The Khalifah is the Commander of the Army and he appoints the Chief of General Staff, a general for each brigade, and a commander for every division. The remaining ranks in the Army are appointed by the brigadiers and commanders. The appointment of a person in the General Staff is according to his level of military expertise and is carried out by the Chief of General Staff.

The Khalifah is the general leader for all of the Muslims in this world, in order to establish the rules of the Shari’ah and carry the Islam to the rest of the people. The main method to carry Islam to the rest of the world is Jihad, and so it is imperative that he undertakes Jihad, since the contract of the Khalifah is upon him personally, and ,therefore, it is not permitted for anyone else to undertake it. Accordingly, the management of the issue of Jihad is specific to the Khalifah and it is not permitted for anyone else to undertake it. Even though every Muslim undertakes Jihad, the undertaking of Jihad and the management of Jihad are two different things. Jihad is obligatory upon every Muslim, but the management of Jihad is for the Khalifah alone, and not anyone else. The Khalifah can appoint someone to carry out on his behalf what has been obligated upon him as long as he is under his observation and supervision, while it is not permitted to give him complete independence without his monitoring and supervision. The monitoring that the Khalifah undertakes here is not like the type of reporting that the assistant gives him; rather the one who he has delegated remains directly under his orders and direct supervision. The leadership of the Army can be given to whomever he pleases with the condition that they are under the control of the Khalifah and his direct supervision. It is not permitted for him to appoint someone without retaining direct supervision and control over him, which must not be simply symbolic. This is because the contract of the Khilafah is upon him personally and so it is obligatory for him to manage the affairs of Jihad. Accordingly, what is said in other non-Islamic systems that the Head of State is the Commander and Chief of the Army, and this leadership is symbolic while another independent commander is appointed to the Head of the Army, is considered invalid according to the Islamic viewpoint, and is something that the Shari’ah does not agree to. Rather, the Shari’ah obligates that the Khalifah should be the practical Commander of the Army.

As for non-leadership positions in the technical, administrative or other matters, the Khalifah may appoint others to act independently on his behalf in the same manner as the governors, and it is not necessary for them to be under his direct control or for him to supervise them. Additionally, the Messenger (pbuh) used to personally undertake the practical leadership of the Army and the leadership during the battles, and would appoint commanders over sections of the Army that would go out for battle expeditions without him. He (pbuh) used to appoint a commander for each expedition, and sometimes would take the precaution of appointing someone else to succeed them if they were killed, as happened with the battle of Mu’tah. Al-Bukhari reported from ’Abd Allah b. Umar (ra) who said:

. إِنْ فِي غَزْوَةِ مُؤْتَةَ زَيْدَ بْنَ حَارِثَةَ فَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ أَمَّرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ « » قُتِلَ زَيْدٌ فَجَعْفَرٌ وَإِنْ قُتِلَ جَعْفَرٌ فَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ رَوَاحَة .

“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) appointed Zaid Bin Haritha a leader in Mu’tah expedition. He said: if Zaid is killed, then Ja’far Bin Abi Talib takes the flag, and if Ja’far is killed, then ’Abdullah Bin Rawahah takes it”. Therefore, the Khalifah is the one who appoints the commander of the Army, appoints the brigadiers and gives them the banners and appoints the leaders of the divisions. The Army which was sent to Al-Sham like the Army of Mu’tah and the Army of Usamah was a single brigade, with the evidence being that the Prophet (phuh) had tied the banner for Usamah. The expeditions that fought in the Arabian Peninsula and returned back to Madinah, such as the expedition of Sa’d Bin Waqqas which he sent towards Makkah, were all in the form of divisions. This indicates that the brigadiers and the commanders of the divisions are appointed by the Khalifah. It is not confirmed that the Prophet (phuh) appointed anyone other than leaders of the Armies and the commanders of the expeditions, which indicates that their appointment in the battlefield was left to their leaders.

With regards to the Chief of Staff who is responsible for the technical matters, he is similar to the Commander of the Army in terms of being appointed by the Head of State and he can be made independent and carry out his duties without being directly supervised by the Khalifah, although he has to be under his command.