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.