Devolved Powers of the Provinces

Al-Mawardi says, “If the caliph appoints an amir over a district (إِقْلِيم iqleem) or a town(بَلَد balad), his emirate may be one of two kinds, either general (عامَّة ‘amma) or particular (خاصَّة khassa).”[1]

A general emirate is one where the governor has full devolved powers over all aspects of his province including the army[2], finance, judiciary, education and so on. This type of governor is known as a (والِي عامّ) Wali ‘Amm. This is a decentralised model and in Al-Mawardi’s structure where he assigns devolved powers to the military, is more akin to a confederation than a unitary state. In the general emirates of the Prophet ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the provinces never had powers over the army independent of the commander-in-chief i.e. the head of state.

A governor can also be appointed with limited devolved powers over his province while the central caliphate government controls the rest. Historically, separate judges, finance officials, police chiefs and teachers were appointed over some of the provinces at the discretion of the caliph. This type of governor is known as a (والِي خاصّ) Wali Khass. This is a more centralised model in line with the traditional notion of a unitary state.

Both of these types of governor were appointed by the Prophet ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphs after them.

Fully Devolved Powers (Wali ‘Amm)

Al-Mawardi says, “As for emirate which has been specifically and freely assigned, it comprises a clearly defined task and a clearly determined jurisdiction: the caliph delegates the emirate of a country or province to the person appointed for this task and accords the right of governance over all its people together with jurisdiction over the customary acts of his office: he thus assumes a general responsibility for a particular territory and for specific and clearly defined tasks, and his corresponding jurisdiction covers seven matters:

1- The ordering of the armies, assigning them to various territories and apportioning their provisions, unless the caliph has fixed the amount of provision in which case the amir has only to ensure its payment to them.

2- Application of the law and the appointment of judges (الْقُضَاةِ) and magistrates (الْحُكَّامِ).

3- Collection of the kharaj and zakah taxes, appointment of collectors, and distribution of what is collected to those entitled to it.

4- Protection of the deen, defence of what is inviolable and the guarding of the deen from modification and deviation.

5- Establishment of the hadd-punishments both with respect to Allah’s rights and those of people.

6- Imamate of the Juma’h gatherings and prayer assembly, he himself acting as Imam or his substitute.

7- Facilitating the passage of hajjis from his territory or those of other territories such that he affords them protection.

8- If this province is a border territory adjacent to the enemy, an eighth matter becomes obligatory, that is jihad against the neighbouring enemy, and distribution of the booty amongst the fighters after a fifth has been taken for those entitled to it.

The conditions considered in this emirate are the same as those applicable in the ministry of delegation (Wizarah Al-Tafwid) as the only difference between the two is that there is specific authority (الولاية) in the former but a general one in the latter, there being no difference in the conditions applicable to specific or general authorities.”[3]

Partially devolved powers (Wali Khass)

In origin, the caliph can devolve any of his executive powers to the governors. Al-Mawardi says, “The Specific Emirate refers to that in which the amir is restricted to organisation of the army, establishment of public order, defence of the territory and protection of what is inviolable; it is not, however, up to him to undertake responsibility for the judiciary and the rulings of jurisprudence, or for the kharaj and zakah.”[4]

The Categorisation of the Provinces by the Historians

The historians such as Al-Tabari (d.923CE) and Al-Kindi (d.961CE) referred to a governor with full powers over his province (Wali ‘Amm) as a Wali Al-Salah wa Al-Kharaj (Governor of prayer and tax) where salah (prayer) is a metaphor (كِنايَة kiniya) for the deen (religion) i.e. implementation of Islam[5] and kharaj (tax) is a metaphor for control of the treasury (Bait ul-Mal) and the funds of the state.

Al-Kindi in the introduction to his book Kitab Al-Wulah wa Kitab Al-Qudah (The Book of Governors and the Book of Judges) says, “This is a book naming the governors (وُلاة Wulah) of Egypt, and those who were in charge of prayer (والِي الصَلاَة Wali Al-Salah), and those who were in charge of war and the police (ولِيَ الحرب والشُّرطة Wali Al-Harb wa Al-Shurta)[6] since it was conquered until our time, and those for whom prayer and tax were combined (والِي الصَلاَة والخَراج Wali Al-Salah wa Al-Kharaj) in the name of Allah and with His help, and may Allah’s prayers be upon Muhammad and his family.”[7]

Al-Tabari narrates that in the year 66H/685CE Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr appointed Abdullah ibn Muti’ as his governor over Kufah in Iraq. He appointed him as an Amir with general jurisdiction over his province: وأقام ابن مطيع على الكوفة على الصلاة والخراج “Ibn Mut’i’ was appointed governor of Kufa to oversee the salah and the kharaj.”[8]

It was known by convention from the time of the Prophet ﷺ that leading the salah implied more than simply praying. Allah (Most High) says,

قَالُوا۟ يَـٰشُعَيْبُ أَصَلَوٰتُكَ تَأْمُرُكَ أَن نَّتْرُكَ مَا يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَآ أَوْ أَن نَّفْعَلَ فِىٓ أَمْوَٰلِنَا مَا نَشَـٰٓؤُا۟ ۖ إِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ ٱلْحَلِيمُ ٱلرَّشِيدُ

They said, ‘Shuayb, does your prayer (salah) tell you that we should abandon what our forefathers worshipped and refrain from doing whatever we please with our own property? Indeed you are a tolerant and sensible man.’[9]

Al-Razi (d.925CE) comments on this verse and mentions one of the opinions of the ‘ulema is that salah is a metaphor (كِنايَة kiniya) for the deen.

المُرادُ مِنهُ الدِّينُ والإيمانُ؛ لِأنَّ الصَّلاةَ أظْهَرُ شِعارِ الدِّينِ، فَجَعَلُوا ذِكْرَ الصَّلاةِ كِنايَةً عَنِ الدِّينِ

“What is meant by it [salah] is deen and iman, because prayer is the most obvious symbol of the deen, so they made the mention of prayer a metaphor for the deen.”[10]

This is based on the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ where he said, الصلاة عمود الدين “Prayer is the pillar of the deen.”[11] In another narration, أْسُ الأَمْرِ الإِسْلاَمُ وَعَمُودُهُ الصَّلاَةُ وَذِرْوَةُ سَنَامِهِ الْجِهَادُ “The head of the matter is Islam, and its pillar is the prayer, and its peak is Jihad.”[12]

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud narrates that, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ died, the people of the Ansar said, “Let there be two rulers: one that will be chosen from among us (the Ansar), and one that will be chosen from among you (i.e., from among the Muhajirun).” Umar went to them and said, “O people of the Ansar, don’t you know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. So which one of you would be pleased with himself if he were to be placed ahead of Abu Bakr (in ranking or status)?” The people of the Ansar responded, “We seek refuge from being placed ahead of Abu Bakr.”[13] Umar used Abu Bakr’s imamate of salah as an argument in favour of him becoming the Imam of the Islamic State i.e. the caliph.

Centralisation vs Decentralisation

The sharia permits both types of governors to be appointed – one with general powers i.e. decentralised and one with restricted powers. Determining which type to appoint is a balancing act dependent on the reality of the time, and falls under the general remit of Islamic politics (siyasa sharia). There are pros and cons for both, and it all depends on the size and location of any country which decides to transform itself into a caliphate. As general rule, within the current nation-state borders of this future state, a centralised, unitary model of governance would be implemented with limited devolved powers to the provinces. In other words, the appointment or election of a Wali Khass.

In the countries which decide to join a union with this country under the general banner of a caliphate, then a more decentralised, devolved or even federal model would be more appropriate. In other words, the appointment or election of a Wali ‘Amm and even leaving the current rulers in place if the people agreed to that. Muhammad Haikal says, “it is a duty upon the rest of the Islamic regions, once the validity of the Bay’ah of contract of the caliph has been realised, to present the Bay’ah of obedience to him and to join the caliphate state as Wilayat (provinces) of it. As for the people in authority (i.e. the existing rulers) in those lands and regions, then they will remain in their positions as long as they fulfil what is required for them to be able to maintain them. That is like what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to do in respect to the people in authority in those regions which were joined to the Islamic state, in the case where the maslahah (benefit) dictated that.”[128]

In some cases, such as the relationship with Iran, an even looser confederation or commonwealth would be required since Iran would never formerly join any type of centralised caliphate.

Notes

[1] Abu l-Hasan al-Mawardi, The Laws of Islamic Governance, translation of Al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyah, Ta Ha Publishers, p.48; https://shamela.ws/book/22881/57

[2] The army was always under the authority of the caliph as commander-in-chief in the unitary state. In the confederation model (post mid-10^th century CE) then the Amirs and Sultans were the commander-in-chiefs of their respective emirates and sultanates.

[3] Al-Mawardi, Op.cit., p.48; https://shamela.ws/book/22881/57

[4] Al-Mawardi, Op.cit., p.51

[5] Without control of the funds and military

[6] Al-Mawardi refers to this post as an Amir ul-Jihad

[7] Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kindi, Kitab Al-Wulah wa Kitab Al-Qudah (The Book of Governors and the Book of Judges), https://shamela.ws/book/12831/1

[8] 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. 20, p.186 https://shamela.ws/book/9783/3090

[9] Holy Qur’an, Surah Hud, ayah 87

[10] Al-Razi, https://tafsir.app/alrazi/11/87

[11] There is ikhtilaf (difference of opinion) on the isnad (chain) here but its meaning matches other ahadith. A full explanation of all the chains can be read here: https://alsunniah.com/book/22157/1#page=32

[12] Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 2616, https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2616

[13] Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak, 3/67