Al Waali

Al-Walī’s root again: nearness first, and authority as what nearness gives. A wālī in Arabic is a governor, and the word for the office comes from the word for standing close — the language decided long ago that ruling is a kind of proximity.

The written form is not in the Qur’an; the name is carried by the list, alongside al-Walī, which is in the text twice. Being governed by someone close is a different experience from being ruled from far away, and the root has an opinion about which one this is.