The foreign affairs department undertakes the responsibility of all foreign affairs, pertaining to the relations of the Khilafah state with the foreign states, whatever these affairs and relations may be. Whether they are related to the political aspect and what it entails like the formation of pacts, peace treaties, cease-fires, negotiations, appointing ambassadors, sending Messengers and delegates, and establishing embassies and consulates. It also includes relations, which are related to economical, agricultural, and trading matters as well as postal communications or wire and wireless communications etc. The foreign affairs department runs all these matters, because they are concerned with the relations of the Khilafah state with other states.

The Messenger (pbuh) established foreign relations with other states and entities. He sent ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan to negotiate with Qur’aysh just as He negotiated with the delegates of Qur’aysh. He sent delegates to Kings and He received the delegates of Kings and leaders. He also concluded pacts and peace treaties. Similarly after him, his Khulafaa’ used to establish political relations with other states and entities. They used to appoint people to carry out these actions on their behalf, on the basis that whatever an action a person can perform by himself, He can delegate it to some other person to carry out it on his behalf.

The Ameer of Jihad is the person whom the Khaleefah appoints as an Ameer over matters of foreign affairs, military affairs, internal security and industry in order to supervise and administer.

He is named the Ameer of Jihad, although He supervises these four departments, because all these departments are linked to Jihad. Hence foreign affairs, whether at time of peace or war, are run according to the requirements of Jihad. The military department is linked to the armies that fight Jihad, in its formation, preparation and armament. Internal security is linked to the preservation and protection of the state as well as the preservation of security inside the state, e.g. in dealing with rebels, highway robbery through the use of the police force that is part of the army that is prepared for Jihad. The industrial department involves itself in supplying arms and equipment to the army for the purpose of Jihad. Thus since all these issues are linked to Jihad, accordingly He was called Ameer of Jihad.

He is called the Ameer of Jihad, though He is not a ruler. This is due to the frequent orders He issues, because of his wide area of responsibility. For the term Ameer is in the form of ‘Fa’eel’ which is a superlative adjective of the noun participle Aamir (the commander). This is due to the numerous orders, which He issues at day and night. This is similar to the word ‘Raheem’ –merciful, the superlative adjective of noun participle ‘Raahim’, due to the infinite mercy that He (swt) grants. The directorate of the Ameer of Jihad consists of four departments, which are:

1) Foreign Affairs Department

2) War Department

3) Internal Security Department

4) Industrial Affairs Department

These departments are supervised and administered by the Ameer of Jihad.

Jihad is the method defined by Islam to convey the Message of Islam to the world. Conveying the Islamic Da’wa is considered the main function of the Islamic state after implementing the rules of Islam internally. Therefore, the rules of Jihad include the rules of war, peace, cease-fire and treaties. They also include foreign relations with other states and entities, as well as the rules of the army, its preparation, and training and choosing its commanders, banners and flags. They also include the weaponry systems of the army and the necessity to be supplied by military-orientated industry through which the preparation would be completed in such a way that it achieves the intimidation of the apparent and hidden enemy. They also include the rules of forcing the law inside the state, as well as the prevention of any rebellion against the state, dealing with revolts, highway robbery, fiddling with the internal security and crimes against her citizens.

The Messenger (pbuh) used to run all the affairs of Jihad by himself, and after Him his Khulafaa’ followed suit. The Messenger (pbuh) and the Khulafaa’ used to appoint certain people to carry out some or all the actions of Jihad, whether the preparation of the army, carrying out the actual fighting, concluding peace and cease-fires, the foreign communications, or fighting the rebels and apostates.

It has already been established that actions, which the Khaleefah can perform by himself, He is allowed to delegate someone else to perform on his behalf. Therefore the appointment of the Ameer of Jihad and the establishment of his directorate is illegitmate.

Since his directorate is related to Jihad and its rules, this means that foreign affairs must be included because all foreign affairs are based on carrying the Islamic call. It also includes military affairs because Jihad is the fight to raise the word of Allah the highest. The formation of an army is required for fighting as well as the preparation and appointment of commanders, staff and soldiers, in addition to training, provisions and supplies.

The army needs weapons that, in turn, are dependent on the existence of industry. Hence possessing an industry is a requirement for the army of Jihad. Thus all factories within the state should be based upon war industry, and accordingly industry should follow Jihad and the Ameer of Jihad.

As the army performs Jihad to carry the Da’wa to the world, it also guards the state and protects it. Therefore, fighting against rebels, outlaws and highway robbers is one of the duties of the army. Thus, internal security depends on Jihad, the Ameer of Jihad and his directorate. This is the proof that the directorate of Jihad should have four departments, which are the foreign affairs, military affairs, internal security and industry.

Mu’awin-un-Tanfeedh is the Wazir whom the Khaleefah appoints to be his assistant in the execution and follow up and performance of his orders. He is the intermediary between the Khaleefah and the state’s various departments, the subjects and the foreign office on the other side. He conveys messages, on the one hand, from the Khaleefah and on the other hand to him. As a result, He is an assistant in executing orders and not a ruler over people, nor is He entrusted with them. His work is therefore administrative and not ruling, and his department is a tool used to execute what the Khaleefah issues to the domestic and foreign offices, and to submit to Him all that comes to Him from these offices. His department acts as an intermediary between the Khaleefah and others, where it conveys to them on his behalf and conveys to Him from them.

The Khaleefah is a ruler, whose duties include ruling, execution, and looking after people’s affairs. Carrying out of ruling, execution and guardianship require administrative actions. This necessitates the setting up of a special department that works closely with the Khaleefah to manage tasks that help Him carry out the Khilafah’s duties. Thus, an executive assistant is required to be appointed by the Khaleefah to run administrative affairs not the affairs of ruling. He does not perform any ruling duties like the delegated assistant. He is not allowed, for example, to appoint a Wali or an ‘Aamil, nor He manages people’s affairs. His duties are merely administrative, i.e. to execute the ruling orders and the administrative tasks issued by the Khaleefah or the delegated assistant. This is why He is known as the executive assistant. Jurists used to call Him ‘Wazir Tanfeedh’ which simply means Mu’awin ut-Tanfeedh, on the basis that the word Wazir is linguistically used to mean ‘the assistant.’ They said that this Wazir is an intermediary between the Khaleefah, the subjects and the Wulah, conveying the orders issued by him, and executing his orders and rules. He therefore informs all parties concerned about the appointment of Wulah, and about the preparation of task forces and armies stationed at the frontiers. He also submits to the Khaleefah whatever comes from such offices and informs Him of all new matters that may arise so that He can implement whatever the Khaleefah may order Him to. This makes Him an assistant in executing commands, and not a ruler over them neither is He entrusted with them. The executive assistant is linked directly to the Khaleefah just like the delegated assistant. Since He is part of the Khaleefah’s entourage and connected to ruling, although his job is only administrative, the executive assistant cannot be a woman, for women are not allowed to partake in ruling and anything linked to ruling. This is because of the Hadith of Allah’s Messenger (pbuh):

“People who appoint a woman to run their affairs will never succeed.” [Narrated by Bukhari on the authority of Abi Bakrah] The executive assistant also cannot be a disbeliever; and must be a Muslim, for He is part of the Khaleefah’s entourage. This is because Allah (swt) says:

“O ye who believe! Do not take for entourage or court other than your own folk, who would spare no pains to ruin you; they love to hamper you. Hatred is revealed by (the utterance of) their mouths, but that which their breasts hide is greater.” [TMQ Al- Imran: 118]

The prohibition of taking a non-Muslim as part of the Khaleefah’s entourage is very clear in the verse. Therefore the executive assistant cannot be a Kafir but must be Muslim for He is directly connected to the Khaleefah and not separate from him, just like the delegated assistant. The executive assistants can also number more than one according to the needs of the ruling.

As for the areas in which the Mu’awinut-Tanfeedh acts as an intermediary between the Khaleefah and others, these are four:

1) The state’s departments

2) The armed forces

3) The Ummah

4) International affairs

These are the types of duties that the executive assistant carries out. Since He is an intermediary between the Khaleefah and others, He would be considered as a liaison department for the Khaleefah. By acting as such, He follows up what is required of the state departments’ actions.

The Khaleefah is the actual ruler. He is the one who deals with ruling, execution and the management of people’s affairs by himself. Therefore, He is in constant contact with the ruling apparatus, international affairs and the Ummah. He enacts the laws, takes decisions, carries out actions of caring and looks at the performance of the ruling apparatus and whatever obstacles it may face and whatever needs it requires. He is also informed of any demands, complaints and matters that come from the Ummah, and He follows international activities as well. Therefore, based on the reality of these actions, the Mu’awinut-Tanfeedh acts as an intermediary relating to these matters, i.e. He conveys messages to the Khaleefah and conveys orders from him. Since what is issued by the Khaleefah to the different departments and what comes to Him from them needs following up in order to be implemented, the executive assistant needs to carry out this follow up in order that the execution is satisfactorily completed. He would carry out a follow up with the Khaleefah and with the state departments and would not stop from carrying out this follow up, unless the Khaleefah specifically demanded so. In this case He has to obey his orders and stop the follow up, because the Khaleefah is the ruler and his order has to be implemented.

As regarding the matters related to the army and the international relations, these are generally confidential and they are specific to the Khaleefah. Therefore, the executive assistant does not follow up the execution of these matters nor pursue their execution, unless the Khaleefah requests Him to do so; in which case He will follow up only the matters which the Khaleefah demanded and not any others.

With regards to the Ummah; in matters of looking after her affairs, fulfilling her demands and removing unjust actions from her, these matters are for the Khaleefah to deal with the one who is appointed as a deputy to him. They are not a mandate for the executive assistant, so He does not follow up them except those that He Khaleefah may ask Him to do so. His action in their regard is simply execution and not following up. All this depends on the nature of the actions that the Khaleefah carries out and accordingly the nature of the Mu’awinut-Tanfeedh actions.

The task of the delegated assistant is to submit to the Khaleefah all the work He intends to perform. He then reports to the Khaleefah what He has executed in terms of decisions and what He has discharged in terms of management and appointment, so that the assistant would not become like the Khaleefah in his powers. Therefore, his job is to submit his review and then execute it, unless the Khaleefah stops Him from doing so.

Evidence for this is the reality of the Mu’awin as a deputy of the Khaleefah. A deputy acts on behalf of the person who appointed Him as his deputy. Thus He does not become independent from the Khaleefah, but rather reviews with Him every action exactly as ‘Umar used to do when He was Wazir to Abu Bakr, where He used to review with Abu Bakr what He intended to perform, then executed it accordingly. Reviewing with the Khaleefah does not necessarily mean that He needs to ask for his permission in every single detail, for this contradicts the reality of the Mu’awin. Rather, reviewing with the Khaleefah means to discuss the matter with him, like for example to appoint a capable Wali to one of the provinces, or remove the complaints of people in terms of food shortages in the market, or any other state affairs. He may also submit a matter to him, in the form of a presentation, which would be sufficient for the Mu’awin in the future to carry out the matter with all its details, without the need for permission to act. However, if the Khaleefah issues orders to stop the carrying out of any issue, then it should not be executed. Hence, the presentation is simply putting forward of a proposal and the consultation with the Khaleefah about it, and it does not mean seeking permission to carry out the task. The Mu’awin can execute the task in question as long as the Khaleefah does not stop Him from doing so.

The Khaleefah should review the actions of the Mu’awin and his management of affairs, in order to approve what is right and redress what is wrong. This is because the management of the Ummah’s affairs is commissioned to the Khaleefah and discharged according to his own Ijtihad.

The evidence for this is the Hadith of responsibility over the subjects where the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said

“The Imam is a guardian and He is responsible over his subjects.”

Therefore, the Khaleefah is entitled to the task of government and He is responsible over his subjects, whereas the delegated Mu’awin is not responsible over subjects, but He is merely responsible for his own actions. Thus, responsibility about the subjects is for the Khaleefah alone. Therefore, the Khaleefah is obliged to review the actions of the Mu’awin and his performance in order to fulfil his duty towards his subjects. Besides, the delegated assistant can sometimes make errors, and the Khaleefah has to redress such errors, so He has to review all the assistant’s actions. Therefore, it is for these two reasons: fulfilling responsibility towards his subjects and redressing potential errors made by the delegated assistant, that the Khaleefah is obliged to review all of the Mu’awin’s actions.

If the delegated assistant decided a matter and the Khaleefah approved of it, the Mu’awin could then execute it without any alterations. If the Khaleefah objected to what the Mu’awin had executed, then in this case the matter would be examined. If the Mu’awin had correctly carried out a verdict or if He had spent some funds in the right areas or in certain projects, then the Mu’awin’s opinion comes into force, for, in principle, it is the Khaleefah’s opinion, and the Khaleefah has no right to redress what the Mu’awin had executed in terms of rules or funds He had spent. However, if the Mu’awin had performed other types of actions, such as the appointing of a Wali or the preparation of an army, the Khaleefah has the right to reverse the Mu’awin’s decision and enforce his own and nullify the Mu’awin’s actions. This is because the Khaleefah has the right to redress his own actions so He has the right to redress the actions of his assistant.

This is a description of the way that the Mu’awin follows in performing his actions and of the way that the Khaleefah follows in reviewing the Mu’awin’s actions. It is derived from what sort of actions the Khaleefah is allowed to redress and what actions He is not allowed to redress. This is because the actions of the delegated Mu’awin are considered as actions of the Khaleefah. As an explanation for this, it is allowed for the delegated assistant to rule by himself and to appoint rulers as it is allowed for the Khaleefah. This is because the conditions of ruling have been conferred to him. He is also entitled to investigate complaints or to deputise someone to do so, because the conditions of complaints have been verified for him. He is also entitled to take charge of Jihad by himself, or appoint someone to do so, for the conditions of war have been verified for him. He is entitled to execute orders He has decided upon or to deputise someone to execute them on his behalf, for the conditions of voicing an opinion and management are conferred to him. However, this does not mean that the Khaleefah can’t reverse whatever the Mu’awin performed as long as He had been briefed about it. It means rather that He possesses the same powers as the Khaleefah, but He acts on his behalf and not independent of him. Therefore, the Khaleefah is entitled to disagree with the Mu’awin and redress what has been executed or reverse any of his actions, bearing in mind that this applies only to the sort of actions that the Khaleefah could redress of his own actions. If the Mu’awin had executed a rule correctly or spent funds in the right areas, then the Khaleefah’s objections would carry no weight and the Mu’awin’s decision would be executed. This is because in principle, it is the Khaleefah’s own decision and in such cases He himself could not reverse his decision or nullify what He himself had executed, hence, He could not reverse his Mu’awin’s action. However, if the Mu’awin had appointed a Wali, an administrator, an army commander or any other appointee or if He had laid down an economic strategy, a military plan or an industrial programme or any similar undertaking, then the Khaleefah is allowed to nullify it. This is because, although they are considered as being the Khaleefah’s opinions, they fall under the category of decisions that the Khaleefah is entitled to redress even when done by him. Accordingly, He could do likewise with his Mu’awin’s decisions. So in this category, it is allowed for the Khaleefah to nullify the actions of the Mu’awin. The basic rule concerning this would be as follows: Any action that the Khaleefah is allowed to redress of his own actions, He is entitled to redress in a like manner if performed by his Mu’awin; and every action the Khaleefah cannot redress of his own actions, He is not allowed to redress if performed by his Mu’awin.

The delegated Mu’awin is not designated to a particular department, like the education department for example; nor a particular action, like the preparation of an army and its weaponry systems, because his appointment is general. He also does not carry out administrative matters, but He has like the Khaleefah, a general supervision over them. If He had been appointed as such then the Wizara (the assistantship) would not be conferred to Him by this appointment nor will He be assistant to the Khaleefah in the matter in which He was appointed. This is because such a contract is specific and thus does not include general supervision, which is a condition in appointing the delegated assistant. As for the appointment of the Supreme Judge, this is not considered an appointment of an assistant to the Khaleefah in the Judiciary, but an appointment of a Wali with a specific Wilayah in other than the ruling; like the Imarah of the army, or the Imarah of the Sadaqat and the like. Such posts would be convened like those of the Wilayahs, not like the appointment of the Mu’awin-ut-Tafweedh. Hence the supreme judge is an Ameer, with a mandate to appoint Judges and to examine the judicial matters, and to judge between people, but He is not an assistant. Therefore, it would be wrong to confine the delegated assistant to a particular department. If He were confined to a particular department, his contract would be null and void. In order for the appointment of the delegated assistant to be valid, it must be a contract i.e. it should be expressed in clear wording that contains two conditions: one would be its generality and the second is the deputyship. By limiting Him to a certain department would make Him miss one of the two conditions of his contract, and accordingly the contract of his employment would be nullified. In addition to this, He is not allowed to practice the administrative matters; this is because those who practice administrative matters are civil servants not rulers. Since the delegated assistant is a ruler, not a civil servant, and his (assistants’) functions are to look after the affairs, He is not to perform the functions that the civil servants are employed to perform.

This is the reason why He does not run the administrative matters. It does not mean, however, that He is prevented from carrying out any administrative action; rather He is not confined to administrative functions, but is given a general responsibility.