The Delegated Assistants (Tafwid)
Article 42
The Khalifah appoints a delegated assistant or more for himself,
who carry the responsibilities of ruling. So he delegates to them the
management of affairs, where they
conduct them according to their opinion and Ijtihad.
On the death of the Khalifah, the role of his assistants ends,
and they do not continue in their work except for the period of the temporary
leader.
The proof for this article is what Al-Tirmidhi narrated; the Messenger
said “My two ministers in
the World are Abu Bakr and Umar” (reported
by al-Hakim and Al-Tirmidhi from Abu Said al-Khudri). This narration has
been used by the fuqaha’ and has been accepted by most of the scholars,
so it is a Hasan narration and accordingly is a Shari’ah evidence
that the Khalifah can appoint assistants. The narration used the word “minister”
in the linguistic meaning, which is assistant, and the Quran uses it
with this meaning; Allah (swt) said “And appoint for me a minister from
my family” (TMQ 20:29),
in other words, an assistant. And the ministry was present during the time of
the Messenger
, and its proof is the text of the narration from Al-Tirmidhi. However,
it was the Messenger
who was the one who ruled, and
there is nothing which indicates that he made Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar (ra) carry
out what he
did from ruling, but making them into ministers indicates that he
commissioned them to assist him; in other words, commission for both of them to
carry out what he
did from ruling. After the death of the Messenger
, Umar (ra) was the minister of Abu Bakr (ra), and used to carry out what
the Khalifah used to carry out in terms of ruling, and that was apparent
to the point that some of them used to say to Abu Bakr (ra), “We don’t know
whether Umar is the Khalifah or you” reported by Ibn Hanbal in Fada’il
al-Sahabah from Nafi’. After the death of Abu Bakr (ra), ’Uthman (ra) and
’Ali (ra) were the ministers of Umar (ra), and each of them carried out what
Umar (ra) did in terms of ruling, except that the power of the personality of
Umar (ra) meant that the actions of assistance of the two ministers were not so
apparent as that of Umar (ra) with Abu Bakr (ra), although due to the power of
the personality of ’Ali (ra), it was clear that he carried out these actions in
the time of Umar (ra). After the death of Umar (ra), ’Ali (ra) and Marwan b.
Al-Hakam (ra) were the two ministers of ’Uthman (ra). However, ’Ali (ra) was
not content with some of the actions, and so his work with ’Uthman (ra) was not
prominent since he was similar to someone withdrawn. On the other hand, Marwan
(ra) was apparent in his undertaking of the ministry, in other words, the
actions of ruling.
The Khalifah would delegate the management of affairs to his
minister, and this occurred with each Khalifah from the righteous Khulafaa’
in that their assistant (minister) was present, though how the assistants
practised the management of affairs differed from one to the other. It is
understood from the linguistic meaning of the word “minister”, or assistant to
the Khalifah, that it means an assistant for the actions of the Khalifah,
and since the word came general without any restrictions, then it means
assistant for the Khalifah in all of the actions of the Khilafah.
This is what is understood from the narration, and is supported by what occurred
with Umar (ra) and Abu Bakr (ra), and so the Shari’ah meaning of the
word is the one who assists the Khalifah in all the actions of the Khilafah.
However, he does not possess the mandatory powers of the Khalifah himself.
Rather, if the Khalifah said “I have appointed so and so as a minister
for me”, or “as an assistant for me”, or “act on my behalf in what I govern”,
or anything similar, then the person would have all the mandatory powers of the
Khalifah as his representative. In al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah,
al-Mawardi called them the “minister of authorisation” (Wazir Al-Tafwid[szc1] ), and defined it with this meaning, saying, “As for the
minister of authorisation, he has taken his ministry from the Imam who
authorised him to manage the affairs according to his opinion, and for them to
proceed according to his Ijtihad”. It
is however necessary that the Khalifah is aware of every action that the
delegated minister undertakes, since he is an assistant and not a Khalifah,
and so he is not independent; rather the Khalifah inspects every action
of him, whether it was small or big.
This Shari’ah reality of the assistant or minister differs
completely with the reality of the minister in the democratic system. Since the
cabinet in the democratic system is the government, and it is a group of people
established with its characteristic as a specific group for ruling, as the
ruling for them is for the group and not for the individual; in other words,
the leadership is collective and not individual. So the ruler who possesses all
power of ruling is the cabinet or the group of ministers collectively, and no
single one of them possesses the power absolutely, but rather the power of
ruling is in the cabinet collectively. As for the individual minister, he is
appointed to specialise in a particular section of ruling, in which he
possesses the mandatory powers that the cabinet as a whole determined for him,
and whatever powers in this section were not given to him remain with the
cabinet and not him.
In Islam, there is no cabinet of ministers who hold the power
collectively (on the democratic model); rather the leadership is for the Khalifah
who is given Bay’a by the Ummah in order to rule them by the Book
of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger
. The Khalifah appoints ministers for himself (ministers of Tafwid)
who are given general authorisation to act on his behalf and generally support
the Khalifah in carrying the responsibilities of the Khilafah,
and so they are ministers according to the linguistic meaning, or in other
words assistants of the Khalifah in what they are charged with.
Accordingly the wide difference between the word “minister” and
“ministry” in the system of Islam, and the word “minister” and “ministry” in
the system of democracy, has become clear. Since the meaning that is understood
from the democratic meaning of the word “minister” is dominant in the minds of
the people, and when it is used the only thing that comes to mind is the
democratic meaning, in order to avoid confusion and to specify the Shari’ah
meaning alone, it is not correct to use the term “minister” alone for the
assistant of the Khalifah without specifying it. Rather, the term
“assistant” should be used in its real meaning, or the term “minister” and
“ministry” should be specified such that it is removed from the democratic
understanding, and the Islamic meaning alone is understood, such as using the
term “minister of authorisation” (Wazir Al-Tafwid)
The assistant is appointed and removed at the order of the Khalifah.
At the death of the Khalifah, the assistants’ role comes to an end, and
they only continue through to the end of the period of the temporary leader.
They then require a new authorisation from the new Khalifah in order to
continue in their role, and they do not require to be formally removed since
their role ended with the death of the Khalifah who took them as
assistants.
Article 43
The conditions for the assistant are the same as the conditions for the Khalifah;
in other words, to be male, free, Muslim, adult, sane, just; and he is from the
people of the capability in whatever actions were delegated to him.
The evidence here is the evidence for the Khalifah, so it is
obligatory for him to be a male due to words of the Prophet
“Any people who appoint a woman as their leader will never
succeed” (reported by
al-Bukhari from Abu Bakrah).
He must be a Muslim
due to His words “And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way
(to triumph) over the believers” (TMQ 4:141);
therefore, it is forbidden for a non-Muslim to be a ruler over the Muslims,
since ruling is the greatest way over the Muslims.
He is to be free
since the slave does not have control over his own issues and so he cannot
undertake the control of other peoples’ affairs.
He should be an
adult, due to the words of the Messenger
“The Messenger of Allah said, the pen is
raised from three – the one asleep until they wake, from the young until they
become grown, and from the madman until they become sane/regain their sanity” and
in a narration “and from the one afflicted (with madness) until they
recover” (reported by
Ibn Maja and al-Hakim from ’A’ishah, and the wording is from Ibn Maja).
Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Khuzaima reported the same from Ali.
From the raising of
the pen is that his actions in his own affairs are not valid, and so it is not
valid for him to act in the affairs of others. In addition, the narration of
Abu ’Uqayl Zuhra Bin Ma’bad from his father ’Abd Allah b. Hisham who was at the
time of the Prophet when his mother Zaynab Bin Humayd took him to the Messenger
of Allah
and said: O Messenger of Allah, take Bay’a
from him. He
replied “He is small, and so he wiped
his head and prayed for him” as reported in al-Bukhari. So as long as
the child is not permitted to give the Bay’a, then by greater reasoning,
he cannot accept it.
As for being sane,
this is due to the narration just mentioned “The pen is raised from
three” until it was mentioned “and from the madman until they
become sane” and in a report “and from the one afflicted until
they recover”. From the raising of the pen is that his actions in his
own affairs are not valid and so it is not valid for him to act in the affairs
of others.
He should be just,
since Allah (swt) made it a condition for the witnessing, saying “And take
as witness two just persons from among you” (TMQ 65:2), and
so it is a condition for the assistant by greater reasoning.
It is a condition for the assistant to be from the people of sufficiency
in the actions of ruling since that is necessitated from undertaking ruling,
since the one who was not capable would not be able to carry it out. And also
due to the evidence mentioned, including: Muslim reported through Abu Dharr: “I
said: O Messenger of Allah, will you not use me? He placed his hand upon my
shoulder and then said O Abu
Dharr, you are weak, and it is an Amanah (trust), and on the Day of Judgement,
it will be a disgrace and a regret except (for those) who take it by its
right and perform its duties correctly”.
The Messenger of Allah
considered taking it without its
right, in other words, if the person was not suitable for it, would be a
disgrace and regret, which is an indication upon the decisiveness of the order.
Article 44
It is a condition for the empowering of a delegated assistant (Tafwid),
that his empowerment encompasses two issues: The first being general
responsibility, and the second being the representation. Accordingly, it is
necessary for the Khalifah to say to him “I appoint you on
my behalf as my deputy” or anything that is of a similar meaning from the
wordings that encompass the general responsibility and representation. This
authorisation enables the Khalifah to send the assistants to specific
locations, or transfer them to other places and other work as is required as
the assistant of the Khalifah, and without the need for a new
authorisation since it all falls under the original empowerment.
The evidence for this is the reality of the work of the assistant, since
the minister of Tafwid, or the assistant of Tafwid, who is the
minister that the Khalifah appointed to carry the responsibility of
ruling and authority with him. He is authorised to manage the affairs according
to his opinion, and to conduct them according to his Ijtihad in
agreement with the Shari’ah rules, and so the Khalifah empowers
him with a general handling and representation. The representation here is a
contract, and contracts are not correct unless they are contracted with a
direct word, and so for this reason, it has been made a condition that empowering
an assistant must occur with wording that indicates he is a representative in
the place of the Khalifah and has the general control. Such as if the Khalifah
said to him “I granted you what is upon me, to act on my behalf”, or says, “I
made you a minister, and decided upon your representation” or something
similar. In other words, it should encompass the general representation and
general control by any manner it is understood, so it is imperative that the
empowerment of the assistant is upon words that indicate the reality of the
assistant, which is the representative of the Khalifah, and takes
everything in terms of mandatory powers which the Khalifah has. In other
words, it is imperative that the contract of ministry with the assistant is
upon a wording which encompasses two conditions: the first being general
control, the second being representation, and if the wording does not
explicitly cover these two conditions, then the ministry for the assistant is
not contracted.
Though he is empowered with representation and general control, it is
permitted for the Khalifah to use him in a specific action or place at a
period of time, and for other work or another place at another time. The two
sheikhs (Muslim and al-Bukhari) reported from Abu Hurayrah “The Messenger
of Allah
sent Umar to collect the Sadaqah”. Al-Nasa’i and al-Darami reported “When the Prophet
returned from ’umra, he sent Abu Bakr
for the hajj”. In other words, Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar (ra) – who were
the two ministers for the Messenger of Allah
, were charged with
general control over specific actions, and not in all the actions at the time
of the Messenger
, despite that they
were assistants authorised with general control and representation as inferred
from the ministry of authorisation (wizara’ al-Tafwid). ’Ali (ra) and
’Uthman (ra) did the same at the time of Umar (ra). And even during the time of
Abu Bakr (ra) when his assistant Umar (ra) was very apparent in exercising
general control and representation, to the point that some of the companions
would say to Abu Bakr (ra) that we don’t know whether Umar (ra) or you is the Khalifah,
despite that Abu Bakr (ra) would make Umar (ra) responsible for the judiciary
in some periods, as has been reported by al-Bayhaqi with a chain that was
strengthened by al-Hafiz.
From the Sirah of the Messenger
and the righteous Khulafaa’ after him,
it is understood that the assistant is authorised in the general control and
representation, but it is permitted for the Khalifah to seek the help of
the assistant in a particular place or action, just as the Prophet
did with Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar (ra), and as
Abu Bakr (ra) did with Umar (ra). This is like charging an assistant to pursue
the northern governorships, and another with the southern ones, and it is
permitted to use the first one in the place of the second and vice versa, and
to move this one to the work of such and such person, and the other to another
work according to what was necessitated to assist the Khalifah. None of
this requires a new authorisation, rather it is valid in this case to move him
from one action to another to assist, since he was originally authorised with
general control and representation, and so all of these actions are part of his
authorisation as an assistant. This is a difference between the assistant and
the governor, since the governor is empowered with the general control in an
area, and so he is not moved from it, rather he requires a new empowerment,
since the new place is not part of the original authorisation/empowerment.
However, an assistant who is empowered with the general control and representation
can be moved from assistance in one place to another place without needing a
new empowerment, since he was originally empowered with general control and
representation in all actions.
Article 45
The work of the assistant is to report to the Khalifah after
whatever he has executed of the actions of management, and whatever he
implemented of government and guardianship, in order that his powers do not
become like that of the Khalifah. Therefore, his work is to raise his
reports and to implement whatever he is ordered to.
The evidence for this is also the reality of the assistant, since he is
the authorised representative of the Khalifah, and the representative
only carries out the work as a representative of the one who authorised him.
Therefore, he is not independent from the Khalifah, rather he reports
every action, totally as Umar (ra) used to do with Abu Bakr (ra) when he was
his minister. So he used to inform Abu Bakr (ra) about his opinion and would
implement according to what he thought.
The meaning of reporting to the Khalifah is not to seek his
permission in every individual part of the various actions, since this
contradicts the reality of the assistant; rather the meaning of reporting to
him is to confer with him in the issue, such as the need for a particular
governorate to have a capable governor empowered, or to eliminate what the
people complain about regarding the lack of food in the markets, or other than
that from all of the issues of the State, or to present these issues simply as
a report which can be looked over, and be informed about what concerns him.
Accordingly, these reports are enough in order to carry out everything that is
mentioned in them with all of his details without the need for the issuance of
permission to act. However, if the order not to implement these reports is
issued, then it is not correct for him to implement them. Therefore, these
reports are simply the presentation of the issues, or consultation regarding
them, and not seeking permission to undertake them and the assistant may
implement the reports as long as the Khalifah does not stop him from
implementation.
With respect to the last part of the article “and to implement whatever
he was ordered to”, this is because the assistant does not take the powers of
ruling in himself like the Khalifah, rather he takes them based upon his
ministry from the Khalifah, and upon that if the Khalifah orders
him to do something, then it is upon him to implement it, and it is not
permitted for him not to implement it. Giving the assistant the capability to
manage the affairs through his opinion and Ijtihad
is in those issues which the Khalifah did not order him, whereas if he
was ordered to implement an issue, it is obligatory upon the assistant to
implement it in the manner that the Khalifah ordered, and he may not
implement it in another way.
Article 46
It is imperative that the Khalifah scrutinises the actions of the
delegated assistants (Tafwid) and their management of the
affairs, in order to confirm what was right, and to correct any errors, since
the management of the affairs of the Ummah has been delegated to the Khalifah
and is decided by his Ijtihad.
It is imperative that the Khalifah scrutinises the actions of the delegated
assistants (Tafwid) and their management of the affairs, in order to
confirm what was right, and to correct any errors, since the management of the
affairs of the Ummah has been delegated to the Khalifah and is
attributed to his Ijtihad. The
evidence for this is the narration regarding the responsibility over the
subject, which is the words of the Prophet
“The Imam is a guardian, and he is responsible for his
subjects”. The Khalifah has been delegated to manage the affairs and he is responsible over
the subjects. On the other hand, the assistant is not responsible over the
subjects; rather he is only responsible over whatever he carried out from the
work. The responsibility of the subjects is limited to the Khalifah alone, and for that reason, it
is obligatory for him to scrutinise the actions and management of his
assistant, in order to carry out his responsibility for his subjects.
Additionally, the assistant could make a mistake and therefore it is imperative
to correct the error that occurred, and so it is necessary to scrutinise all
his actions.
Article 47
If the assistant conducted an issue, and the Khalifah ordered him
to do it, then he must implement it as the Khalifah ordered him to do
so, without any addition or deletion. If the Khalifah returned to oppose
the assistant rejecting what he has already executed, then the matter is
examined; if it was a rule that he had implemented properly, or wealth that he
placed in of its right place, then the
opinion of the assistant is implemented, since it is in origin the opinion of
the Khalifah, and the Khalifah cannot revoke what he himself had
implemented of rules and spent of wealth. If what the assistant had executed
was in anything else, such as appointing a governor or preparation of an army,
then it is permitted for the Khalifah to oppose the assistant, and the
opinion of the Khalifah is implemented, and the actions of the assistant
are cancelled because the Khalifah has the right to redress his own
action so he may redress the actions of the assistant.
This article is a description of how the assistant carries out his work,
and how the Khalifah scrutinises the actions of the assistant, and this
is taken from what is permitted for the Khalifah to reverse, and what is
not permitted for him to reverse from the actions, since the action of the
assistant is considered to be the action of the Khalifah. The explanation
for this is that the assistant is permitted to rule independently, as is the Khalifah,
since the conditions for ruling are considered in him, and it is permitted for
him to look into the Madhalim (injustices) and to appoint others to look
into them, since the condition for the Madhalim are considered in him,
and he is permitted to undertake the Jihad by himself and to empower
those who will undertake it, since the conditions of war are considered in him,
and he is permitted to undertake the implementation of the issues personally or
to appoint someone else to implement them since the conditions of opinion and
management of affairs are considered in him. However, this does not mean that
it is not correct for the Khalifah to cancel whatever the assistant
carries out as long as the report has been raised to him, rather what it means
is that he possesses what the Khalifah does in terms of mandatory
powers, but this is on behalf of the Khalifah and not independent of
him.
Accordingly, it is permitted for the Khalifah to oppose the
assistant by rejecting what he has done and cancelling what has been carried
out, but within the limits of what it is permitted for the Khalifah to
reverse if he had done it himself.
Therefore, if the assistant had implemented a rule in the correct
manner, or gave wealth where it was necessitated, and subsequently the Khalifah
came and opposed the assistant in this after its implementation, then there is
no value in his opposition; rather the action of the assistant is implemented,
and the opinion and opposition of the Khalifah is rejected, since in
origin it is his opinion, and in issues similar to these situations it is not
correct for him to reverse his own opinion or cancel whatever implementation
had been completed. Consequently, it is not correct for him to cancel the
action of his assistant in these issues. If the assistant had empowered a
governor, an administrator, a commander of the Army, or any other appointment,
or had laid down the running of economic issues, military plans, plans for
industrialisation, or anything similar, then it is permitted for the Khalifah
to cancel it. This is because it is considered to be the opinion of the Khalifah,
but is from the issues that are permitted for the Khalifah to reverse if
he had undertaken them himself, and so it is permitted to cancel the work of
his representative in them. Therefore in this situation, it is permitted to
cancel the actions of the assistant.
The rule in this is: Everything that the Khalifah is able to correct
from his own actions, is permitted for him to correct from the actions of his
assistant, and everything that the Khalifah is not permitted to correct from
his own actions, he is not permitted to correct from the actions of his
assistant.
Article 48
None of the delegated assistants (Tafwid) specialises in a
specific department from the departments of the administrative institution,
rather his responsibility is general, since those who undertake the
administrative affairs are employees (civil servants) and not rulers, while the
delegated assistant is a ruler. He is not entrusted with a specific
authority in any of the tasks since his responsibility is general.
The proof is what is meant by the words “my two ministers” in
the narration from Al-Tirmidhi, in that the assistant is the assistant to the Khalifah
in the Khilafah - in other words in
ruling, and so he is a ruler and not a civil servant. For that reason, it is
not permitted for him to deal with the administrative affairs since those are
dealt with by civil servants and not by rulers. The assistant is a ruler and
not a civil servant and so his work is taking care of the affairs and not to
undertake work that employees are paid to do. Therefore, he should not
undertake administrative affairs. This does not mean that it is forbidden for him
to do any administrative work, rather that he should not be specified to do
administrative work; rather he has general control.
As for not specifying his empowerment, this is because he is an
assistant, and the assistant is empowered in representation and general
control. Due to this, he does not require a new empowerment for every issue
that the Khalifah seeks his help in, or for any area he sends him to,
since his empowerment was not specific. As for the one who is empowered with a
specific empowerment, he would be holding a specific responsibility such as the
head of the judiciary, the head of the Army, the governor over the charity and
so on; and this would require a new empowerment in every specific authority
they were charged with.
The Executive Assistant (tanfidh)
Article 49
The Khalifah appoints assistants for implementation and their
work is administrative. They are not rulers and their department is the
institution that executes what the Khalifah issues in both of the
internal and foreign affairs authorities and submits what comes to him from
these authorities. The department is the intermediary between the Khalifah and
others, conveying to and from him in the following matters:
a.
Relations with the people
b.
International relations
c.
The military
d.
The institutions of the State other than the military
The executive assistant is the minister whom the Khalifah appoints
to be his assistant in the execution of matters, the following up and
implementation of his orders. He is the intermediary between the Khalifah and
the various State departments, the subjects and the foreign office. He conveys
messages to and from the Khalifah. He is an assistant in executing
orders and is not authorised over them or entrusted with them i.e. his role is
one of execution and administrative and not ruling. His department is a tool
used to execute what the Khalifah issues to the internal and foreign
offices, ensuring submission to the Khalifah in all that comes to him
through these offices. His department acts as an intermediary between the Khalifah
and others, where it conveys to them on his behalf and conveys to him from
them.
The executive assistant used to be called a secretary (al-Katib)
at the time of the Messenger of Allah
and the righteous Khulafaa’.
Then he became known as the keeper of the diwan of letters or
correspondence. Later, it was decided that he is called the secretary of
composition or the keeper of the diwan of composition and then the jurists
named him the executive assistant (Wazir al-tanfidh).
As for the actions regarding the four issues mentioned – the evidence is
through examination of the evidences related to the Katib (Wazir
al-tanfidh) at the time of the Messenger
and the actions of the righteous Khulafaa’
in front of the masses of companions:
a.
The messages sent to the
subjects directly. Such as:
-
His
message to the people of Najran. Abu ’Ubayd narrated in al-Amwal
from Abu al-Malih al-Huthali which mentioned at its end “’Uthman Bin
’Affan and Mu’ayqib witnessed it, and he wrote”. Abu Yusuf reported it
in al-Kharaj and mentioned that the Katib was al-Mughaira, and
then it mentioned the message of Umar (ra) with the Katib being
Mu’ayqib, and then the message of ’Uthman (ra) to them with the Katib
being his servant Hamran, and then the message from ’Ali (ra) with the Katib
being ’Abdullah b. Abi Rafi’.
-
His
message to Tamim al-Dari. Abu Yusuf mentioned in Al-Kharaj
saying “Tamim al-Dari stood (Tamim Bin Aws, a man from Lakhm) and
said O Messenger of Allah, I have a neighbourhood from the Romans in Palestine
– there is a village which is called Hibra, and another called Aynun. If Allah
opens as-Sham to you, grant them to me as a gift. And so he
said – They
are yours. He said – write that for me, and so he wrote: In the name of Allah,
this is a message from Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Tamim Bin Aws
al-Dari, that he has all the houses of the two villages Hibra and Aynun, and
their plains, mountains, water, agriculture, plants and its cattle, and for who
comes after him. No one should contest over it with them, and no one should
incline to take it by force, whoever oppresses and takes anything from it, then
they will have the curses of Allah and the angels and all of the people. ’Ali
was the one who wrote it”. When Abu Bakr (ra) took
the leadership, he wrote them a message which mentioned “In the name of
Allah – this is a message from Abu Bakr the guarantor of the Messenger of Allah
succeeded on the Earth, he wrote to the people of Dari, no one should spoil
anything by their hand from the villages of Hibra and Aynun, and whoever heard
and obeyed Allah, then do not spoil anything from them, and should build two
entrances around them to prevent anyone who intended to do so from entering”
b.
International relations:
-
The Treaty of Hudaybiyah: Al-Bukhari narrated from al-Miswar and Marwan
regarding the treaty: “So the prophet
called the Katib (writer)…”. Abu Yusuf also narrated in
the book Al-Kharaj saying: “Muhammad Ibn Ishaq and al-Kalbi informed
me, some others added in the narration saying: He said: Write (plural)”,
without mentioning the name of the writer. Ibn Kathir reported “Ibn Ishaq
said al-Zuhri said…then the Messenger of Allah called upon ’Ali Ibn Abi Talib
and said: ‘Write (singular)…’”. Abu ’Ubayd narrated it in the book of al-Amwal
from Ibn ’Abbas, where he said: “….and he said to ’Ali: ‘O ’Ali, write…’” and
al-Hakim narrated from Ibn ’Abbas, and al-Dhahabi authenticated and approved
it, saying: “…..O ’Ali, write…”. The text of this peace treaty is
well known and does not need mentioning here.
c. The Military:
-
The letter of Abu
Bakr (ra) to Khalid (ra), in which he commands him to travel to as-Sham. Abu
Yusuf said in the book al-Kharaj: “Khalid wanted to take Al-Heerah as
his centre. However, the letter of Abu Bakr came to him commanding him to
travel to as-Sham as reinforcement for Abu ’Ubaydah and the Muslims…”
d. The institutions of the state
other than the military
-
The letter of the
Messenger
to Mu’adh regarding the tenth (al-ushr):
Yahya Ibn Adam narrated in the book of Al-Kharaj from Al-Hasan, he said: “The Messenger of
Allah
wrote to Mu’adh in Yemen: “The
tenth is due in whatever was irrigated with rain or with sizable water; and
half of a tenth is due in whatever is irrigated with a bucket.” Al-Sha’bi
wrote the same narration. Ibn Abu Shaybah has also narrated similar in
his book about ruling.
The Khalifah can
appoint writers (Kuttab) according to his needs; rather it could reach
to the level of being an obligation if he could not fulfill the obligatory
tasks without appointing them. The authors who wrote the history of the
Messenger of Allah
mention that he had about
twenty such writers.
Article 50
The excecutive assistant should be a Muslim man, since he is from the
close associates of the Khalifah.
The executive assistant is directly connected to the Khalifah,
like the delegated assistant, and is from the close associates of the Khalifah.
His work is attached to the ruler (the Khalifah), and his work
necessitates that he could be pursued by the Khalifah and meet with him
separately at any time of the night or day, which means that it is not suitable
with the circumstances of a woman in terms of the Shari’ah rules.
Therefore, the assistant should be a man.
In the same way, it is not permitted for the executive assistant to be a
non-Muslim, rather it is obligatory for him to be a Muslim since he is from the
close associates of the Khalifah – due to His (swt) words “O you
who believe! Take not as (your) Bitanah (advisors, consultants, protectors, close
associates) those outside your religion since they will not fail to do their
best to corrupt you. They desire to harm you severely. Hatred has already
appeared from their mouths, but what their breasts conceal is far worse” (TMQ 3:118). The prohibition of the Khalifah
taking close associates from non-Muslims is explicit in this verse and
therefore it is not permitted for the executive assistant to be a non-Muslim.
Rather, it is obligatory for him to be Muslim, due to his direct connection
with the Khalifah, and the fact that he is not separate from him, like
the delegated assistant. It is permitted to have more than one executive
assistant according to the need and the work that is required interfacing
between the Khalifah and others.
Article 51
The executive assistant is directly connected to the Khalifah,
like the delegated assistant, and is considered as an assistant but only in
terms of execution and not in ruling.
The Khalifah is the ruler who undertakes the ruling and the
implementation, and governing the peoples’ affairs. Undertaking the ruling,
implementation and governing requires administrative work and this necessitates
the creation of a specific structure which would be with the Khalifah to
manage the affairs which are required by the responsibilities of the Khilafah.
So this necessitates assistants who are appointed by the Khalifah to
execute and carry out the administrative actions, not the actions of ruling. So
their action is to assist the Khalifah in administration, not ruling,
and so he does not undertake any action of ruling that the delegated assistant
would do. Therefore, he is not appointed as a governor or worker (’amil),
and does not govern the peoples’ affairs, but rather his work is administrative
to execute the ruling actions, and the administrative actions that are issued
from the Khalifah and the delegated assistants. For that reason, he is
called the executive assistant.
The jurists called him the executive minister (Wazir al-tanfidh);
in other words, the executive assistant, on the basis that the word Wazir
linguistically indicates the assistant, and they said: this Wazir is the
interface between the Khalifah and the subjects and governors, he
carries out what the Khalifah orders, executes what is issued, follows
through what is ruled, informs about the assignment of governorship and the
preparation of the military and defence. He also presents to the Khalifah
the replies back from them, and whatever has occurred in order to carry out
whatever he has been ordered. So he is the one assigned for the execution of
the affairs, and not as a governor over them, nor empowered over them. He is
similar to the head of the office of the Presidents in the contemporary era.
The Governors
Article 52
The lands which are ruled by the State are divided into units, where
each unit is called a Wilayah (province). Each province is divided into
units and each unit is called an ’Imalah (district). The one who governs
the province is called the Wali (governor) or Amir and the one
who governs the ’Imalah is called the ’Aamil (worker) or Hakim
(ruler).
The governors are rulers since the governorship is ruling; it is
mentioned in the al-Muhit dictionary: “And to govern something and
upon it governorship (wilayah) and guardianship (wilayah), or it is the root
and wilayah is the plan and leadership and authority”, and requires
empowerment by the Khalifah or one whom he delegated to empower and so
the governor is not appointed except by the Khalifah. The origin of governorship
or leadership, in other words, in the governors and leaders, is the action of
the Messenger
. It is confirmed that he
appointed governors over lands,
and gave them the right to rule over the regions. He appointed Mu’adh Bin Jabal
over al-Jund, Ziyad Bin Labid over Hadramout and Abu Musa al-Ash’ari
over Zabid and ’Aden. The governor is the representative of the Khalifah
and he undertakes whatever actions he represents the Khalifah in
according to what he has been delegated. The governorship does not have a
specific limit according to the Shari’ah so everyone who acts on behalf
of the Khalifah in any action of ruling is considered to be a governor
in that action according to the words which the Khalifah specified
during his appointment. However, the governorship of the lands or the
leadership is over a defined area, since the Messenger
used to define the area which he
would be a governor over or empower the leadership for the leader.
This governorship is of two types - general or specific; general
encompasses all of the issues of ruling in the governorship and being empowered
in this manner means that the Khalifah delegates to him the leadership
of the city or region of the governorship over all of its people, and the
handling of the issues in all of his actions, and so he has a general control.
As for the specific leadership, this is when the leader’s leadership is limited
to the management of the Army, governing of the subjects, protection of the
borders and defence of the sanctities in that region or city. He cannot
interfere with the judiciary and the collection of taxes.
The Messenger
appointed general governorships,
such as the appointment of ’Amru b. Hazm over Yemen. He also appointed specific
governorships, such as the appointment of ’Ali Bin Abi Talib (ra) over the
judges in Yemen. The Khulafaa’ after him
continued in the same manner, and
so they used to appoint general governorships such as Umar Bin al-Khattab (ra)
appointing Mu’awiyah Bin Abi Sufyan to a general governorship. They would also
appoint specific governorships, such when ’Ali Bin Abi Talib (ra) appointed
’Abdullah Bin ’Abbas over Basra in everything other than the finances and
appointed Ziyaad over the finances.
The governorship in the first eras was of two types: governorship of the
prayer and the governorship of the land taxes. Accordingly, in the history
books they use two expressions when talking about the governorship of the
leaders: the first being the leadership over the prayer and the second being
the leadership over the prayer and the land taxes. In other words, the leader
could either be a leader of the prayer and the land taxes or the leader of the
prayer alone. The meaning of the word
prayer in the governorship or leadership is not that he was the Imam of the people in their prayer
alone; rather its meaning was the governorship over them in all of their
affairs except the finances. So the word prayer meant the ruling with the
exception of the collection of the taxes.
If the governor was both over prayer and land taxes, his governorship was
general, and if it was limited to the prayer or to the land taxes, then his
governorship was specific. In every case, this returns back to the arrangements
of the Khalifah in the specific governorship, so he can make it specific
to the land taxes, or the judiciary, or to make it specific to everything other
than the finances, judiciary and Army; he does whatever he thinks is good for
the administration of the State or the administration of the province. This is
since the Shari’ah did not limit specific work for the governor, but
rather limited the work of the governor or leader to ruling and authority, and
that he is acting on behalf of the Khalifah and is a leader over a
specific place, and this is according to what the Messenger did.
Rather the Shari’ah gave the Khalifah the right to appoint
general and specific governorships, according to what he sees from the actions,
and that is apparent from the action of the Messenger
. Built upon the limiting of the leadership of the leader or the
governorship of the governor to a city or region by the Messenger
, article fifty-two was drafted which divided the State into provinces
and districts.
Article 53
The Khalifah appoints the governors. The ’Ummal (workers)
are appointed by the Khalifah and by the governors if they have been
delegated that power. The preconditions of the governor and ’Ummal are
the same as the conditions for the assistants, so it is imperative that they
are free, just, Muslim, adult men and are from the people who have the
capability to do what they are assigned to, and they are chosen from the people
of taqwa (God fearing) and power.
The evidence for this article is the action of the Messenger
and the companions after him. The
Messenger
used to undertake the empowerment
of the governors or leaders of the lands, and used to empower them with the
full governorship as what happened with ’Amru b. Hazm, who was the governor
over the whole of Yemen. In the same manner, the Messenger
would sometimes empower someone with part of the responsibilities from
the governorship, as what happened with Mu’adh Bin Jabal and Abu Musa, who were
sent to provinces independent of each other in Yemen, and said to them “Make
things easy and not difficult, and give glad tiding and do not disparage, and
obey” (agreed upon narration reported from Abu Musa). The fact that the
governor is permitted to appoint ’Ummal in his governorship this is
taken from the fact that the Khalifah can entrust the governor to
appoint ’Ummal.
With respect to making the conditions for the governors the same as those
for the assistants, this is since the governor is like the assistant in that he
is acting on behalf of the Khalifah in ruling - so he is a ruler - and
so the same conditions that apply to the Khalifah apply to him, since
the conditions for the assistant are the same as those for the Khalifah.
Therefore, it is a condition that he is male, due to his
words “A people who appoint a woman over their command will
never succeed” (reported by
al-Bukhari from Abu Bakrah). And the appointment in the narration
is the ruling, by the evidence of his
words “their command”, and the
word “their command” if it is next to governor, and governorship/
appointment, then the meaning of governor and appointment is specified as
ruling and authority.
It is a condition
that he be free since the slave does not possess himself and so cannot be a
ruler over others. He must be a Muslim, due to His (swt) words “Allah will never
grant to the disbelievers a way over the believers.” (TMQ 4:141). He
should be adult and sane due to the narration “The pen is raised from three” (reported by Abu Dawud from
’Ali Bin Abi Talib (ra)) which
includes “The child until he reaches puberty and the madman until he
regains sanity”. And in another narration from Abu Dawud from ’Ali b.
Abi Talib (ra), “The messenger of Allah said the pen is raised from
three, from the madman until he regains sanity, from the one asleep until they
awake and from the child until they become an adult” and in the same
manner the narration from Ahmad from ’A’ishah (ra) who said that the Messenger
of Allah
said “The pen is raised from three, from
the child until they become adult, from the one asleep until they awake and
from the one who is not sane” and from the understanding of raising of
the pen is that he is not accountable for action, and the raising of the pen
raises the rule, so it would not be correct for them to undertake the
implementation of the rules, or in other words the authority.
In the same manner,
it is a condition that he be just, since Allah (swt) made justice a condition
for the witness and so therefore by greater reasoning it is a necessity for the ruler, due to the words “O
you who believe if a fasiq comes to you with any news, then verify it” (TMQ 49:6), so He (swt) ordered the
verification for the word of the fasiq, and the rule of the ruler has to
be accepted without any verification, so it is not permitted for the ruler to
be from those whose word is not accepted and whose rule requires verification.
It is a condition
that he is from the people of capability and ability to carry out what he has
been appointed to do from the actions of ruling, since the Messenger
said to Abu Dharr “I see that you are
weak” (reported by Muslim from Abu Dharr), and in another narration “O
Abu Dharr, you are weak and this is a trust”, which is evidence that
whoever is weak or incapable of undertaking the burdens of ruling is not
suitable to be a governor.
The Messenger
used to choose the governors from the people
who were suitable for rule and the people of knowledge who were known for taqwa,
and he chose them from the people who would do the best in what they were
appointed, and would fill the hearts of their subjects with Iman and the
dignity of the State. It is narrated from Sulayman Bin Buraydah from his father
who said “If the Messenger of Allah
appointed a leader over the Army or an
expedition, he would exhort him to fear Allah in his rule, and advise the
Muslims with him with good” (reported by Muslim), and the
governor is the leader over his governorship and therefore falls under the
meaning of this narration.
Article 54
The governor has the mandatory powers of ruling and responsibility over
the tasks of the departments in his governorship as a delegate of the Khalifah,
so he has all the powers in his province that the assistant has in the State.
He has leadership over the people of his province and control over everything
that is connected with it apart from the finances, judiciary and Army. However,
the police come under his leadership from the angle of implementation not
administration.
Its evidence is that the governor is the delegate of the Khalifah
in the position that he was appointed to and so he has the mandatory powers of
the Khalifah in that position, and he is similar to the assistant with
respect to the general control if his governorship was a general one; in other
words, he has been given the general control in that position. He has specific
control in the issues that he was appointed to alone if his governorship was
specific, and he has no mandatory powers for control in other than that.
The Messenger
used to appoint the governors to
unrestricted governorships in ruling, such as when he
sent Mu’adh to Yemen and made him
in charge of the prayer and Sadaqah. And some were appointed a specific
governorship in a particular aspect, such as when he appointed Farwah Bin
Masyak over the tribes murad and mathij and zabid, and
sent Khalid Bin Said Bin al-’Aas with him over the charity. Accordingly, Mu’adh
had a general governorship over the prayer and charity, whereas the
governorship of Farwah Bin Masyak was specific to the prayer, and that of
Khalid Bin Said to the charity.
In the same manner, the Messenger
would send some governors and not
teach them how to proceed - he sent ’Ali b. Abi Talib (ra) to Yemen and did not
teach him anything due to his
knowledge of him and his
capability. He would send others and teach them how to proceed - he
sent Mu’adh to Yemen and he said
to him ““How will you judge
if a case is brought to you?” Mu’adh replied “I would judge by the Book of
Allah” to which the Prophet
asked
“And if you do not find (an answer) in the Book of Allah?” Mu’adh said “Then by
the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah”.
The Prophet
then
asked “And if you do not find (an answer) in the Sunnah or the Book of Allah” to which Mu’adh replied he would
exert his own opinion (meaning Ijtihad based upon the Quran and Sunnah) So he (saw) said “All
Praises for Allah who made the messenger of the Messenger of Allah confirm what
Allah and His Messenger love” (reported by Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi, al-Darimi and Abu Dawud, with the wording
from Ahmad). Ibn Qudama mentioned similar to it in al-Mughni and
al-Amidi in al-Ihkam, so the narration is mashhur, and recognised
scholars have taken it, and so from this angle it is considered Hasan.
Accordingly, it is permitted to appoint governors to general
governorships or specific ones, as it is permitted to explain to them how to
carry out their work in detail or in general.
Though it is permitted for the Khalifah to appoint governors to a
general governorship, and to a specific governorship, it is confirmed from the
general governorship of Mu’awiyah that he become independent of the Khalifah
at the time of ’Uthman (ra), and the authority of ’Uthman over him was not
apparent. After the death of ’Uthman (ra), the Fitnah occurred because
Mu’awiyah had powers of ruling in all issues in the land of al-Sham. And
it is confirmed since the days of the weakness of the Abbasid Khulafaa’
that independence of governorates occurred, to the point that the Khalifah
had no authority over them except for prayers being made and money being
stamped in his name. From this, the bestowing of general governorships caused
harm to the Islamic State, and for that reason the governorship of the governor
is specific to that which does not lead to independence from the Khalifah.
Since it is the Army, finances, and judiciary which enable the independence,
because the Army is the power, and the finance is the support for life, and the
judiciary makes apparent the protection of the rights and the establishment of
the punishments, so accordingly the governorship for the governors is a
specific governorship in other than the judiciary, Army and finance, since if
they are in the hands of the governor, they can cause the danger of independence,
and what that entails for the security of the State. Based upon this the second
part of this article was drafted.
As for the final part, the governor is a ruler and it is imperative that
he has the power of execution and for this reason the police are under his
leadership and his leadership over it is comprehensive in the same manner it is
comprehensive over all issues apart from the three just mentioned. However, the
police are considered a part of the Army, so its administration is under them,
but it is under the control of the governor.
Article 55
The governor is not obliged to inform the Khalifah of what he has
carried out within his authorised command. If a new problem arises which has no
precedent, he has to inform the Khalifah
about it first, and he then proceeds according to the instructions of the Khalifah.
If he was afraid that the problem would be exacerbated if delayed, he carries
out the action and then must inform the Khalifah later on about the
reason for not informing him beforehand.
The evidence is that the Prophet
empowered his governors and did
not request them to inform him of what actions they undertook and they did not
use to report to him about anything. Rather, they used to undertake their
actions with full independence, each of them ruling in his leadership by his
opinion; this was the manner of Mu’adh, and ’Attab Bin Asid, al-’Ala’ b.
al-Hadrami, and of all of the governors of the Messenger of Allah
– which indicates that the
governor does not inform the Khalifah about anything from his actions.
And in this regard, he is different from the assistant, since the assistant
must inform the Khalifah about every action that he undertakes, whereas
it is not obligatory upon the governor to inform the Khalifah about any
of his actions.
It is obligatory that the Khalifah scrutinise every action the
assistant undertakes, whereas it is not necessary for him to scrutinise every
action of the governor, though he studies the situation of the governors and
scrutinises the news from them. Accordingly, the governor has unrestricted
action in his governorship, which is why Mu’adh said to the Messenger
when he was sent to Yemen “I
will do Ijtihad according to my opinion”; so this is evidence that the
governor does not inform the Khalifah, rather he exercises his opinion.
It is not forbidden to take the opinion of the Khalifah in the important
issues, but he does not seek his opinion in unimportant issues in order that
the interests of the people are not delayed. If something new occurs, he leaves
it to the opinion of the Khalifah, because the empowerment of the
governorship is that the Khalifah delegates the leadership of a city or
region to the governor which is a governorship over all its people, and control
in the known issues from his actions. So if a new issue which was not
previously known occurred, it is left for the examination of the Khalifah,
unless it was feared that this would be detrimental, in which case the governor
undertakes the issue and then informs the Khalifah, since it was an
issue that was unprecedented.
Article 56
Every province has an assembly elected from its people and championed by
the governor. The assembly has the authority to participate in expressing
opinions on administrative matters and not on ruling; and this would be for two
objectives:
Firstly - providing the necessary information about the situation of the
governorate and its needs to the governor and to express their opinion about
that.
Secondly - in order to express their contentment or complaint about the
rule of the governor over them.
The opinion of the assembly is not binding in the first instance and is
binding in the second – if they complain about the governor he is removed.
It is not known that the governors of the Messenger
used to have a provincial assembly
and it is not known from the actions of the Messenger
that he selected a provincial
assembly, and in the same way, nothing similar is known from the righteously
guided Khulafaa’. From this, the provincial assembly is not part of the
ruling apparatus or the Shari’ah rules, since the ruling apparatus is
every action from the acts of ruling that has a Shari’ah evidence and
anything which has no evidence is not from the ruling apparatus. Rather it is
examined, and if it is a branch action that is derived from a root, then it
follows that root and is from the styles and means that are permitted to be
acted upon - in other words from what is called administration; and if the root
or branch action has evidence, then it is not correct to undertake it except in
accordance with the Shari’ah evidence.
The provincial assembly is a branch action that is derived from the
actions of the governorship, since the governor undertakes the ruling and
administration, and the people of the province are more knowledgeable than him
regarding the reality of their province and what occurs within it. Accordingly,
it is vital that he has information that he can rely upon in order to undertake
his actions and this information is present amongst the people of the province.
Based upon this, it is imperative for him to refer to the people of the
province while he is governing them.
This is from one angle, and from another angle his ruling of the province
must be upon a basis that the people of the province are not angered, since if
they are angry with him, then it would be upon the Khalifah to remove
him, since the Messenger
removed al-’Ala’ b. al-Hadrami as his ’amil over Bahrain since the
delegation of ’Abd Qays complained about him as mentioned by Ibn Sa’d in al-Tabaqat.
Accordingly, it is imperative that the opinion of the people of the province
regarding his undertaking the ruling over them is known as to whether they are
content or not.
Additionally, it is imperative for him to refer to the people of his
province while he is governing them, due to the following two reasons: to
gather the information which the governor requires and for his knowledge of
what the people of his province think about his ruling – therefore it is
necessary for him to refer to the people of his province. To facilitate this
reference, the governor establishes a provincial assembly which is elected from
the people of his province, so that he can refer to it for the two issues:
gathering information and knowing the opinion of the people of the province
regarding the rule of the governor. Accordingly, this assembly does not have
any consultation (Shura) or taking of opinion and nothing to do with the
practice of ruling; rather it is to look into the administrative action. Its
opinion is not binding but rather it is present in order to assist the
governor. The first one who created this assembly was Umar b. ’Abd al-’Aziz,
since before he became the Khalifah, he was the governor over Madinah,
and if he conducted a leadership assembly, he would meet two men of the opinion
formers and leaders of their tribes, and said to them “It is an assembly
of evil and strife, and you two have no action other than to examine me (in
other words observing me), so if you see something from me which does not agree
with the Truth, then make me afraid and remind me of Allah”. So the
origin is to refer to the people of the province and the observation of the
governor from their side and in order to achieve this reference, a provincial
assembly is created beside the governor.
Article 57
The governor’s term of office in a particular province is not to be
long. He must be discharged whenever he becomes firmly established in his
province or the people become enchanted with him.
Its proof is that the Messenger
used to appoint governors for a period and then remove them and no
governor remained over his governorship for the complete period of the time of
the Messenger
. Ibn Abdul Birr conveyed in al-Isti’ab that the Messenger
appointed ’Uthman b. Abi al-’As al-Thaqafi over al-Ta’if; he remained
there through the life of the Messenger of Allah
and the Khilafah of Abu
Bakr (ra) and two years of the Khilafah of Umar (ra) at which point he
was removed, which was a rare occurrence. For most of the time of the Messenger
, he
would not extend people’s time as governors.
This indicates that a governor is not appointed to a permanent governorship but
rather he is appointed for a specific time and then removed. However, the
length of his governorship is not defined by a specific period, long or short,
since there is nothing that indicates that from the actions of the Messenger
. The most that can
be said about the issue is that most of the time the Messenger
appointed a governor, he did not remain as a
governor there through the whole of his
time; rather he
would appoint and then remove them.
Though it is permitted to extend the period of governorship such as what
occurred with ’Uthman b. Abi al-’As, however it is apparent that the length of
the period of the governorship of Mu’awiyah in al-Sham at the time of
Umar (ra) and then ’Uthman (ra), caused what resulted in the strife which shook
the entity of the Muslims, and so it is understood from this that lengthening
the governorship of the governor in the province results in harm upon the
Muslims and the State, and based upon this the words that the term of office
for the governor is not to be long were drafted into this article.
Article 58
The governor is not moved from one province to another, since his
appointment was for a general control in a specific area. Therefore he has to
be discharged first and then reappointed.
Its proof is the action of the Messenger
since he
used to remove the governors and
it is not narrated that he transferred a governor from place to place.
Additionally, the governorship is one of the contracts that is completed by a
direct wording, and the contract of the governorship is upon the province or
city, which specifies the place where the governor rules, and the powers of
ruling remain with him as long as the Khalifah does not remove him. So
if he is not removed, then he remains a governor over it, and if he is
transferred to another place, he is not removed from his first location by this
transfer and is not appointed over the location that he has been transferred
to, since his separation from the first location requires a direct word that he
has been removed from the governorship over it and his appointment over the
place that he has been transferred to requires a new contract of appointment
which is specific to that location. Accordingly, it is taken that the governor
is not transferred from location to location by transfer; rather he is removed
from a location and appointed to a new governorship for the new location.
Article 59
The governor can be discharged if the Khalifah decides so or if
the Shura council expresses dissatisfaction with him - whether justified
or not - or if the provincial council expressed discontent with him. However,
the governor can only be dismissed by the Khalifah.
Its proof is the action of the Messenger
; he appointed Mu’adh Bin Jabal over Yemen and then removed him from it
without a reason, and removed al-’Ala’ b. al-Hadrami who was his ’amil
over Bahrain because the delegation of ’Abd Qays complained about him. Umar Bin
al-Khattab (ra) used to remove governors with and without reason; he removed
Ziyad b. Abi Sufyan and did not announce a reason and removed Sa’d b. Abi
Waqqas (ra) since the people complained about him, and said “I did not
remove him due to incapability, nor due to treachery”. This indicates
that the Khalifah can remove the governors whenever he pleases, and it
is upon him to remove the governor if the provincial council complain about
him, and similar to the people of his province is the Shura council (Shura
and accounting), which represents all of the provinces.
Article 60
The Khalifah must examine the actions of the governors and
continually assess their performance strictly. He must deputise people to
monitor their situations, investigate them, and periodically gather all or some
of them, and listen to the complaints of the subjects regarding them.
It is confirmed that the Prophet
used to test the governors when he appointed them as he did with Mu’adh
and Abu Musa, and explained to them how they should proceed as he did with
’Amru b. Hazm in his message famous amongst the people of knowledge as
mentioned by Ibn ’Asakir in Tarikh Damascus and al-Hafiz said in al-Isaba
“…and the Prophet
appointed ’Amru Bin
Hazam over Najran…” and it is reported from him
that the message he
wrote to him was regarding the
obligations and blood money and other issues, as narrated by Abu Dawud and Al-Nasa’i,
Ibn Hibban and al-Darimi and others.
Likewise he
would make them aware of some important issues as he did with Abaan Bin
Said when he appointed him over Bahrain as has been mentioned in al-Tabaqat
of Ibn Sa’d from al-Waqidi when it was said to him “Take good
care of ’Abd Qays and honour their leaders”. In the same way, it is
confirmed that he
used to account the governors, investigate their circumstances and listen
to what was narrated to him regarding their news. He
also used
to account the governors over the taxation and expenditures; it is narrated by
Abu Hamid al-Sa’idi “The Prophet
employed a man from Bani Asad who
was called Ibn al-Lutabbiyyah to collect the charity. When he came, he said
“This is for you and this was given as a gift to me”. Then the Prophet
stood upon the
pulpit, praised Allah and glorified Him and then said “What is the matter with
the worker who we sent, and so he came and said this is for you and this is for
me, so let him sit in the house of his father and mother, and let him see
whether he is gifted anything or not. By the One who my soul is in His Hand, he
did not come with anything except that he comes with it on the Day of Judgement
carrying it upon his neck whether it was a camel that brays or a cow that is
mooing or a sheep that bleats”. Then he raised his hands till we could see the
whiteness of his armpits and said: “Have I not conveyed?” three times” (agreed upon narration).
Umar (ra) used to be severe in his monitoring of the governors and
appointed Muhammad Bin Maslamah (ra) to examine their circumstances and
investigate them. He would gather the governors in the pilgrimage season in
order to look into what they had done, listen to the complaints of the subjects
regarding them and to remind them of the affairs of the governorship and
establish their circumstances. It is narrated from Umar (ra) that one day he
said to those around him “Do you think that if I appointed over you the
best whom I knew, and then ordered him to be just, that have I completed what was upon me?” They
replied, yes. He said “No, until I looked into his actions – did he act
according to what I ordered him to or not” (reported from al-Bayhaqi in
al-Sunan and al-Shi’ab from Tawus). Umar (ra) used to
strictly account his governors and ’Ummal, and his severity in
accounting them would lead to him sometimes removing one of them due to a doubt
for which there was no definite evidence and he used to remove them due to
suspicion which did not reach the level of doubt. He was once asked about that
and so said “The thing of small importance which can correct a people is
to replace for them a leader in the place of a leader” (reported by Abu
Shibah in al-Tarikh al-Madinah, and by Ibn Sa’d in al-Tabaqat
from al-Hasan).
However, even with his strictness over them he used to allow them freedom
of conduct, would protect their standing in government, listen to them and be
attentive to their proofs. If the proof convinced him, he would not hide his
conviction of it and his praise of the ’amil. One day, it reached him
that his ’amil over Hims, ’Umayr b. Sa’d, said while upon the pulpit, “Islam
will remain strong as long as the authority is severe. And the severity of the
authority is not fighting by the sword or striking by the whip, but it is
judging according to the Truth and applying the justice” as mentioned
by Ibn Sa’d in al-Tabaqat from Said b. Suwayd. So Umar (ra) said
regarding him, “I wish that I had a man similar to ’Umayr Bin Sa’d whom I
could rely upon over the actions of the Muslims”.
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন