The Appointment of Wazirs (1/3)

Wazirate (ministry) is of two types: ministry of delegation and ministry of execution.

The ministry of delegation is where the Imam appoints a minister to whom he delegates authority for the organisation of affairs in accordance with his judgement such that he effects them properly by his own efforts. The permissibility of this ministry cannot be denied: Allah, may He be exalted says, speaking of his Prophet Musa, on whom be peace and blessings: "And appoint for me a wazir from my people, Harun, my brother, and consolidate my strength by him and make him a partner in my affair" (Qur'an, Surah Ta-Ha, 20: 29-32). If this is permissible with respect to prophethood then it is all the more permissible regarding Imamate; moreover the Imam cannot deal directly with all the organisation of the Ummah which has been entrusted to him except by appointing representatives. Representation by a minister; cooperating with the Imam in the organisation of affairs is also a more efficient way of executing such affairs than doing it alone: this minister will protect him from (the weaknesses of) his self and the Imam will thus be less likely to make mistakes and will be prevented from committing errors.

The same conditions of Imamate apply when entrusting someone with this ministry, except that of lineage: the wazir, having to sanction judgements and execute decisions arrived at by ijtihad, must necessarily be of the mujtahidun.

One further condition, besides those of Imamate, is required: that he be capable in the two matters with which he has been entrusted, namely of war and kharaj, and that he have a profound experience of these two things given that he must deal directly with them in person at times and appoint representatives at others: he will not find capable representatives unless he himself is one of them just as he will not be able to deal directly with them if he is inferior to them. This condition is the pivot of wazirate and on it its good administration depends.

It has been related that al-Ma'mun, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote regarding the choice of wazir saying: "I am looking for a man for my affairs who has all of the qualities of goodness, who is modest in his behaviour and resolute in his ways, a man who has been refined by manners and strengthened by experience, a man who if entrusted with secrets acts accordingly and if entrusted with important matters moves to execute them, a man whose forbearance causes him to be silent and whom knowledge causes to speak, a man for whom the moment is enough and for whom a glance is sufficient, a man who has the intrepidity of amirs and the perseverance of the wise, the humility of the 'ulama and the understanding of the fuqaha; if people treat him well, he is grateful and if put to the test by their mistreatment, he is patient; he does not sell the portion of today only to be deprived the next; a man who captures the hearts of men by the sharpness of his tongue and the beauty of his eloquence."

A poet has combined these qualities and concentrated them when describing one of the ministers of the Abbasid state:

“His insight and thought are both sound when people are confused by affairs; he is the most judicious of his age when counsellor and counselled have wearied: his is a breast which finds expansion in cares when others have become constricted with cares.”

If these qualities are perfected in someone in charge of organisation - and few are those who achieve this perfection - then the benefit resulting from his authority is general and everything connected with his judgement and organisation is complete; if, however, they are deficient, then this benefit is restricted accordingly and is limited in proportion to these qualities.

Although such a condition is not absolutely required by the deen, it is a condition of good administration which is inseparable from those of the deen because on it depend the interests of the Ummah and the upholding of religion.

If the conditions of this ministry are fully met in someone who is capable of the task, the validity of his appointment will depend on the verbal expression on the part of the Khalifah who is creating this wazirate: this is because it is an administration which has to have a contract and this legal agreement is not correct unless by way of an unequivocal statement. If jurisdiction and permission are granted to someone, the appointment is nevertheless not legally complete - even if it comes about in this way customarily - unless the contract of wazirate is concluded by means of a clear statement according both a general competence and the right of representation. If only general competence, without representation, is accorded, such a nomination is reserved for designating a successor and wazirate is not contracted thereby; if it is restricted to representation only it will be unclear whether representation is general as well as particular or whether it confers executory as well as delegatory powers in affairs and so likewise wazirate is not contracted; if both aspects are involved then it is duly contracted and completed.

When both aspects are present, two possibilities present themselves. The first of them, and this belongs rather to the rules of contractual agreements, is that the Sultan says, "I have entrusted you with whatever is being carried out in my name,"- with this the wazirate is contracted, as he has accorded him both a general and a representative authority. If, however, he says, "Represent me in my affairs!" wazirate may possibly be contracted, as his statement comprises both aspects of general authority and delegation, but it is also possible that it is not contracted, as it may be regarded merely as a permission which must necessarily be preceded by a contract, and permission alone does not validate contractual agreements, according to the rules of contractual agreements. If, however, he had said, "I make you a representative in my affairs," wazirate is contracted as he has modified the simple permission into a statement of contractual agreement. If he says, "Look to what is mine," it is not contracted because it may refer to an investigation of his affairs, to their execution or to taking over responsibility for them: a contract is not concluded by an ambiguous statement until something is added which removes this ambiguity.

However, general contractual agreements concluded by the khulafa and kings of the Ummah are subject to less rigorous conditions than contracts of a private or individual nature on two accounts:

1. It is their habit to make do with little speech, rather than a lot, and this becomes a particular custom of theirs; moreover speech sometimes becomes burdensome for them and thus they limit themselves to gesture, although there is no legal basis for this in the shari'ah in the case of healthy persons who are able to speak: thus their custom excludes them from the shari'ah.

2. Because they deal so rarely with contractual agreements, one must consider the circumstances compelling them to speak with such conciseness and the purpose thereof rather than any other possible interpretation - and this is one aspect. The second aspect, and this is the more likely given the customary practice of the post, is that he says, "I appoint you as wazir and rely on your representation,"- this wazirate is thereby duly established as both general authority is granted him by his saying, "I appoint you as wazir," (as the authority of this ministry is general), and representation is granted by his words, "and rely on your representation." In this way it is clearly established as a ministry of delegatory and not executory function. If he says, "I have delegated my ministry to you," it is possible for this ministry to be established as he has mentioned "delegation" and as such it is not an executive ministry; it is also possible, however, that it is not established, as delegatory powers are already implicit in the nature of this ministry and a contract should in any case precede the granting of such powers. The first of these two possibilities is more likely to be the correct interpretation.

(Continued)