The ranks and titles of royal and governmental authority

by Ibn Khaldun Icon

4 minutes • 728 words

By himself, the ruler is weak. He carries a heavy load and needs help from others for his necessities and much more to:

exercise political leadership
defend his subjects
restrain the people in order to prevent mutual hostility and attacks upon property.

This includes:

improving the safety of the roads
letting the people act in their own best interests
supervising such general matters involving their livelihood and mutual dealings as foodstuffs and weights and measures, in order to prevent cheating. 435
- He must look after the mint, in order to protect the currency used by the people in their mutual dealings, against fraud. 436

Political leadership requires an extraordinary measure of psychology. 437 A noble sage has said:

Moving mountains from their places is easier for me than to influence people psychologically.

It is better that such help be sought from persons close to the ruler through common descent, common upbringing, or old attachment to the dynasty. This makes such persons and the ruler work together in the same spirit.

God said:

“Give me my brother Aaron as helper (wazir) from my family. Give me strength through him and let him participate in my business.”

The person from whom the ruler seeks help may help him with the sword, or with the pen, or with advice and knowledge, or by keeping the people from crowding upon him and diverting him from the supervision of their affairs.

The ruler may also entrust the supervision of the whole realm to him and rely upon his competence and ability for the task. Therefore, the help the ruler seeks may be given by one man, or it may be distributed among several individuals.

Each of the different (instruments) through which help may be given has many different subdivisions. “The pen” has such subdivisions, for instance, as “the pen of letters and correspondence,” “the pen of diplomas 439 and fiefs,” and “the pen of bookkeeping,” which means the offices of chief of tax collections and allowances and of minister of the army.

“The sword” includes such subdivisions, for instance, as the offices of chief of military operations, chief of police, chief of the postal service, 440 and administration of the border regions.

Governmental positions in Islam fell under the caliphate, because the caliphate was both religious and worldly. 441 The religious laws govern all governmental positions and apply to each one of them in all its aspects, because the religious law governs all the actions of human beings.

Jurists 442 therefore, are concerned with the rank of ruler or sultan and with the conditions under which it is assumed, whetherby gaining control over the caliphate 443 -this is what is meant by sultan- 444 or by the caliph delegating (power) -that is what they mean by wazir, as will be mentioned.

They are also concerned with) the extent of (the ruler’s) jurisdiction over legal, financial, and other political matters, which may be either absolute or circumscribed. Furthermore, (they are concerned with the causes) that necessitate (the ruler’s) removal, should (such causes) present themselves, and with other things connected with the ruler or sultan.

Jurists are likewise concerned with all the positions under the ruler and sultan, such as the wazirate, the tax collector’s office, and the administrative functions. 445 Jurists must concern themselves with all these things, because, as we have mentioned before, in Islam the caliphate is an institution of the Muslim religious law, and as such determines the position of the ruler or sultan.

However, when we discuss royal and governmental positions, it will be as something required by the nature of civilization and human existence. It will not be under the aspect of particular religious laws.

This, one knows, is not our intention in this book. There is no need to go into details with regard to the religious laws governing these positions. The subject is fully treated in the books on administration (al-Ahkam as-sultaniyah), such as the work (of that title) by Judge Abul-Hasan al-Mawardi and the works of other distinguished jurists. Those who want to know the details should look them up there.

We discuss the caliphal positions individually in order to make the distinction between them and the governmental (sultan) positions clear, as the necessary result of the nature of civilization in human existence. We do not want to make a thorough study of their legal status.