9.3 The Khaleefah Is The Leader Of The Army
The Khaleefah is the leader of the army and he is the one who appoints the Chief of Staff and an Ameer to every brigade, and a commander to every division. With regards to the other posts in the army the commanders of the brigades appoint them. Appointing a person to the staff has to be according to his military culture and the Chief of Staff appoints him.
This is because the Khilafah is the general leadership for all the Muslims in the world. It is responsible for establishing the Shar’a rules and for conveying the Message to the world. The way of conveying the Message to the world is Jihad. Therefore the Khaleefah should take charge of the Jihad because the Khilafah contract has been convened upon him alone,
so it is not allowed for any other person to carry it out other than him.
Thus the Khaleefah takes responsibility for Jihad himself. It is not allowed for anyone other than him to undertake it, although every Muslim carries out Jihad. Hence carrying out Jihad is one matter and holding of its responsibility is another. Jihad is a duty upon every Muslim, but holding of its responsibility is only for the Khaleefah. Regarding the fact that the Khaleefah may appoint another person on his behalf to carry out his duty, this is allowed under his own observation and supervision and it is not allowed for this person to be independent, rather under the Khaleefah’s observation and supervision. This type of delegation is not the same as the work of an assistant to the Khaleefah. Reporting to the Khaleefah in this context means that the one who carries out Jihad on his behalf should be under his supervision. Leadership of the army with this restriction i.e. under the Khaleefah’s observation and supervision, is allowed to be given to whomever he wishes. However, to take charge of the army without his observation and supervision, leaving the Khaleefah only as a figurehead, is not allowed. This is because the Khilafah contract has been convened upon him, so he has to take the responsibility for the matters of Jihad. Therefore, what is usually said in the non-Islamic systems that the Head of State is the supreme leader of the army,