The Waali has a mandate to rule and to supervise the activities of the various departments within his Wilayah, and this is done on behalf of the Khaleefah. So the Waali enjoys all the powers within his Wilayah except the funds, the judiciary, and the armed forces. He has the Imarah over the people in his Wilayah and is responsible for supervising all matters relating to the Wilayah. However the police would be under his command in terms of the execution only and not in terms of the administration.

This is because the Waali is a deputy of the Khaleefah in the place where He appoints him. He has the same mandatory powers that the Khaleefah has, and He is like the Mu’awin in terms of general supervision (Wilayah ‘Aammah) if his Wilayah were general, i.e. if He was given general supervision in that place. He would have a specific supervisory role, and in matters related to those for which He was appointed, if his Wilayah was specific (Wilayah Khaassah); then in such a case He would have no mandate to examine other matters. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to appoint some people in an unrestricted Wilayah over ruling, others in a general Wilayah (Wilayah ‘Aammah) covering everything, and others to a specific area and with a specific Wilayah. He (saws) sent Mu’az to Yemen and taught Him how to procced. Al-Bayhaqqi, Ahmad and Abu Dawood narrated on the authority of Mu’az that

“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to him, when He (pbuh) sent Him to Yemen; ‘How would you rule if a case was presented to you?’ He said; ‘By the Book of Allah.’ He (pbuh) said; ‘What if you do not find it (the verdict) there?’ He replied; ‘I would judge by the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger.’And He (pbuh) said; ‘What if you do not find it there?’ He said; ‘I would exert an opinion (perform Ijtihad), saving no effort.’ Upon this the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) put his hand on my chest and said; ‘Praise be to Allah Who has guided the Messenger of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to what Allah and His Messenger love.’” He (pbuh) also sent Ali bin Abi Talib to Yemen without instructing him, because He was confident about his knowledge and competence. When He (pbuh) appointed Mu’az He assigned the Salah and the Sadaqah to him. He (pbuh) appointed Farwa bin Musayk as an ‘Amil over Murad, Muzhij and Zabeed and He sent with Him Khalid bin Sa’eed in charge of the Sadaqah. All this demonstrates that the Waali has all the mandatory powers of ruling, as is evident by the instructions given to Mu’az and not given to ‘Ali. It also demonstrates that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) gave some Wulah general Wilayah over the Salah and the Sadaqah, while He gave others a specific Wilayah covering the Salah only, or the Sadaqah only.

However, although the Khaleefah is permitted to appoint a Waali in a general Wilayah, or in a specific one, it has also been confirmed from the general Wilayah given to Mu’awiya that He managed to become independent of the Khaleefah during the days of ‘Uthman, and ‘Uthman’s authority over Him was not apparent. In the wake of ‘Uthman’s death He caused the Fitna (civil strife) due to the mandatory ruling powers given to Him over everything in Ash-Sham. This was also the case during the decline of the Abbassid Khulafaa’ where the Wilayaat became independent and the Khaleefah’s authority over them was reduced to having Dua’a (supplications) performed for Him and the currency engraved with his name. Therefore, giving a general Wilayah causes harm to the Islamic State. Thus, the Waali should be given a restricted Wilayah in a way that would prevent Him from becoming independent of the Khaleefah. Since the main factors contributing to a breakaway would be the armed forces, funds and the judiciary, because the armed forces represent the power, the funds represent the “life blood” and the judiciary demonstrates the safeguarding of the rights and the execution of the penal codes. Therefore the Wulah should be given a specific (Khassah) Wilayah that excludes the judiciary, the armed forces and the funds, Delegating these to the Waali would encourage a potential breakaway and this would undermine the State’s authority. However, because the Waali is a ruler, and because He ought to have the executive power, the police would be under his command, and his Imarah would cover the police force as well as all other domains within the Wilayah, except for the three departments mentioned above. Since the police force is part of the armed forces, its administration should remain under the army command. Nevertheless it would be at the Waali’s disposal in terms of execution.

The Waali is not obliged to report back to the Khaleefah on the tasks He performs according to his Imarah unless if He chooses to do so. If an unusual matter were to arise, He should inform the Khaleefah and wait for his instructions, and then execute what the Khaleefah ordered. If He felt that the matter could not wait and needed immediate action, He should deal with the matter immediately, and then inform the Khaleefah stating his reasons for not consulting Him before taking action.

Regarding the difference between the delegated assistant and the Waali in terms of the necessity that the assistant reports to the Khaleefah on every action He performs, while the Waali needs not to do so, this is because the delegated assistant is a deputy of the Khaleefah himself and a Wakeel (representative) for him, and He performs the Khaleefah’s actions. Hence if the Khaleefah were to pass away the assistant would be removed. This does not apply to the Waali, because the Waali is neither his Wakeel nor deputy for Him personally or does He perform his actions. Therefore, He is not removed once the Khaleefah passes away.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed his Wulah without asking them to report back to Him about the duties they performed, and they did not report back to him. They performed their duties on their own initiatives, each one of them ruling over his Imarah as they deemed fit. That was the case with Mu’az, ‘Attab Ibnu Usayd, Al-Ala’ Ibnul-Hadhrami and all his other Wulah. This demonstrates that the Waali does not have to report back to the Khaleefah about any of his duties. In this aspect, He differs from the Mu’awin, as the Mu’awin must report back and consult the Khaleefah in every task He performs, whereas the Waali is not obliged to do so. The Khaleefah in turn must examine every action undertaken by the Mu’awin, but He is not obliged to do the same with the Waali, although He enquires about the situation of the Wulah and review information about them. Therefore, the Waali has an unrestricted course of action within his Wilayah. This is why Mu’az said to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) when He was sent to Yemen:

“I will exert my own opinion.” This serves as a proof that the Waali does not need to report back nor consult the Khaleefah, but exerts his own opinion. He can consult the Khaleefah and ask for his opinion on important matters, but when it comes to matters that are not important, He would not consult Him lest people’s affairs were delayed. If an unusual matter were to arise, He should refer it to the Khaleefah, because the appointment of the Wilayah is that the Khaleefah delegates to the Waali the Imarah of a country or province over its entire people to carry out the ordinary duties. If an inordinary matter were to arise, He should report to the Khaleefah, unless He feared that some mischief might occur due to the delay in dealing with the matter, in which case He should act at once and then notify the Khaleefah of that matter.

The time period of Wilayah for the person should not be a lengthy period. It would be best to relieve Him if He became established or if people became attracted to his personality.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to appoint Wulah for a period of time and relieve them, and no Waali remained at his Wilayah during the whole era of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). This indicates that the Waali should never be appointed permanently, but only for a short spell after which He is removed. However, evidence about the length of this period i.e. whether it should be long or short, has not been determined by the actions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). All that is related to this matter is that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not keep a Waali at his post during the whole of his life. It has been established as a fact that He (pbuh) used to appoint the Wulah and then relieve them. However, the Fitna that shook the Ummah was caused by the lengthy period of Mu’awiya’s Wilayah over Ash-Sham during the times of ‘Umar and ‘Uthman. This leads us to the conclusion that a lengthy period of Wilayah could harm the Muslims and the State. This is why the period of Wilayah should not be long.

The Waali should not be transferred from one Wilayah to another, because although his appointment is of a general nature, it is over a specific area. Thus, He should be relieved first and then reappointed.

This was clear from the actions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), where He used to remove the Wulah. It has not been reported that He used to transfer a Waali from one place to another. Besides, the Wilayah is one of the types of contracts that are convened with explicit words. So within the contract of Wilayah over a province or a country, the area over which the Waali is to govern must be determined, and He would have the mandate of ruling as long as the Khaleefah does not remove him. If He were not removed from that area He would remain a Waali over it. However if He were transferred to another place this would not remove Him from his first position nor would it make Him a Waali over the new place. This is because his removal from the first place requires a clear word stating that He was removed from the Wilayah there. Appointing Him over the place where He had been transferred requires a new contract of appointment as a Waali specific to that place. This is why the Waali is not transferred from one place to another, but is relieved of his duties from one place and then given a new Wilayah over the new place.