The state is founded on eight pillars:

1) The Khaleefah,

2) Delegated Assistants,

3) The Executing Assistants,

4) The Ameer of Jihad,

5) The Governors (Wulah),

6) The Judiciary,

7) The Administrative Departments,

8) The Council of the Ummah,

Evidence of this structure is reflected in the actions of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) since this was the form in which he set up the structure of the State. He (pbuh) was the head of State and he ordered the Muslims to establish a head of State when he ordered them to establish a Khaleefah or an Imam. As for the assistants, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) chose Abu Bakr and ‘Umar as his two assistants. Al-Hakim and Al-Tirmithi narrated from Abu Sa’id Al Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“My two ministers from the heavens are Jibra’eel and Mika’el and from the people of the earth are Abu Bakr and ‘Umar.” The meaning of the term “my two ministers” here is my two assistants, because this is what the word Wazir (minister) linguistically means in Arabic. As for the word ‘minister’, which people currently refer to, this is a Western term that means the function of a particular type of ruling. This is alien to that which the Muslims know and it contradicts the Islamic ruling system. Indeed the assistant, who the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) called minister (Wazir), is not assigned to a certain function. He is rather an assistant to whom the Khaleefah gives a general delegation to carry out tasks; and he should not be assigned to a specific task. As for the governors (Wulah), the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed them over the provinces (Wilayaat). He (pbuh) appointed Attab Ibnu Usayd as Wali over Makkah after its conquest. After Bazan Ibnu Sasan had embraced Islam he (pbuh) appointed him Wali (governor) of Yemen. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) also appointed many other Wulah. The Messenger of Allah was in direct charge of the judiciary. He (pbuh) appointed the judges in order to settle the disputes between the people. So he (pbuh) appointed ‘Ali Ibnu Abi Talib as judge over Yemen, and he (pbuh) charged Mua’z Ibn Jabal and Abu Mousa with Judiciary and Imarah over Yemen. Al-Tabarani reported through trustworthy narrators from Masrooq, he said:

“The people of Judiciary at the time of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) were six: ‘Umar, ‘Ali, ‘Abdullah Ibn Ma’sood, Ubay ibn, K’ab, Zayd ibn Thabit and Abu Mousa Al-Ash’ari.” As for the administrative system, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed secretaries to run the various government departments, these were as directors of departments. He (pbuh) appointed Mu’ayqib Ibnu Abi Fatima as director (under secretary) of booty and Huzayfah Ibnul Yaman was appointed as a director in charge of assessing the harvest of Hijaz. He (pbuh) appointed others in charge of the other departments, where over each one of them, there was a secretary. As for the army, which administratively is under the Ameer of Jihad’s authority, it was effectively under the control of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and it was he who was the effective commander of the army where he used to deal with its administration and run its affairs. However, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would appoint commanders to lead certain expeditions. On one occasion he (pbuh) appointed ‘Abdullah Ibnu Jahsh at the head of an exploratory mission to Quraysh. On another occasion the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed Abu Salma Ibnu ‘Abdil Asad as the commander of a regiment of 150 men, and he (pbuh) gave him its banner. This regiment contained some of the best Muslim warriors, among whom were ‘Abu Ubayda Ibnul Jarrah, Sa’d Ibnu Abi Waqqas and Usayd Ibnu Hudhayr.As for the Council of the Ummah whose function is one of consultation (Shura) and holding the ruler accountable, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not establish a permanent one in his lifetime, but he did consult the Muslims whenever he deemed it fit. Thus he (pbuh) gathered the Muslims and consulted them on the day of ‘Uhud’ and on the day of ‘Hadithul-ifk’ (slander of Ayesha rdh) and on several other occasions. Though he (pbuh) gathered the Muslims for consultation, he (pbuh) would summon some of his companions on a regular basis and consult them; they were regarded as the chiefs of the people. They were Hamza, Abu Bakr, Ja’afar, ‘Umar, ‘Ali, Ibnu Mas’ud, Salman, ‘Ammar, Huzayfah, Abu Dharr, Al-Muqdad and Bilal. They were considered as his (pbuh) Shura Council, for he consulted them on a regular basis. This demonstrates that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had set up a specific structure for the State, and that he (pbuh) adhered to that structure until he joined his Lord (swt). Then after him (pbuh) came his Khulafaa’ (successors) and they followed him in ruling according to the same structure that the Messenger (pbuh) established himself. They did that in front of the Sahabah. The structure of the government of the Islamic State should, therefore, be in this form. Some may argue that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed a separate official in charge of finance and that he placed him in charge of the department of finance. This might lead people to think that the department of finance is an independent body that is not part of the overall government structure. However, the reality is that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did appoint a special official in charge of finance, which meant giving him an independent department to run, but he (pbuh) did not make it an independent structure, rather a part of the structure (of the government). Some of the Wulah (governors) were appointed with general mandatory powers that included both ruling and finance, whilst some were appointed in ruling powers only, and he appointed a special Wali over finance. For example, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) sent ‘Amru and finance as prescribed in the letter he (pbuh) handed to him. Furwa Ibnu Musaik’ was appointed by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) as ‘Amil over the tribes of Murad, Zubayd, and Muzhaj, and Khalid Ibnu Said Ibnul A’as was appointed with him as collector of Zakat. The Wali in charge of ruling alone was known as the Wali of Salah; this is a Shari’ah term meaning the Wali in charge of all matters of administration, judiciary, politics, warfare and Ibadaat, amongst other duties, with the exception of finance. The Wali in charge of finance was alternatively known as the Wali of Kharaj, meaning the one who was responsible for collecting the Zakat and land Kharaj together with other financial duties. The Wali (governor) who held the position of general governorship was known as the Wali of Salah and Kharaj. This clearly demonstrates that the financial department was not a separate structure, but part of the duties of the Imarah i.e. the Wilayah .A governor may be appointed specifically to run the financial affairs of a district, or the job could be given instead to the general governor. In either case, the financial department ultimately did not follow a special department in the centre of the state (the capital), but it remained under the control of the Khaleefah. So it is part of the (state) structure, not a separate structure. In a similar fashion the Imarah of Jihad, which supervises war, foreign, domestic and industrial affairs, was always under the direct control of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), as well as his Khulafaa’. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used by himself to prepare the army and supervise its training and weaponry, and run all its affairs, the way he used to run the foreign and domestic affairs. He (pbuh) sent people to Jurash in Yemen to learn how to manufacture weapons. The Khulafaa’ who came after him (pbuh) followed the same policy. However, at the time of ‘Umar Ibnul Khattab he set up a war cabinet (Diwan ul-Jund) and he appointed a head to that cabinet which is the function of the Ameer of Jihad.

Thus, the State that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had established was founded on this structure.