Ulu al-amr (those in authority)

أولو الأمر

Ulu al-amr are those in authority; the phrase in the Qur'an has two views: scholars of the Qur'an and of knowledge, and the rulers and governors. ¹² The caliph must be a Muslim, free, adult, sane, male, learned, upright and capable; those below him have fewer conditions. ² Obedience is owed in what is not sinful, and their duties include guarding the religion, enforcing rulings, protecting the state, enforcing penalties and consultation. ³⁴⁵

Definition

Ulu is a word that stays attached to a following noun; its singular is dhu. Ulu al-amr means those in authority: the leaders and the learned. ¹ The lexical amr is a request for an act from a higher to a lower, and it also means a matter or a state of affairs. ¹

Interpretation

The phrase in the Qur'an (Nisa 4:59) has two main views. The first is the people of the Qur'an and knowledge, the view of Malik, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and Ata', because the origin of the command and the judgement lies with them. The second is the rulers and governors, which al-Tabari preferred, since reports are sound that obedience is owed to the imams and governors in what is God's obedience and in the public interest. ¹²

Conditions

The caliph, the highest rank of those in authority, must be a Muslim, free, adult, sane, male, learned, upright and capable. ² Capacity includes the power to enforce the penalties, sound senses and limbs, courage, and judgement. ² Those below the caliph have fewer conditions, measured by strength and trustworthiness. ²

Duties of the subjects

Obedience within the limits of the Law, as the verse of Nisa (4:59) and the saying "no obedience to a creature in disobedience of the Creator" show. ³
Support in what is not sinful, and counsel, as the saying "religion is counsel" teaches. ³
Consultation with people of judgement, which the Qur'an commends. ⁴⁵

Duties of those in authority

Guarding the religion on its settled bases, enforcing rulings between litigants, and protecting the state. ³⁴
Enforcing penalties, guarding the frontiers, fighting those who oppose Islam after the call, fighting rebels, brigands and highwaymen, and concluding treaties and covenants of protection. ⁴
Appointing viziers, governors, judges, leaders of the pilgrimage and army commanders, setting stipends from the treasury, and choosing trustworthy agents. ⁴⁵
Acting in the public interest, following the rule that the ruler's management of subjects depends on the public interest. ³

Related places

The full treatment is in the entry on the great imamate. ⁵

Sources

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3328

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3329

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3330

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3331

al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.3332

Ahl al-Diwan (those paid from the state register of soldiers and officers, and the rules of their conditions and distribution)

Diwan is a Persian loan-word meaning a collection of sheets and writings, in which the army and those given grants were written; for the jurists it is the register in which the names of those in state service who receive a stipend from the public treasury are recorded, and the office that keeps it. Umar ibn al-Khattab was the first to set up the diwan, according to two accounts. The people of the diwan are of several kinds: soldiers, on conditions that are regulatory, such as puberty, freedom, Islam, health and fitness for fighting; holders of office, such as governors, judges, scholars, collectors, imams and muezzins; and the needy. The Companions differed on preference in distribution: Abu Bakr and Ali made it equal, while Umar and Uthman preferred by precedence in Islam, and Umar added kinship to the Prophet; Abu Hanifa and Ahmad followed the latter view.