For him, the Rūḥ al-Amīn (the Trustworthy Spirit) descended into his qalb (the heart) together with him. (al-Shuʿarāʾ 26:193-194) Inzār (warning) is inseparably connected with nubuwwa-i tashrīʿ (legislative prophethood). This type of nubuwwa (prophethood) has ajzāʾ (components) about which questions are asked and which are mentioned in reports.
The ajzāʾ (components) and funṣur (elements, parts) of nubuwwa-i ʿāmma (universal prophethood) cannot be encompassed, and numbers cannot limit or confine them. They are not restricted to a specific time; they are perpetual in both the dunyā (this world) and the ākhira (the hereafter). This is a matter about which those who follow our path are heedless. I do not know their intention. Either Allah has not granted them to be sāḥib (possessors) of knowledge in this regard, or He has reminded them of it, but it has not reached us. Allah knows best how the matter truly is.
Abū'l-Badr Tamāshikī al-Baghdādī, from our masters near Bāb al-Azc, from Shaykh Bashīr, who in turn narrated from the imām of the age, ʿAbd al-Qādir, related that (Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī) said: The title of 'prophets' was given to you, and what was not given to you was given to us. It was given as a title, meaning that although universal nubuwwa circulates among the notables of mankind, the name 'nabī' (prophet) was not given to us; this was withheld from us.
As for the statement, 'What was not given to you was given to us,' this refers to the fact that although the scholars know that Prophet Mūsā (Moses) is superior to al-Khiḍr, due to his justice, precedence in knowledge, and his persistence in seeking, Allah is shāhid (witness) to the saying of al-Khiḍr: 'I possess a knowledge that Allah has taught me, which you do not know.' This is the meaning of 'What was not given to them was given to us.' If here, by 'prophets' is meant the awliyāʾ (friends of God) who possess universal nubuwwa, then the statement 'Allah gave to him what He did not give to them' is clarified. (See also: walāya-nubuwwa-risāla)
For Allah has made some of them superior and others less so. Such matters cannot be denied. (al-Futūḥāt, II, 89-90)
Walāya (sainthood) is a divine attribute. For the servant, it is not a tahalluq (acquisition), but an akhlāq (character trait). Its relation is universal with both Allah and the servant. The universal relation of Allah is not perceived. The universality of His relation is more manifest and apparent in the cosmos than for all beings.
It is a ḥaqīqa (inner reality) that walāya is the assistance of the walī (the helper). This assistance occurs either for Allah, for zeal, or for some form of partisanship. This is the universality of the relation.
If this attribute is for the Divine, then its relation is universal. Likewise, it is necessary that the relation of every divine attribute be universal. If the relation of an attribute is not universal, it cannot be a divine attribute. However, there are some attributes, like walāya, which Allah ascribes to Himself with a special relation exclusive to the muʾminūn (believers) and the righteous among His servants. For example, He helps. But His help is universal for all who receive help. This divine assistance, referred to as walāya and by which Allah is named the Walī, is among the restricted (muqayyad) names.