The Wali (governor) is the person whom the Khalifah appoints as ruler and Amir over a Wilayah (province) in the Khilafah State. .

The territories which the Islamic State rules over would be divided into provinces and each province would be known as a Wilayah. The Wilayah would in turn be divided into districts and each district would be known as Imalah. The person appointed over the Wilayah would be known as the Wali, or an amir, and the person appointed for the Imalah would be known as the amil or the hakim (ruler). .

The ‘Imalah is divided into administrative units, of which each is known as a metropolis (Qasabah), and the Qasabah is divided into smaller administrative units, each known as a quarter (Hayy). The leader of the Qasabah as well as the Hayy is known as a manager; and his work is administrative. .

The Wali is therefore a ruler, for the Wilayah means the ruling. In Al-Muhit dictionary, it has been defined as being the “Imara” (leadership) and the “authority”. Since they are rulers, then it is required that they fulfil the same conditions of the ruler. Thus the Wali must be male, free, Muslim, mature, sane and just, as well as competent in his task. He requires an appointment by the Khalifah or by whoever is appointed on the Khalifah’s behalf. Therefore the Wali can only be appointed by the Khalifah. The origin of the Wilayah or the Imara, i.e. the Walis or the Amirs goes back to the actions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). It has been confirmed that He (PBUH) appointed Walis over the countries and that he gave them the right to rule over the provinces. He (PBUH) appointed Muadh Ibn Jabal over Al- Janad, Ziyad Ibn Labid over Hadramawt and Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari over Zabeed and Aden. .

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to select his Walis from among those who were fit to rule, and those who had knowledge and were known for their piety. He used to select them from among those who were experts in their job, and who would fill people's hearts with Iman and respect for the State. Suleiman IbnBurayda reported on the authority of his father that he said: .

'Whenever the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) appointed an Amir over an army or an expedition, he used to advise him to fear Allah and to be good to the Muslims who accompany him’, as narrated by Muslim. Since the Wali is in fact an Amir over his Wilayah, the hadith would then apply to him as well. [Al-Bayhaqi, Sunan al-Kubra, vol.9, p.41] .

As for the dismissal of the Wali, this would be up to the Khalifah, or if the majority of people in his Wilayah or their representatives showed discontent towards him. Therefore, we adopt that a wilayah council be elected from the people of the wilayah for two purposes. Firstly, to help the wali by conveying to him the reality of their wilayah for they are of its inhabitants and know better than him. So, he uses their information to perform his task properly. The second is to take if necessary the opinion of the council regarding the work of the wali. If the majority of the council complained of his performance the Khalifah would remove him. This is because the Messenger (PBUH) removed Al-Alaa ibn Al-Hadrami, the amir of Bahrain, because the delegate of Abs Qays complained of him. The Khalifah also has the right to dismiss the wali without any reason. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) dismissed Muadh b. Jabal from Yemen without any reason. .

He (PBUH) removed Al-Ala' Ibn al-Hadrami, his amil over Bahrain, because the delegation of Abdu Qays complained about him. ‘Umar b.Al- Khattab used to dismiss the Walis with or without reason. He dismissed Ziyad Ibnu Abi Sufyan without giving a reason, and he dismissed Saad Ibnu Abi Waqqas because people complained about him, and then said, ‘I did not remove him because of incompetence or betrayal.’ This proves that the Khalifah reserves the right to remove the Wali whenever he wishes whether or not the people living in his Wilayah filed a complaint against him. .

There used to be two types of Wilayah in the early times: The Wilayah of Salah and the Wilayah of Kharaj. Therefore we find that history books use two terms in their reference to the Wilayah of Amirs: The first is the Imara over the Salah or the kharaj and the other is the Imara over the Salah and the Kharaj. In other words the Amir could either be appointed over both the Salah and the Kharaj, or over the Salah only or over the kharaj only. The word Salah, in the context of the Wilayah or the Imara, does not mean leading the people in their prayer only, but it means governing all their affairs except the funds. This is because the word Salah is used to mean ruling except for the levy of funds. Therefore, if the Wali had combined both the Salah and the Kharaj, his Wilayah would then be general (Wilayah amma). If his Wilayah had been restricted to the Salah or the Kharaj, his Wilayah would then be specific (Wilayah Khassa). Either way, this would be left to the Khalifah's discretion as he reserves the right to restrict the Wilayah to the Kharaj, or to the judiciary, or to confine the Wilayah to other than the Kharaj, the judiciary and the army. He can decide what he deems fit for the running of the State or the Wilayah. This is because Shariah has not determined certain duties for the Wali, and it is not obligatory that he performs all the duties of ruling. However, it has determined that the Wali's or the Amir's duties be from that pertaining to ruling and authority, that he is the deputy of the Khalifah, and that he should be an Amir over a specific region. .

All this is derived from the actions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). .

However, the Shariah obliges the Khalifah to appoint a Wali as either a general (amma) or a specific (Khassa) Wilayah according to his discretion. This is reflected in the actions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) appointed Walis with general responsibilities ( Wilayah ‘ammah) , such as when he appointed Amru b.Hazm over Yemen, and he appointed Walis with specific functions (Wilayah Khassah), such as the appointment of Ali b. Abi Talib over the judiciary in Yemen. It was mentioned in the Seerah of ibn Hisham that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) appointed Farwa b. Musayk over the tribes of Murad, Zubair and Midhaj. And he sent Khalid b. Sa’id b. Al-ass with him as Wali over the Sadaqah. It also mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent Ziyad b. Labeed al-Ansari as a Wali over Hadramawt and its Sadaqah. He also sent ‘Ali b. Abi Talib to Najran to collect their Sadaqah and their Jizya. He also sent him, as a judge over Yemen, as reported by Al-Hakim. In the book of al-Isti’ab it is mentioned that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent Mu’adh b. Jabal to al-Janad to teach the people about the Qur’an, the laws of Islam and to judge between them. He authorised him as well to collect the Sadaqah from the amils in Yemen. .

Though the Khalifah is allowed to appoint a wali with a general or specific wilayah, it is proved that at the time of weakness of the Abbasid Khulafaa, the general wilayah helped in the wilayaat ruling independently of the Khalifah, where the Khalifah became a mere symbol whose name was mentioned in the congregational duaas and in whose name money was symbolically minted. Thus, granting general wilayah caused harm to the Islamic state. .

Since it is allowed to appoint the wali with a general or a specific authority; and since the general authority of the wali might lead to harm and great danger to the state, we accordingly adopt giving the wali specific authority in areas that would make it difficult for the wali to separate from the state if his taqwa declines. From examination we find the areas that strengthen the wali are the army, judiciary and the funds. Thus, these areas must be separated from the wali’s authority and be kept connected to the Khalifah like any other organisation in the Khilafah state i.e. these areas must remain under the jurisdiction of the Khalifah. .

The Wali should not be transferred from one Wilayah to another; rather he should be relieved from one Wilayah and then reappointed in another. This was clear from the actions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) where he used to remove the Walis. It has not been reported that he used to transfer a Wali 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 a Wilayah over a province or a country, the area over which the Wali is to govern must be determined, and he would have the mandate of ruling as long as he is not removed by the Khaleefah. If he were not removed from that area he would remain a Wali over it. However if he were transferred to another place this would not remove him from his first position and nor would it make him a Wali over the new place. This is because his removal from the first place requires clear words stating that he is relieved from the Wilayah there; and similarly his appointment over another region requires a new contract of appointment as a Wali specific to that place. This is why the Wali 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.