The Institutions of State in the Khilafah by Hizb ut-Tahrir

The administrative system is a style used to perform a task, and is also one of the means used for that, so it does not require specific evidence. It is sufficient for it to have general evidence that indicates to its origin. It would be wrong to say that these styles are human actions, which should therefore be conducted according to the divine rules. This is because the evidence for these actions has come in regards to their origin in a general form, thus it includes all actions that branch out from that origin, unless there is divine evidence that relates to a subsidiary action, in which case the action must follow that evidence. For instance Allah (S.W.T) says, "And pay out the Zakat" [73:20].

Which is a general evidence. Then the evidences came regarding the subsidiary actions which branched out from it, such as the amount of Nisab, the Zakat collectors and the categories of people from whom Zakat is to be taken. All these are actions derived from the ayah, "And pay out the Zakat". There are no evidences to be found about the manner by which the Zakat collectors have to collect the Zakah. For example do they go riding or walking? Do they hire other employees to help them or not? Do they collect it according to records? Do they have to establish headquarters where they would all meet? Would they have warehouses where they would store everything they had collected? Would these houses be underground or built like grain houses? Would the cash Zakat be collected in bags or coffers? All these actions and the like are, in fact, subsidiary actions originating from "And pay out the Zakat." .

They are all covered by the general evidence as there are no specific evidences for them; and this is the case with all the styles. Thus, the style is an action subsidiary to an action i.e. the origin that has general evidence. Therefore, the style does not require evidence, because the evidence of its origin serves as evidence for it as well. Therefore, the administrative styles can be taken from any system unless there is a specific text that prevents taking a particular administrative style. Otherwise, it is allowed to take the administrative styles if they were suitable to run the work of the administrative organisations and to discharge the affairs of the people. This is because the administrative style is not a divine rule that requires divine evidence. This is the reason that ‘Umar (ra) took the style of the diwan for recording the names of the army and the citizens for the sake of distributing the funds to them, which came from the public or state properties, in the form of grants or salaries.. ‘Abid Ibn Yahya reported on the authority of Al-Harith Ibn Nufayl that ‘Umar consulted the Muslims about the recording of Dawawin, and Ali Ibn Abi Talib suggested, ‘Divide all the funds you collect each year and do not keep any of them.’ ‘Uthman Ibn Affan said, ‘I see that there are a lot of funds being distributed amongst people, and if they are not counted in order to know who has taken and who has not, I fear that the matter could get out of hand.’ Upon this Al-Waleed Ibn Hisham Ibn ul-Mughira said, ‘I was in Al-Sham and I noticed that its kings had introduced a Diwan and recruited soldiers, so why don't you do the same?’ ‘Umar took his advice and summoned ‘Aqil Ibn Abi Talib and Makhramah Ibn Nufayl and Jubair Ibn Matam who were young men from Quraish and said, ‘Prepare a house to house a census.’ .

When Islam reached Iraq, the Diwan of payments and funds collection continued as before. The Diwan of Al-Sham was in Latin for it had been part of the Roman Empires, and the Diwan of Iraq was in Persian for it had been part of the Persian Empire. At the time of Abdul Malik Ibn Marwan the Diwan of Al-Sham was transferred to Arabic (in the year 81 AH). Several Dawawin were then set up according to necessity and depending on the need for them in running the people's interests. Dawawin for the armed forces were introduced for registration and grant purposes, and others were introduced to record the fees and claims of all transactions. Another Diwan was introduced for the Amils and Walis to record each appointment and each removal and other Dawawin were used in the treasury (Bayt-ul-Mal) to record revenues and expenses and so on. The introduction of a Diwan was according to the need for it, and its style varied over the years due to the difference in styles and means.. A chief was appointed for each Diwan along with other employees, and in some cases the chief was allowed to appoint the employees himself, and they were sometimes appointed to him.. A Diwan would thus be set up according to need, along with the styles and means that would help discharging that need. It is permitted to have different styles and means according to the area, or Wilayah or country.. With regards to the responsibility of such civil servants, they are hired employees and at the same time citizens. At a professional level they are answerable to their own directorate manager, and as citizens they are answerable to the rulers whether these are Walis, the assistants or the Khalifah. They have to abide by the Sharia rules and the administrative systems.