The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ruled over both Muslims and non-Muslims and he (pbuh) managed their affairs from the first day he (pbuh) set foot in Madinah. Once the Islamic State was founded, he (pbuh) set about forming an Islamic society in which the welfare of the people was properly catered for. Acting in his capacity as a statesman he (pbuh) signed treaties with the Jews, with Banu Dhamrah and Banu Madlaj. He (pbuh) then later signed treaties with the Quraysh and with the people of Aylah, al-Jarba’ and Uzrah. He (pbuh) also agreed that no one would be prevented from performing the pilgrimage to the House nor should have any fear in the sacred month. As commander of the armed forces, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) planned and executed many military campaigns. He (pbuh) sent Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Muhammad ibn ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Harith and Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas in raids against Quraysh. He (pbuh) invested Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib and ‘Abdullah ibn Rawahah with the authority to fight the Romans, as he did likewise with Khalid ibn al-Walid when he (pbuh) sent him to lead the fight against Dumat al-Jandal. He (pbuh) led the army himself in numerous actions where fierce battles were fought.

Additionally, Rasulillah (pbuh) appointed a Wali (governor) in every province and an ‘Amil (Sub-Governer) in every area. For example, he (pbuh) appointed ‘Utab ibn Usayd as Wali over Makkah shortly after its liberation and once Badhan ibn Sasan embraced Islam, he was appointed Wali of Yemen. Mu’adh ibn Jabal al-Khazraji was appointed as Wali over al-Janad and Khalid ibn Sa’id ibn al-’As was appointed ‘Amil over San’a. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) also appointed Zayd ibn Lubayd ibn Tha’labah al-Ansari as the Wali of Hadramaut, Abu Musa al- Ash’ari as the Wali of Zabeed and Aden, and ‘Amr ibn al-’As as the Wali of ‘Oman. At home, Abu Dujanah was appointed the ‘Amil of Madinah. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would select those who were best suited for the job at hand. Those who could fill the hearts of those they governed with Iman. He (pbuh) would ask them about the methods they would employ when they governed. It has been narrated that Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) asked Mu’adh ibn Jabal al-Khazraji before sending him to Yemen, “What would you rule by?” In reply he said, “By the book of Allah.” He (pbuh) said, “What if you did not find the verdict in there?” He said, “I would rule by the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger.” Then he (pbuh) said, “And what if you did not find the verdict in there?” Mu’adh answered, “I would exert my own Ijtihad.” Upon this the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Praise be to Allah for guiding the Messenger of Allah’s Messenger to what Allah and His Messenger love.” It was also reported that when Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) appointed Abban ibn Sa’id as Wali of Bahrain he said, “Be nice to the people of ‘Abd Qays and be generous to them.”.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would appoint the most exemplary Muslims as governors. In most instances, he (pbuh) would assign the task of collecting the funds to the Wali as well as ordering them to bring to the people the glad tidings of the arrival of Islam, acculturating them with the Qur’an and making them understand the Deen. He (pbuh) would instruct the Wali to be gentle and lenient in the face of truthfulness and firm in dealing with rebellion and injustice, and to prohibit people from referring to the tribes and clans if there was agitation amongst them, so that their reference was to Allah (swt) alone without any other associate.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would instruct his governors to take the fifth of the booty, to collect what had been prescribed on the Muslims as Sadaqah and to tell the Jews and Christians, who had embraced Islam willingly, that they had become believers enjoying the same rights and obliged to fulfill the same duties as any other Muslim. The Wali was instructed to prevent any abuse of the Christians and Jews whatsoever. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) told Mu’adh before sending him to Yemen, “You will go to people who are People of the Book. Let your first task be to invite them to worship Allah. If they believed in Allah, inform them that He has imposed on them Zakat, taken from the wealthy among them and given to the needy. If they obeyed, do take it from them and look after their money; and fear Allah with the plea of the oppressed for there is no screen between it and Allah.”.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to send ‘Abdullah ibn Ruwahah to the Jews of Khaybar to assess their crops and fruits and collect their dues. They complained to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) about his appraisal and they once tried to bribe him by offering some of their ornaments to him. They said, “Take this and go easy with your assessment.” ‘Abdullah replied, “O Jewish people! You are to me the most despised creatures of Allah, however, this does not make me treat you unjustly. What you offered me as bribery is forbidden and we do not take it.” They commented, “By this, the Heavens and the Earth were created.”.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would check on the governors and administrators and monitor their work. He (pbuh) would listen to reports about them. He removed al-’Ala’ ibn al-Hadrami, the ‘Amil of Bahrain, because a delegation of ‘Abd Qays complained about him. He (pbuh) would check the administrators’ collections and assess their revenues and expenditures. In one instance he (pbuh) appointed one man to collect the Zakat and when the man returned he said, “This is for you and this has been given to me as a present.” Upon hearing this, Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said, “What is it with the man? We appoint him to work on what Allah has entrusted in us, and he says this is for you and this is a present given to me? Won’t he stay in his parents home and see if he gets any presents? If we appoint someone to do a job and pay him for it, anything he takes besides that would be ill gained.”.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed judges to settle the people’s disputes. He (pbuh) appointed ‘Ali as judge over Yemen and ‘Abdullah ibn Nawfal as judge over Madinah. He (pbuh) also appointed Mu’adh ibn Jabal and Abu Musa al- Ash’ari as judges in Yemen as well. He (pbuh) enquired from them, “What would you judge by?” They replied, “If we do not find the judgment in the Book nor in the Sunnah we shall use Qiyas and extract a judgment.” He (pbuh) approved of that method. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not content himself solely with appointing judges. He (pbuh) also established tribunals (Madhalim) to deal with complaints concerning judges and Wulaa’ alike. He (pbuh) appointed Rashid ibn ‘Abdullah as an Amir of the judiciary and the tribunals of complaints, with powers to supervise the cases brought before such tribunals.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) managed all aspects of the people’s affairs. He appointed registrars, who functioned as the heads of departments of State. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib was the writer of treaties, al-Harith ibn ‘Auf was in charge of the Messenger’s seal, Mu’ayqeeb ibn Abi Fatimah was secretary of the booties, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman was in charge of appraising the crops and fruits throughout Hijaz, Zubayr ibn al-’Awwam was secretary of Sadaqah, al-Mughira ibn Shu’bah was given the task of writing all the loan agreements and transactions, and Sharkhabeel ibn Hasanah was employed as the writer of messages which were sent to various kings. He (pbuh) would appoint for every department a secretary or director regardless of the number of departments. In these matters, he (pbuh) consulted his Companions extensively, especially those who showed a large degree of understanding and deep thinking and who possessed great devotion to Islam. There were seven such companions from the Ansar and seven from the Muhajireen. Some of these were Hamzah, Abu Bakr, Ja’far, ‘Umar, ‘Ali, ibn Mas’ud, Salman, ‘Ammar, Hudhayfah, Abu Dharr, al-Muqdad and Bilal. He (pbuh) also consulted others as well, but the above mentioned companions were those whom he (pbuh) consulted most. In all they comprised the Majlis al-Ummah (Assembly of the Ummah).

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) levied taxes upon Muslims and non-Muslims on land and on some properties, fruit and livestock. These consisted of the Zakat, the ‘Ushr (1/10 of specific crops), the Fay’i (war booty), the Kharaj (land tax) and the Jizyah (paid by the non Muslim covenanted citizens of the State). The Anfal and the booties belonged to the State treasury. The Zakat was distributed among the eight categories of people entitled to it, as mentioned in the Qur’an, and nobody else. The Zakat fund was never siphoned off to pay for government expenditures, as those were covered by the Fay’i, Kharaj, Jizyah and spoils of war. These were sufficient to cover the State’s expenditure and finance the war effort. The State was never short of money.

This is how the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) founded the system and structure of the Islamic State. He set up everything himself and completed it during his (pbuh) lifetime. He (pbuh) was the head of State, he (pbuh) had assistants, governors, judges, an army, secretaries and a council of Shura. This type of structure must be followed and adopted when implementing the Islamic State. Information concerning all these details of the structure of the Islamic State has been transmitted from generation to generation via Tawatur (collective and assured testimony). The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) held the post of head of State from the very first day he (pbuh) arrived in Madinah, until his (pbuh) death. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were his two assistants. The Sahabah agreed after his death on the obligation of appointing a Khaleefah to follow him as the head of State only, and not in the Message, nor as a Prophet, for he (pbuh) was verily the seal of Prophets.

Therefore, he (pbuh) established a complete system of government during his lifetime. He (pbuh) left behind him the type of rule and the governmental structure known by and evident to everyone.