The state (in fiqh and siyasa shar'iyya)

In fiqh the state rests on three pillars: the territory, the subjects (Muslims and protected non-Muslims), and sovereignty. ¹ It is made of several offices which the supreme imam holds as the nation's agent in the succession to prophethood, guarding religion and governing worldly affairs. ²

The territory is the Islamic lands and the regions under Muslim rule. Jurists give two definitions of the abode of Islam: a land where the call of Islam appeared from its people without protection or tribute, where Muslim law governs the protected people and where the people of innovation do not dominate the people of the Sunna; and any land inhabited by Muslims, or in which Islamic rules appear. ¹ The subjects are the Muslims and the protected non-Muslims living within the state's bounds. Sovereignty is the appearance and enforcement of Islamic rule, not rising against the ruler, and not usurping his authority. ¹

The imam runs the state himself in principle; when that is impossible he may delegate governors, emirs, viziers and judges, and remains responsible for general oversight of affairs. ² The heir apparent has no authority while the imam lives; his authority begins at the imam's death, and the imam may not remove him unless his condition changes. ² The people of loosening and binding choose and pledge allegiance to the imam, renew the allegiance to the heir when he takes office, appoint a deputy during the heir's absence at the caliph's death, and may depose the imam for a cause that requires it. ³ The muhtasib is appointed to enjoin good and forbid evil and to oversee the affairs of the subjects; he must be a jurist, and his judgement applies to custom rather than the law. He differs from the judge in that he may act on what he sees without a claim being brought. ^{3 5} The judiciary is the binding application of the law and the settling of disputes; the judge displays the ruling rather than establishing it, and he is the imam's deputy, whose office is valid only by appointment. Its reach widens or narrows with custom, time and place. ⁵ The public treasury keeps public money, meaning every sum owed to the Muslims with no particular owner: zakat, fay', a fifth of movable spoils, a fifth of the produce of land and of mines, buried treasure, taxes levied for the subjects' benefit, and the estates of those who die without heirs. It must keep a register of what comes in and goes out. ^{5 6} The viziers are of two kinds: the delegated vizier (tafwid), who holds general oversight by a contract and must meet the imam's conditions except that of being from Quraysh; and the executing vizier (tanfidh), an intermediary between the imam and the subjects who needs only permission, and whose conditions are honesty, truthfulness, little greed, and freedom from enmity with the people. ⁶ The military command defends the state against outside attack; it may be limited to organising and equipping the army or extend to shares of the spoils and making truces. The book lists ten duties of a commander, among them guarding the troops against surprise, choosing the camp, knowing the enemy's news, consulting the wise, and not letting the troops turn to trade or farming while the enemy is being confronted. ⁴

The state ends when one of its pillars is lost, or when the abode of Islam becomes the abode of war. ⁴ The majority hold that two imams may not hold office at one time, citing the report that the second of two men pledged as caliph is to be killed, and the risk of discord from several states. ^{4 7}

The state, through all its powers, is to care for the common good of the Muslims: guarding the principles of religion and applying the law; enforcing the prescribed penalties and discretionary penalties; guarding public money; establishing justice; protecting the protected people; developing the land; and governing by legitimate policy. ⁷