Summary of the Book of Devices – 7
The Caliph is the commander of the army, and he is the one who appoints the Chief of Staff, brigade commanders, and division leaders. As for the rest of the ranks, they are appointed by others. The Chief of Staff appoints people to the staff according to his military culture. The Caliph is the commander of the army because the contract of the Caliphate was concluded on his person. Jihad, even though it is an obligation on every Muslim, its undertaking is the responsibility of the Imam. However, the Caliph may delegate someone to do so on his behalf, but not independently; the Caliph must supervise him. The Imam is not a mere figurehead commander, as is the case in countries today, where an army commander is appointed independently. This is not from Islam, and this is also evident from the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) actions. As for technical and administrative matters, the Caliph may appoint someone to act on his behalf, and it is not necessary for it to be under his actual supervision. As for the Chief of Staff, he is responsible for technical matters and performs his duties without the Caliph's direct involvement.
Internal security is handled by the Department of Internal Security, and this department has a branch in each state called the Internal Security Administration, headed by the police chief, who is subordinate to the governor in terms of implementation and to the Department of Internal Security in terms of administration. The Department of Internal Security manages everything related to security and uses the police for this purpose. Its orders are enforced, and if it needs to call on the army for assistance, it must refer the matter to the Caliph, who may order the army to assist the Department of Internal Security or refuse and order them to suffice with the police. The army consists of adult men who hold citizenship, and women may be in the police to carry out the requirements of women related to the tasks of this department.
The police are divided into two sections: the first is the military police, who precede the army to regulate its affairs and follow the emir of jihad, and the second is the police who are under the authority of the ruler. These wear a special uniform and are subordinate to the Department of Internal Security. The Caliph may make the police who maintain internal security a section of the army, or he may make them independent, but we adopt that it should be an independent body that reports directly to the Caliph.
The task of the Department of Internal Security is to maintain the internal security of the state. Among the actions that threaten internal security are:
1- Apostasy. If someone apostatizes and is sentenced to death if he does not return after being asked to repent, this department carries out the execution. However, if a group apostatizes, they must be written to. If they repent, they are left alone, and if they persist in apostasy, they are fought.
2- Rebellion against the state. If their actions are unarmed, the police are limited to using them to stop these destructive actions. If the police are unable to do so, they request the Caliph to provide them with military forces. However, if they are armed and have taken a place where the police alone cannot return them, they raise the matter to the Caliph to provide them with military forces or a force from the army as needed. Before that, they are asked to return. If they persist, they are fought with corrective fighting, not extermination fighting, as Ali bin Abi Talib fought the Kharijites.
3- Highway robbers. The police fight them with crucifixion and killing, not corrective fighting like the rebels, where they are treated according to the verse. Whoever kills and steals is killed and crucified, and whoever kills but does not steal is killed but not crucified. If they only frighten people, they are exiled to another country within the state, and whoever takes money but does not kill has his hand and foot cut off from opposite sides and is not killed.
4- Aggression against lives, property, and honor. The Department of Internal Security prevents it and then implements the judges' rulings on those who commit aggression, and this only requires the police.
The police are responsible for maintaining order in all executive aspects, and patrolling, which is walking around at night to track down thieves and seek out people of corruption. Therefore, protecting shops is the task of the patrol, and it is wrong to carry out patrols at the expense of the people, or for the shop owner to hire guards at his own expense to guard his house, because they are from the patrol, which is the responsibility of the state, so people should not be burdened with it.
As for dealing with suspicious people, who are those who are feared to cause harm and danger to the state's existence, the state must track them, and whoever learns of something from them must report it. This matter must be dealt with very carefully so that it does not become confused with spying on the subjects, which is forbidden. Here, it is limited only to suspicious people, and suspicious people are those who frequent the actual or de facto warring infidels, because spying on the actual warring infidels is obligatory to know their plans. As for the de facto belligerents, it is permissible to spy on them because war is expected with them, and it is obligatory on the state in case of harm, such as fearing that they will help the actual belligerents. Everyone who frequents these people is under suspicion because of his connection with those who may be spied on, and because he is feared to cause harm to the state if they spy for the infidels.
The Department of Military Affairs is responsible for spying on the subjects who frequent the actual belligerents and the de facto belligerents who are in their countries, while those who are in our country, such as ambassadors, are spied on by the Department of Internal Security, as well as suspicious people who are in our country, even if they are in the countries of the belligerents, the Department of Military Affairs is responsible for spying on them. However, this matter is subject to two conditions: the first is that the result of monitoring by the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of Internal Security shows that this frequency is unusual, and the second condition is that what appears to the two departments is presented to the judge of Al-Hisbah, and the judge decides whether there is expected harm to Islam.
