There are four types of rulers: the Khalifah, the delegated assistant, the governor, and the worker (’amil), and whoever falls under the same rule. As for anyone else, they are not considered rulers, but rather employees.

The ruler in the article is the one holding authority who is responsible for governing the affairs, irrespective of whether the governance was for the whole State or for a part of it. Through deduction from the Shari’ah rules, the ones who are made responsible for governing the affairs, establishing the laws and are to be obeyed with respect to their implementation of the laws are these four: the Khalifah, the assistant (delegate minister), the governor, and the Amil; and they are to be obeyed due to their position of rule.

With regards to the Khalifah, he is the man who is given the pledge by the Ummah (nation) to establish the Deen (religion)as their representative, and so he establishes the hudud, implements the laws, and carries out the Jihad, and he is owed obedience:

.وَمَنْ بَايَعَ إِمَامًا فَأَعْطَاهُ صَفْقَةَ يَدِهِ وَثَمَرَةَ قَ لْ بِهِ فَ لْيُطِعْهُ إِنِ اسْتَطَاعَ، فَإِنْ جَاءَ « » آخَرُ ي نَُازِعُهُ فَاضْرِبُوا عُنُقَ الآخَرِ.

“He who swears allegiance to a Caliph should give him the grasp of his hand and the sincerity of his heart (i. e. submit to him both outwardly as well as inwardly). He should obey him to the best of his capacity. If another man comes forward (as a claimant to Caliphate), disputing his authority, they (the Muslims) should behead the latter.” (reported by Muslim through ‘Abd Allah b. Amr b. Al-‘As).

As for the delegate minister, he is the assistant who assists the Khalifah in running the governing of the affairs; in other words, the general, continuous binding governorship. The evidence for this is that he is the one in a position of rule who must be obeyed in the issues that the Khalifah charged him with or requested him to assist him in carrying out the affairs. Ahmad reported with a good chain from 'Aisha (ra) that she said: the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,