The devolving of the ruler’s executive powers to the provinces while keeping others with the central government, has its origins in the first Islamic State of the Prophet ﷺ.
We already mentioned the Sahifa and the ‘election’ of 12 Naqibs who managed the subtribes of the Ansar as mini-provinces. The Sahifa “mentioned 40 subtribes or clans by name, and stated that each tribe will carry the responsibilities of its members; they will oversee their own blood-money disputes, prisoners of war, and the poor and needy.”[1] This is one evidence.
As the state expanded most notably to Yemen, after the former Persian governor Bādhān ibn Sāsān embraced Islam, he ﷺ appointed separate judges and new governors of the districts. Ali ibn Abi Talib was appointed as Qadi (judge) for Yemen. It was narrated that ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib said:
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ بَعَثَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ فَقُلْتُ إِنَّكَ تَبْعَثُنِي إِلَى قَوْمٍ وَهُمْ أَسَنُّ مِنِّي لِأَقْضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ فَقَالَ اذْهَبْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَيَهْدِي قَلْبَكَ وَيُثَبِّتُ لِسَانَكَ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me to Yemen. I said: ‘You are sending me to people who are older than me for me to judge between them.’ He said: ‘Go, for Allah will guide your heart and make your tongue steadfast.’”[2]
After the death of Yemen’s central governor Bādhān ibn Sāsān, the Prophet ﷺ split Yemen in to two provinces and appointed a sahabi over each. It seems that this was to teach the sahaba the skills of ruling because one large province would be too much for an inexperienced ruler to govern. Abu Burda narrates,
عَنْ أَبِي بُرْدَةَ، قَالَ بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَبَا مُوسَى وَمُعَاذَ بْنَ جَبَلٍ إِلَى الْيَمَنِ، قَالَ وَبَعَثَ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا عَلَى مِخْلاَفٍ قَالَ وَالْيَمَنُ مِخْلاَفَانِ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Abu Musa and Mu’adh bin Jabal to Yemen. He sent each of them to administer a province (مِخْلاَفٍ) as Yemen consisted of two provinces.”[3]
Farwah ibn Musaik, was a former senior figure in the powerful Kinda tribe in Yemen. After accepting Islam, the Prophet ﷺ appointed him as a governor (‘amil) of three Yemeni tribes (districts) – Murad, Zubayd, and Madhhij, but appointed a separate official – Khalid ibn Sa’id – in charge of taxation.[4] Ibn Hisham narrates,
وَاسْتَعْمَلَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى مُرَادَ وَزُبَيْدٍ وَمَذْحِجٍ كُلِّهَا، وَبَعَثَ مَعَهُ خَالِدَ بْنَ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْعَاصِ عَلَى الصَّدَقَةِ
“The Prophet ﷺ appointed him [Farwah ibn Musaik] over Murad, Zubayd, and Madhhij, and sent Khalid ibn Sa’id ibn al-‘As with him to collect the saqadah.”[5]
In the 9th year of the Hijra known as the “Year of Delegations” (عَامُ الوُفُود – ʻĀm al-Wufūd), the Prophet ﷺ sent a letter to the Christians of Najrān who were part of the tribe Banū al-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb in Yemen inviting them to Islam, and if they refuse then to pay the jizya tax and live as a semi-autonomous community within the Islamic State but subject to the law of the land in mu’amilat (transactions) and common security.
In the letter sent from the Prophet ﷺ to the Christians of Najrān detailing the conditions of the dhimmah treaty, he wrote:
“This is the document of security (dhimmah) from Muhammad the Prophet of Allah to the people of Najrān, for their persons, their religion, their land, their property, and their community, those who are present among them and those who are absent, and their bishops and monks, and all that they possess, small or great.
They shall not be forced from their religion, nor their rights diminished, nor their priests removed from their offices. No oppression shall befall them.
They are obliged to pay what has been agreed upon as tribute (jizyah): two thousand garments every year — one thousand in the month of Rajab, one thousand in the month of Ṣafar — along with thirty coats of armor, thirty horses, thirty camels, and thirty weapons, to be delivered when war breaks out in Yemen.
In return, they are under the protection of Allah and His Prophet Muhammad. No bishop or monk shall be removed, nor shall they be compelled to abandon their faith, nor shall their rights be altered.
No usurer shall be allowed among them, and no interest (ribā) shall be taken in dealings with them.”[6]
This treaty states that they are subject to the law of the land with regard to the absolute prohibition of interest (riba) and their military affairs are managed by the Prophet ﷺ as commander-in-chief who will protect them. When war breaks out, they will contribute to the war effort (common security) by armour, horses, camels and weapons. Also they will not allow a foreign army to enter their province as this would affect the common security of the state.[7]
This is similar to how the Prophet ﷺ dealt with the Jewish tribes within and outside Medina when he first established the state as detailed in the Sahifa.
Although the majority of Najrān’s residents remained Christian, a sizeable portion converted to Islam. The Prophet ﷺ therefore appointed Amr ibn Hazm al-Ansari as the governor of Najrān to manage the religious affairs of the Muslims there. “After the delegation of the Banū al-Ḥārith ibn Kaʿb returned, the Messenger of Allah sent Amr ibn Hazm al-Ansari and later someone from the Band al-Najjar[8] to instruct them in religion, to teach them the sunnah and the requirements of Islam, and to collect alms from them.”[9]
The Prophet ﷺ gave him a written document (ṣaḥīfah) outlining instructions on religious duties, legal rulings, zakat, inheritance, blood money (diyah), and other matters. This document is often called “Ṣaḥīfat Amr ibn Hazm” and is considered one of the earliest recorded legal documents in Islamic history. In terms of devolved powers Amr ibn Hazm would be considered a Wali ‘Amm having control of taxation, judiciary and education, but not the military as this power was never devolved to the provinces.
These are clear evidences (daleel) from the sunnah for devolution.
Notes
[1] Yasir Qadhi, ‘The Sirah of the Prophet ﷺ,’ The Islamic Foundation, 2023, Treaty of Medina
[2] Musnad Ahmad 1342, https://sunnah.com/ahmad:1342
[3] Sahih al-Bukhari 4341, 4342, https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4341
[4] In Yemen, the state only levied taxes on trading goods and agricultural produce. These are known as ‘ushr which is zakat, and falls under the general heading of saqadah.
[5] Ibn Hisham, https://shamela.ws/book/23833/1320
[6] Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, p. 575–577 (ed. Suhayl Zakkār).
[7] This part of the treaty is mentioned in other sources such as Abu Ubayd, Kitab Al-Amwal, https://shamela.ws/book/12999/465
[8] Amr ibn Hazm was also from Banu Al-Najjar
[9] Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, ‘The History of Al-Tabari’, translation of Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk, State University of New York Press, Vol.14, p.85
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