He is their friend (wali), and they are His friends (awliya). God may confer on one “friendship” (wilayat) that enables him to persevere in obedience to Him and keeps him free from sin, and on another, a “friendship” that empowers him to lose and bind and makes his prayers answered and his aspirations effectual. Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) has said, “There is many a one with dirty hair, dust-stained, clad in two old garments, whom men never heed; but if he were to swear by God, God would verify his oath.” It is well known that Hazrat Omar(ra) had commanded the river Nile to resume flow without sacrificing a young maiden to it.

God hath said, “God is the friend (Wali) of those who believe” (Qur’an, 2:258)
He hath also said, “Verily, on the friends (awliya) of God no fear shall come, and they shall not grieve” (Qur’an, 10:63). Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) said, “Among the servants of God there are some whom the prophets and martyrs deem happy.” He has described them as such, “Those who LOVE one another, through God’s mercy, without wealth and without seeking livelihood: their faces are luminous, as they sit on the throne of light; they are not afraid when men are afraid, nor do they grieve when men grieve.”

Ali Hujwary has strongly affirmed, “Allah has made the Saints the governors of the Universe; they have become completely devoted to His business and have ceased to follow their sensual affections. Through the blessing of their advent, the rain falls from heaven, and through the purity of their lives, the plants spring up from the earth. Through their spiritual influence, the Muslims gain victories over unbelievers.

Among them, there are four thousand who are concealed, do not know one another, and are not aware of the excellence of their state but, in all circumstances, are hidden from themselves and humankind. Traditions have come down to this effect, and the sayings of the Saints proclaim the truth thereof, and I myself – God be praised! – I have had an ocular experience with this matter. But of those who have the power to lose and to bind and are the officers of Divine court there are three hundred, called Akhyar, and forty, called Abdal, and seven called Abrar, and four called Awtad, and three called Nuqaba, and one called Qutb or Ghawth. All these know one another and cannot act save by mutual consent.