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 …

Islamic Society is Devolved The Islamic state is not a communist state where the regime is in control over all aspects of social, political and economic life. The governing authority in Islam certainly plays a major role in society, but it does not intrude into the individual and family affairs of people unless people are facing abuse and harm in these spheres and need protection. In essence an Islamic society is already devolved in terms of its responsibilities. The family plays a pivotal role in looking after its members both young and old, not just in terms of financial support but also with regards the children, educating them and bringing them up to be functioning members of the society. Communities and neighbourhoods are simply a collection of families and so will manage their affairs in a similar manner. The Islamic charitable endowment known as Waqf where an individual or institution permanently donates assets, such as land or money, for religious, charitable, or social purposes to benefit the community, meant that many local projects such as new mosques, …

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 …

For most of Islamic history the Caliphate was a decentralised confederation, with executive power held by the various Islamic emirates and sultanates who recognised the caliph through a nominal bay’ah. Al-Radhi (r.934-940CE) was the last independent Abbasid caliph after the rise of the Buwahids (Buyids) in 934CE, and the establishment of their emirate over Iraq, and central and southern Iran. This reduced the caliph’s executive power to the Dar ul-Khilafah which was a section of Baghdad that housed the Caliphal palace. Al-Khatib (d. 463H,1071CE) mentions that Al-Radhi was “the last of the Caliphs who undertook the sole direction of the army and the finances.”[1] After Al-Radhi, his brother Al-Muttaqi (r.940-944CE) became the caliph and Al-Suyuti says about him that “He had nothing of authority but the name.”[2] Dr. Ovamir Anjum says, “This third model (940-1517CE) has been called classical Islamic constitutionalism.[3] It is important because, with the exception of the first couple of centuries, it is what the caliphate has actually looked like throughout most of Islamic history.”[4] Time period Dates Length Rightly Guided Caliphate 11-41H / 632-661    30 years Umayyads, …

An Islamic society is not a one-party communist totalitarian society where differences and individuality are expunged. Human beings differ in their colours, languages, tastes, interests and intellectual capacity. In themselves these differences are not a problem unless they are used to cause dissent and division. Allah ta’ala clearly says in the Qur’an: يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۭ O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples (شُعُوب) and tribes (قَبائِل) so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.[1] We need to distinguish between two Arabic words in relation to Islamic unity. They are Ikhtilaf (difference) and Iftiraq (division) which are both found in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Allah ta’ala says, وَلَا تَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا۟ وَٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتُ ۚ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ “And do …

The caliph in origin, has all executive power invested in him, similar to the US President. Article II of the US constitution states, “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” This doesn’t make the caliph an absolute monarch or dictator, in the same way it doesn’t make the US president an absolute monarch or dictator, because both posts are restricted by other branches of government namely the legislative branch which is ultimately sovereign. In an Islamic state the legislative branch is the sharia, which binds the caliph, limits his powers and prevents him from overstepping the law. This is primarily achieved through binding the caliph to a constitution when he is given the bay’a on taking office. This is continuously enforced through institutional mechanisms such as the Supreme Court, Majlis al-Nuwaab (House of Representatives) and the Dar al-‘Adl (House of Justice) fulfilling the function of an upper house. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: لا تُحْرِجُوا أُمَّتِي ثَلاثَ مَرَّاتٍ ، اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ أَمَرَ أُمَّتِي بِمَا لَمْ تَأْمُرْهُمْ بِهِ ، أَوْ آمُرْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ مِنْهُ فِي حِلٍّ “Do not oppress …