The Appointment of Wazirs (2/3)

If he says, "We have delegated the wazirate to you," this is valid as those in authority use the plural form when speaking of themselves, enhancing their importance by this addition and also omit possessive pronouns: thus his saying, "We have delegated to you," stands in place of, "I have delegated to you," and his saying "the ministry" stands in place of "my ministry"; this is the most elevated and most concise way of expressing the meaning, "I have contracted hereby the ministry of delegation." If people other than kings call themselves by this plural form and omit possessive pronouns, it will not express the singular or the possessive pronoun as they will be breaking the norms of agreed practice.

If the ruler says, "I have entrusted you with my ministry," or, "We have entrusted you with the ministry," he does not become a delegatory minister by these words until the ruler explains why he is entitled to delegation as Allah, may He be exalted, speaks of his Prophet Musa, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, saying, "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). Thus Musa does not restrict himself to speaking of wazirate alone but rather refers also to a consolidation of his strength and an association with him in his affair.

The word "wazirate" has three possible derivations: the first, that it is derived from wizr, meaning heavy burden, as he takes up the heavy burdens of the king; the second, that it is derived from wazar, meaning refuge - occurring in Allah's words, may He be exalted: "No, indeed, there is no refuge" (Qur'an, Surah Al-Qiyamah, 75: 11), - as the king takes refuge in his judgement and his aid; the third, that it is derived from azr, meaning the back, as the king gains strength in his minister just as the body is strengthened by the back. Whichever of these derivations one adopts, however, none of them would indicate an absolute authority over affairs.

This then is how the wazirate of delegation comes into being. Exercise of this authority however, despite the general nature of this authority, is subject to two conditions by means of which Imamate and wazirate are differentiated. The first is peculiar to the wazir: he should keep the Imam informed of any governmental arrangements he makes, of any administrative actions he carries out and any appointments he makes lest, in acting alone, he usurp the Imam himself. The second is particular to the Imam: he should inspect the actions of the wazir and his management of affairs, so that he may endorse what is correct and curtail what is incorrect, as government of the Ummah is entrusted to him and is dependent upon his efforts.

It is permitted for this minister both to sit in judgement on his own and to appoint judges just as it is permitted for the Imam as he fulfils the conditions for judgeship; he is also permitted to investigate grievances and to appoint another as deputy as he fulfils the conditions for this office; he is permitted to take charge of the jihad in person or to entrust another with the task as he fulfils the conditions for waging such a war; he is permitted to execute those matters of governance he has decided on or to appoint a deputy to carry them out as he fulfils the conditions of sound judgement and the capacity to govern; everything, in fact, which is valid for the Imam is also valid for the minister except for three things:

1. the designation of succession as it is up to the Imam to designate whomever he sees fit but not the minister;

2. it is the Imam's prerogative to ask of the Ummah that he be allowed to resign from the Imamate but it is not the prerogative of the minister;

3. it is the prerogative of the Imam that he may discharge whomever the minister has appointed but the minister may not dismiss anyone the Imam has entrusted with office.

Apart from these three things, his powers of delegation necessarily ensure that his actions are sanctioned and that his authority is validated. If the Imam is opposed to something he has carried out - and it concerns a judgement which has been properly executed or a property which has been assigned to its rightful owner - then the Imam is not permitted to undo what the minister has carried out after the latter's considered decision in the matter or to seek a return of property which the minister has duly handed over after reaching a judgement concerning it. If, however, it concerns the appointment of a governor, the preparing of an army or the waging of war it is permitted for the Imam to oppose him in this by dismissing the person appointed, to change the military arrangements as he wishes and to organise the war in a better way, since it is the prerogative of the Imam to change his own plans so it is all the more fitting that he may change those of his minister.

If the Imam entrusts someone with a task while the minister entrusts another with the same task, one must investigate who first entrusted him with the task: if it was the Imam, then his appointment carries more weight and no authority is invested in the person appointed by the minister; if however; the minister was the first to make the appointment there are two possibilities: if the Imam was aware of this appointment, then the Imam must annul this previous appointment as he has entrusted it to another, and confirm the appointment of the second; if however, the Imam did not know of this appointment by the minister, the latter's appointment carries more weight and the authority of the first-appointed, rather than the second, is validated, as ignorance of appointment of the first does not merit his dismissal.

One of the companions of ash-Shafi'i has said, may Allah be pleased with him, that the person appointed first by the minister is not dismissed even if the Imam was aware of this appointment when appointing another - unless the Imam dismisses him expressly: in effect he may only be dismissed by an express statement, not merely by the appointment of someone else. According to this opinion, if authority may be shared, the appointments of both remain valid and the authority is shared; if authority may not be shared, the appointment of each is dependent upon the dismissal of one of them and the confirmation of the other. If it was the Imam who granted this authority, he may dismiss and confirm whichever of them he wishes; if it was the minister he may dismiss the particular person he appointed but not the person appointed by the Imam.

As for the wazirate of execution, its rule is weaker and its conditions are fewer as its authority is restricted to the judgement and direction of the Imam: the wazir is a mediator between him and his subjects, carrying out his commands, executing his instructions, enacting what he decides and announcing any governmental appointments or military preparations of the armies; he also informs him about anything of importance which happens and any new developments which come to his notice, so that he may act in accordance with the Imam's command. He is thus appointed for the execution of affairs but not to organise them - indeed he is not appointed for this purpose. If he shares in making judgements, the name "wazir" is more fitting while if he does not, then the name "mediator" or "ambassador" is more applicable.

No appointment is necessary for this wazirate: one must only ensure that permission has been granted. Neither the quality of being a freeman nor in possession of knowledge is considered in potential candidates as he does not exercise authority by himself or have the power to appoint others - for which it would be required he be a freeman, and he may not take decisions - for which he would have to have knowledge. Rather, his authority is restricted to two things: the first, to transmitting things to the Khalifah and the second, to transmitting things from the Khalifah to others.

Seven qualities are demanded of the wazir:

1. Trustworthiness, such that he does not misuse whatever he has been entrusted with and does not deceive regarding whatever he is consulted about;

2. Truthfulness, such that his report of what he has carried out is believed and his word is acted upon regarding what he transmits;

3. Lack of greed, lest he accept bribes in return for influence and lest he allow himself to be cheated and become careless;

4. Lack of enmity or hate between him and the people, for enmity prevents equitable transactions between people and excludes mutual sympathy;

5. A retentive memory, such that he can transmit things to and from the Khalifah and be able to bear witness for him and against him in such matters;

6. Acuteness and astuteness, such that affairs do not confuse him and he slips up or that affairs muddle him and he makes mistakes: determined action is of no use when affairs are confused and resoluteness is of no use when mistakes are being made. This quality is expressed by the minister of al-Ma'mun, Muhammad ibn Yazdad when he said:

A man's sound judgement is the spirit of his speech: if he makes a mistake of judgement, it will mean his death; if the heart of a man no longer watches over his expression, his apparent wakefulness in the two worlds will merely be lethargy.

7. Lack of craving and desire, as such passions will divert him from truth to falsehood and he will no longer discriminate between those who speak the truth and those of falsehood: such passions deceive the intellect and lead it away from what is correct. It is for this reason that the Prophet has said, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, "Your love of something makes you blind and deaf." A poet has said:

“For us, when the clamourings of desire lessen, and the listener gives ear to the speaker, and the people wrestle with their intellects, we reach a judgement which is just and decisive; we do not give a right to falsehood, and we do not pronounce on falsehood without truth; we fear that our discernment and intelligence will become foolish and then we will bear the burden of time along with the ass.”

If this minister participates in making judgements, he needs to have an eighth quality and that is that he be worldly wise and have an experience which will allow him to arrive at correct judgements and to organise efficiently, for from experience comes an understanding of the way things will turn out. If he does not participate in decision-making, he does not need this quality even though he might acquire it through much practice.

(Continued)