المعنى الاصطلاحي :

Legal authority that entitles its holder to manage someone else’s affair, whether related to the worldly life or the Hereafter.

الشرح المختصر :

"Wilāyah" (authority) is a legal right that empowers its holder to execute his decision on others and manage their affairs. It is of two types: 1. "Wilāyah khāssah" (specific/limited authority): It is practiced by its holder in relation to specific persons, whether on themselves or their property, such as the "wilāyah" of the father to marry off his daughter, the "wilāyah" of the husband to discipline his disobedient wife, the "wilāyah" of the father to discipline his young child, and the "wilāyah" of the kin of the murdered person granted to them by the Islamic law to choose between legal retribution and pardon. 2. "Wilāyah ‘āmmah" (public authority) : It is not restricted to a number of people. It is mainly to exercise full authority on others and enforce decisions and measures related to them without delegation, such as the authority given to the judiciary, policemen, rulers, and so on.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Wilāyah": rulership, power, being in charge of others. "Waliyy": lord, owner, ruler. Derived from "waly", which means closeness and love; opposite: "bughd" (hatred). Other meanings: kingship, kinship, state, heredity.