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

The assistants are the wazirs whom the Khalifah appoints to assist him in discharging the tasks and responsibilities of the Khilafah. There are numerous tasks in the Khilafah, especially when the State is growing and expanding, and these would be a heavy burden for the Khalifah alone. Hence he needs people to help him in carrying this burden and discharging his responsibilities. .

It is invalid to call them wazirs without restriction, otherwise the meaning of wazir in Islam will be confused with its meaning in the current man made systems based on the secular, capitalist democratic basis, or other systems we observe today. .

The delegate assistant or mu’awin at-tafwid is the wazir appointed by the Khalifah to carry with him the responsibility of ruling and authority. So, the Khalifah delegates to him the discharge of the affairs according to his own opinion and to execute them according to his own ijtihad, in accordance with the divine rules. Thus the Khalifah delegates to him general examination of the affairs and general deputyship. .

Al-Hakim and at-Tirmidhi reported from Abi Sa’id al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: .

“My two ministers (wazirs) from the heavens are Jibra’il and Mika’il and my two ministers on the earth are Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.” [Al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, vol.1, p.10, #3046 and Tirmidhi, Sunan, #3680] .

The word ‘wazir’ in the Hadith means the helper and the assistant, which is the linguistic meaning. It has been used in the Qur’an with such a meaning when Allah (S.W.T) says: .

‘Give me a minister from my family.’ [TMQ 20:29].

It also means a helper and assistant. The word wazir in the Hadith is unrestricted (mutlaq) which includes any help or assistance in any matter. Therefore he can assist the Khalifah in the functions and the tasks of the Khilafah. The Hadith of Abi Sa’id al-Khudri is not specific to assistance in the matter of ruling, because Jibra’il and Mika’il, the two wazirs of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) from heaven, have no relationship in helping him in the responsibilities and functions of ruling. Therefore the word wazirai (my two wazirs) in the hadith does not indicate other than the linguistic meaning, which is my two assistants. It is also understood from the hadith that it is allowed to have more than one assistant. .

Though Abu Bakr and ‘Umar did not appear to have carried the task of ruling along with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), appointing them as two wazirs to himself gives them the mandatory powers of assisting him in every matter without restriction, including the matters and tasks of ruling. After Abu Bakr became the Khalifah, he appointed ‘Umar b. al-Khattab as an assistant to him and his assistance was very evident. Once ‘Umar held the post of the Khilafah, ‘Uthman and ’Ali were ‘Umar’s assistants, but they did not appear to carry out any role of assistance to ‘Umar in the matters of ruling. Their situation was similar to that of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). At the time of ‘Uthman, ’Ali and Marwan b. al-Hakam were his two assistants. .

However ’Ali was unhappy about some affairs, so he remained distant. However, Marwan ibn Al-Hakam quite evidently assisted ‘Uthman in the tasks of ruling. If the delegate assistant was honest, he would be of great advantage to the Khalifah. He would remind him of everything good and help him in its execution. It was narrated from Aisha (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: .

“If Allah wished something good to the amir he would make for him an honest wazir. When he forgets something, he would remind him, and if he remembered it he would help him in it. If Allah wished to him something else, he would make for him a bad wazir. When he forgets something, he would not remind him, and if he remembered it he would not help him in it.” [Abu Dawud, Sunan, #2932]It was narrated by Ahmad [in the Musnad]. Al-Nawawi said its isnad is good (jayyid) and Al-Bazzar narrated through his isnad regarding which Al-Haythami said: “its transmitters are all sahih”. .

By examining the work of the assistant at the time of the Messenger (PBUH) and the time of the khulafa’ al-rashidun, we find the assistant might be assigned to specific issues, where he is entitled of their general examination. He might also be appointed to have general examination in all the issues. He can also be appointed in a (certain) place and has the task of general examination, as well as in various places with a task of general examination. It has been narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim through Abu Hurayarah, he said: .

“The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent ‘Umar as responsible for sadaqah.” [Bukhari, Sahih, #1468 and Muslim, Sahih, #2274] .

Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban reported: .

“When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) returned back from the umrah of Ji’ranah, he sent Abu Bakr responsible for hajj.” [Al-Nasa’i, Sunan, #2993] .

This means Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (ra), the two assistants of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), were charged with general examination in specific tasks at the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), though they were two assistants (wazirs) that were appointed with general examination and deputyship, as is required by the ministry of deputyship. This was the case of ’Ali and ‘Uthman at the time of ‘Umar. Even at the time of Abu Bakr, the assistance of ‘Umar to Abu Bakr was evident in the general examination and deputyship, to the point that some of the Sahabah said to Abu Bakr, “We do not know who the Khalifah is? Is it ‘Umar or you?’ Yet, Abu Bakr appointed ‘Umar in a post of judiciary in some periods, as it is reported by al-Bayhaqi through a narration which was corroborated by al-Hafiz [Ibn Hajar al- ‘Asqalani]. Thereupon, it is understood from the Seerah of the Messenger (PBUH) and the khulafa’ Rashidun after him that the assistant is entrusted with the general examination and deputyship. However, it is allowed that the assistant is designated to a specific place or task, as the Prophet (PBUH) did with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, and as Abu Bakr did with ‘Umar. This is like appointing an assistant to follow up the northern regions whilst appointing another to follow up the southern regions of the Khilafah state. The Khalifah is allowed also to put the first assistant in the position of the second and the second in the position of the first. He can direct one assistant to a specific task, and another to a different task, anyway he deems fit to help the Khalifah. In such cases an assistant does not require a new designation; he needs only to be transferred from one task to another. This is because he is entrusted originally with the general examination and deputyship, and all of these tasks are within his appointment as an assistant. The assistant differs in this regard from the governor (wali), where the governor is entrusted with the general examination in one place without being transferred from it. In case he is transferred he would rather need new appointment, because the new place is not included in the first appointment. However, the assistant is entrusted with the general examination and deputyship, so he is allowed to be transferred from one place to another without the need of new deputyship, since he is in origin entrusted with the general examination and deputyship in all the tasks. .

It is understood from all of this that the Khalifah appoints his assistant deputyship in all the regions of the state, with the general examination of all the tasks. However, he is allowed to charge him with a specific task, such as responsibility for the eastern districts, and another for the western districts, and so on. The importance of such an arrangement is evident in the case of having more than one delegated assistant, so their tasks would not conflict. .

Since, the Khalifah will need more than one deputy assistant, particularly because of the vast size of the state, allowing each one of them to conduct tasks all over the state would create problems in discharging their tasks. This is due to the possibility of interference that results from the general examination and deputyship, which each one of them has. .

Therefore, we adopt: .

• In terms of appointment: the assistant is entrusted with the general examination and deputyship, all over the state. .

• In terms of action: he is charged with a task in a part of the state. This means the Khilafah is divided into states (wilayaat) among the delegated assistants. One assistant would help in the east, while the other in the west, a third in the north, and so on. .

• In terms of transference: the assistant is transferred from one place to another and from one task to another without the need of new deputyship. He is rather transferred based on his first deputyship, for the origin of his deputyship is being a delegated assistant that covers all tasks.