WASILA

The word wasila (pl. wasa'il) is a noun used twice in the Koran (5:34 and 17:57), means recommendation, the means of access, favourable influence or intermediary means. When one approaches a king or a great man, he says tawassalt meaning I approached. It (wasila) only refers to the highest position. The Koran says, "O ye who believe, be mindful of your duty to God, and seek the means (wasila) of approaching Him, and strive in His way in order that you may succeed" (5:35). It must be known that "means" (wasila) does not denote the same thing as "drawing near" (taqarrub); rather, it refers to anything that is a source of drawing near God. In Ismaili tariqah, the Imam is the wasila in every age.