The Khaleefah is the state. He possesses all of the mandatory powers of the state, and they are:
It is He who makes the divine rules (Ahkam Shari’ah) once He adopted them as binding; they would then become laws that have to be obeyed and their violation would not be allowed.
He is responsible for the domestic and foreign policies of the state. He is the supreme commander in chief of all the armed forces and He has full powers to declare war, concludes peace treaties, truces and all other treaties.
He has the power to accept (foreign) ambassadors and to refuse them, as well as the powers to appoint Muslim ambassadors and to remove them.
It is the Khaleefah who appoints and removes the assistants and Wulah. They are all responsible before him and before the Council of the Ummah.
It is He who appoints and removes the supreme judge (Qadhil-Qudhat), as well as district administrators, army commanders, chiefs of staff, and the commanders in chief. They are all answerable to him and not to the Council of the Ummah.
It is He who adopts the divine rules, in the light of which the State’s budget is drafted, and He decides the details of the budget and the allotted funds required for each department, whether concerning revenues or expenses.
Evidence of these mandatory powers is the fact that the Khilafah as a general ruling over all the Muslims worldwide, with the objective of implementing the rules of the Deen and carrying the Message of Islam to the world, and this in itself is an evidence. However, the word state is a technical term, whose meaning differs according to the views of the nations. The West considers the state as the land, inhabitants and the rulers, for the state in their view is defined within borders that they call the country. Sovereignty, in their view, belongs to the people, while the ruling, i.e. the authority is collective and not individualistic. Thus the concept of the state became known as the total of the country, the inhabitants and the rulers. Therefore, they have a head of state, i.e. head of rulers, the people, the country (land) and a prime minister. However, in Islam, there are no permanent borders, for the Message of Islam has to be carried to the whole world. Therefore frontiers move with the movement of the authority of Islam to other countries. The term country means the place where a person resides permanently i.e. his home and town, no more and no less. Sovereignty belongs to the Shar’a, not to the people. Thus the rulers are controlled by the will of the Shar’a. The Ummah is also controlled by the will of the Shar’a. The ruling i.e. authority is for individuals and it is not collective. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“If three of you were on a journey, let them appoint one of them as an Ameer.” [Narrated by Al-Bazzar from ibn ‘Umar] He (pbuh) also said:
“If three of you went out on a journey, let them appoint one of them as an Ameer.” [Narrated by Abu Dawood from Abu S’aid al- Khudri] Muslim narrated from Abu S’aid al-Khudri from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), that He (pbuh) said:
“If a Bay’ah has been taken for two Khulafaa’, kill the latter of them.” Therefore, the meaning of the state in Islam differs from that in other systems. The state in Islam means the authority and ruling, and its mandatory powers are that of the Sultan. Since the Khaleefah is the one who holds the authority, He is then the state.
However, when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) established the Islamic State in Madina He was the head of state and He held the authority. Thus all of the authority was in his hands, and all of the powers related to the ruling were his. This was as much throughout his lifetime until He (pbuh) died. Then after him came the Khulafaa’ Ar-Rashidoon, and each one of them enjoyed the full authority and possessed all the mandatory powers related to the ruling. This also serves as evidence that the Khaleefah is the state. Besides, when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) warned against rebellion and disobedience to the Ameer, He expressed it as being a rebellion against the authority (Sultan). He (pbuh) said:
“If anyone sees in his Ameer something that displeases him, let him remain patient. For behold! He who separates himself from the Sultan (authority of Islam) by even so much as a hand span and dies thereupon He has died the death of Jahiliyyah.” The Khilafah is the leadership over the believers. The Khaleefah is therefore the authority, and He has all the mandatory powers, i.e. He is the state and possesses all the powers given to the state. This is the general evidence about these mandatory powers. As for the listing of these powers enjoyed by the Khaleefah, this is in fact the listing of the powers that exist in the state, so as to explain the detailed rules of these powers.
As for the detailed evidences of the six sections mentioned above, the evidence about section “A” is the general consensus of the Sahabah. Qanoon (law) is a technical term that means the order that the ruler (Sultan) issues so that people abide by it. People of Qanoon (law) define it as “the host of principles which the Sultan (ruler) compels people to follow in their relations”. So if the Sultan issues certain rules, then these rules become law and people have to abide by them. If the Sultan does not issue them, then they do not become law and people are not obliged to abide by them. The Muslims follow the rules of Shar’a, so they abide by Allah’s repl commands and prohibitions. What they abide by are the commands and prohibitions of Allah, not those of the Sultan. Thus they follow the divine rules and not the orders of the Sultan. However, the Sahabah have differed regarding the Sharia’ah rules. Some of them understood from the divine texts matters different to what the others understood. Each one of them complied with what He understood and that represented the rule of Allah for him. However, there are some divine rules related to managing the affairs of the Ummah that all the Muslims should abide by according to one single opinion, individuals cannot proceed according to their own Ijtihad. This indeed took place in the past. Abu Bakr, for instance, considered it fit to distribute the funds equally among all Muslims for it was their equal right. ‘Umar deemed it wrong to give to those who had fought against the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) the same as to those who fought alongside him, or to give to the needy equal to that is given to the wealthy. However when Abu Bakr was the Khaleefah, He forced people to follow his opinion and the judges and Wulah executed his opinion and ‘Umar submitted to Abu Bakr’s opinion and executed it. When ‘Umar became Khaleefah He enforced his own opinion which differed from that of Abu Bakr. So He ordered the funds to be distributed preferentially and not equally. Thus the Muslims were accorded the funds based upon the length of time they had been Muslims and according to their needs. Muslims abided by this rule, and the judges and Wulah executed it. Therefore, a general consensus of the Sahabah was established stating that the Imam has the right to adopt specific rules and enforce their implementation. Muslims have to abide by such rules even if they disagreed with their own Ijtihad, and they must abandon their own opinions and Ijtihad. These adopted rules are in fact laws (Canons). Therefore the enactment of laws belongs to the Khaleefah alone and no one else has such a right.
As for section “B”, its evidence is derived from the actions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). He (pbuh) used to appoint the Wulah and judges and hold them accountable to him. He (pbuh) used to control trading and prohibit fraud and cheating. He (pbuh) used to distribute the funds among the people, and help the unemployed find work. He (pbuh) used to run all the state’s internal affairs. He (pbuh) as well used to address the kings and meet with the envoys and receive the delegates. He (pbuh) also carried out all the foreign affairs of the state. He (pbuh) used to effectively take command of the armed forces during the raids and He (pbuh) used to lead the battles. He (pbuh) used to send out all the expeditions and appoint their leaders. In one instance He (pbuh) appointed Usama ibn Zayd at the head of an expedition to Ash-Sham; the Sahabah were not pleased with this due to Usama’s young age, but the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forced them to accept his leadership. This proves that He effectively was the commander of the armed forces and not just its supreme Commander in Chief. It was He (pbuh) who declared war on Quraysh, and on Banu Qurayzah, Banu Nazir, Banu Qaynuqa’, Khayber and the Romans. All the wars that took place were declared by him (pbuh). This proves that the Khaleefah only has the right to declare war. It was also the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) who signed the treaties with Banu Madlij and their allies of Banu Dhumra. He (pbuh) signed a treaty with Yuhanna (Jonathan) ibn Ru’ba, the leader of Ayla, and He (pbuh) also signed the treaty of Al-Hudaybiyah. The Muslims on that occasion were outraged but He (pbuh) ignored their opinion and dismissed their pleas, and went ahead and signed the treaty. This proves that the Khaleefah alone has the mandatory power to sign treaties, whether these were peace treaties or any other.
As for the section “C”, its evidence is that it was the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) himself who received the two envoys of Musaylama, and it was He (pbuh) who received Abu Rafi’i, an envoy from Quraysh. It was also He (pbuh) who sent envoys to Heraclius, Khosroes, Al Muqawqis, Al-Harith Al- Ghassani, King of Al-Heera, Al Harith Al-Himiary, King of Yemen, the Negus of Abyssania (Al-Habashi), and He sent ‘Uthman Ibnu ‘Affan to Quraysh during the Hudaybiyah affair. This proves that the Khaleefah is the one who accepts the ambassadors (envoys) and refuses them and it is He who appoints the ambassadors.
As for section “D”, its evidence is that it was the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) himself who used to appoint the Wulah. He (pbuh) appointed Mu’az as Wali over Yemen. He (pbuh) used also to remove them; He removed Al-A’la’ ibn Al-Hadhrami from his post as Wali of Bahrain after its people complained about him. This indicates that the Wulah are responsible before the people of the Wilayaat (districts), and before the Khaleefah, as well as the Council of the Ummah, for it represents all the Wilayahs. This is concerning the Wulah. As for the assistants, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had two assistants; Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. He did not remove them and appoint others to replace them during his lifetime. However, the assistant derives his authority from the Khaleefah, and since He acts in the capacity of his deputy, the Khaleefah therefore has the right to remove him, by analogy with the representative (agent), for the person has the right to dismiss his representative (agent).
As for the section “E”, its evidence is derived from the fact that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed ‘Ali as judge over Yemen. Ahmad also narrated from ‘Amru Ibn al-‘A‘as, He said: “Two men disputing with each other came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) (seeking justice), so He (pbuh) said to me
‘Judge between them.’ I said ‘You are better and more worthy of that.’ He (pbuh) said
‘Even though!’ So I said: ‘What shall I have if I judged?’ He (pbuh) said
‘If you judged and you were right, you would get ten rewards and if you get it wrong you would get one reward.’”
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to appoint and remove judges. He appointed Sharih as a judge over Kufa and Abu Musa as a judge over Basra. He also removed Shurahbeel ibn Hasna from his post as Wali over Ash-Sham and appointed Mu’awiya instead. Shurahbeel said to him:
“Is it because of an act of disobedience or treason that you removed me?” ‘Umar replied, “Neither, but I wanted to appoint a man who is stronger.” ‘Ali, on one occasion appointed Abu al-Aswad and then He removed him. Abu al-Aswad asked him: “Why did you remove me. I never cheated or committed a crime?” ‘Ali said: “I noticed that your voice rose above the disputing men.” ‘Umar and ‘Ali enacted this in the presence of the Sahabah and none of them disapproved or censured their actions. This proves that the Khaleefah reserves the right to appoint the judges in principle. He can also delegate someone to appoint the judges on his behalf, in analogy with representation (Wakalah), This is because He reserves the right to assign a deputy for him in any of his mandatory powers as He is allowed to appoint someone to represent him in any of his dispositions.
As for the directors of the state’s departments, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed secretaries for the various departments of the state. They were considered to be directors of those departments. He (pbuh) appointed Al-Mu’ayqeeb ibn Abi Fatimah Ad-Dooci in charge of his stamp and the booty. He (pbuh) appointed Huzayfah ibn Al Yaman to assess the harvest of Al-Hijaz, and Zubayr ibn Al-’Awwam to record the funds of the Sadaqah. He (pbuh) appointed Al-Mughira ibn Shu’ba in charge of registering the debts and various transactions, and so on.
As for the army commanders and chief commanders, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed Hamza ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib as commander of an army of thirty riders to confront Quraysh on the seashore. He appointed Muhummad ibn ‘Ubaydah ibn Al-Harith at the head of sixty fighters and instructed him to confront Quraysh in the Wadi of Rabigh. He (pbuh) also appointed Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas at the head of an expedition numbering twenty riders and dispatched him towards Makkah. It can be seen therefore, that He (pbuh) used to appoint the army commanders, which proves that the Khaleefah is the onewho appoints the commanders and the army chiefs of staff.
All these posts were answerable to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and nobody else. This indicates that the judges, directors of departments, army commanders, chiefs of staff and various senior officials are answerable to none but the Khaleefah; they are not answerable to the Council of the Ummah. Only the delegated assistants, the Wulah and the ‘Amils are responsible before the Council of the Ummah for they are rulers. Nobody else is responsible before the council; rather everyone has to report back to the Khaleefah.
As for section “F”, the state budget in terms of the revenues and the expenses is controlled by the Shari’ah rules. Not a single dinar is levied except according to a divine rule, nor any single dinar is spent except according to a divine rule. However, the details of the expenditure or what is known as the budget sections, it is left to the Khaleefah according to his Ijtihad, as are the details of revenues. It is the Khaleefah, for instance, who decides the amount of the Kharaj of land, and the jizyah as well as any other levies and revenues. It is the Khaleefah who decides the expenditures allotted for the road works, and hospitals and other sorts of expenditures. All such matters are left to the Khaleefah, and He decides that according to his own Ijtihad and opinion. This is because the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to receive the revenues from the ‘Amils, and spend them. It was He (pbuh) who authorised the Wulah on some occasions to receive funds and spend them; this was the case when He (pbuh) appointed Mu’az over Yemen. The Khulafaa’ Ar-Rashidoon then did the same; each one of them collected the revenues and spent them according to his opinion and own Ijtihad in his capacity as Khaleefah. None of the Sahabah ever disapproved, and nobody ever spent a single dinar without the consent of the Khaleefah. When ‘Umar appointed Mu’awiya as Wali, He gave him a general Wilayah whereby He had powers to collect and spend the funds. All this proves that the Khaleefah or anyone acting on his behalf decides the different sections of the budget.
These are the detailed evidences regarding the mandatory powers of the Khaleefah. These are confirmed by the Hadith narrated by Ahmad and Al-Bukhari from ‘Abdullah b ‘Umar that He heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say;
“The Imam is a guardian, and He is responsible over his subjects.” This means that all the matters related to the management of the subjects’ affairs is the responsibility of the Khaleefah. He, however reserves the right to delegate anyone with whatever task He deems fit, in analogy with Wakala (representation).