Al Waliyy

A walī is whoever stands nearest — the root is about closeness before it is about protection, which is why Arabic uses it for a friend, a guardian, an ally and the next of kin alike. From it come mawlā and awliyāʾ.

Both ayat carrying this written form fall in Sūrat ash-Shūrā, and one of them is about rain. He sends it down after they have given up hope, and spreads out His mercy — and He is al-Walī al-Ḥamīd. Protection, in this root, is a question of who is near rather than who is strongest.