Khalifah ialah Panglima Tentera, dan dialah yang melantik Ketua Staf Am, seorang jeneral bagi setiap briged, dan seorang komander bagi setiap divisyen. Pangkat-pangkat lain dalam Tentera dilantik oleh brigadier dan komander. Pelantikan seseorang dalam Staf Am dilakukan mengikut tahap kepakarannya dalam bidang ketenteraan, dan ia dijalankan oleh Ketua Staf Am.

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.

Khalifah ialah pemimpin umum bagi seluruh umat Islam di dunia ini, bertujuan untuk menegakkan hukum-hukum Shari'ah dan menyampaikan Islam kepada seluruh manusia yang lain. Kaedah utama untuk menyampaikan Islam ke seluruh dunia ialah Jihad, maka adalah wajib baginya untuk melaksanakan Jihad, memandangkan akad Khalifah itu dipikulkan ke atasnya secara peribadi, dan oleh itu tidak dibenarkan bagi sesiapa pun yang lain untuk melaksanakannya. Oleh yang demikian, pengurusan isu Jihad adalah khusus bagi Khalifah dan tidak dibenarkan bagi sesiapa pun yang lain untuk melaksanakannya. Walaupun setiap Muslim melaksanakan Jihad, melaksanakan Jihad dan mengurus Jihad adalah dua perkara yang berbeza. Jihad diwajibkan ke atas setiap Muslim, tetapi pengurusan Jihad hanya untuk Khalifah sahaja, dan bukan untuk orang lain. Khalifah boleh melantik seseorang untuk melaksanakan bagi pihaknya apa yang telah diwajibkan ke atasnya selagi orang itu berada di bawah pemerhatian dan pengawasannya, manakala tidak dibenarkan untuk memberikan kebebasan mutlak kepadanya tanpa pemantauan dan pengawasan Khalifah. Pemantauan yang dilaksanakan oleh Khalifah di sini tidak sama seperti jenis laporan yang diberikan oleh pembantu kepadanya; sebaliknya, orang yang telah diwakilkan itu kekal berada di bawah perintah dan pengawasan langsung Khalifah. Kepimpinan Tentera boleh diberikan kepada sesiapa yang dikehendakinya dengan syarat mereka berada di bawah kawalan Khalifah dan pengawasan langsungnya. Tidak dibenarkan baginya melantik seseorang tanpa mengekalkan pengawasan dan kawalan langsung ke atas orang itu, yang mestilah bukan sekadar simbolik. Ini kerana akad Khilafah dipikulkan ke atasnya secara peribadi, maka wajib baginya untuk menguruskan urusan Jihad. Oleh itu, apa yang dinyatakan dalam sistem bukan Islam lain bahawa Ketua Negara ialah Panglima Tertinggi Angkatan Tentera, dan kepimpinan ini bersifat simbolik manakala seorang panglima bebas dilantik sebagai Ketua Angkatan Tentera, dianggap tidak sah menurut pandangan Islam, dan merupakan sesuatu yang tidak dipersetujui oleh Syariah. Sebaliknya, Syariah mewajibkan supaya Khalifah menjadi Panglima Tentera yang sebenar.

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.

Adapun jawatan bukan kepimpinan dalam hal-hal teknikal, pentadbiran atau lain-lain, Khalifah boleh melantik orang lain untuk bertindak secara bebas bagi pihaknya sama seperti gabenor, dan tidak perlu mereka berada di bawah kawalan langsungnya atau baginya untuk mengawasi mereka. Selain itu, Rasulullah ﷺ dahulu sendiri memegang kepimpinan praktikal Tentera dan kepimpinan semasa peperangan, dan akan melantik komander ke atas bahagian-bahagian Tentera yang keluar untuk ekspedisi peperangan tanpa kehadiran baginda. Baginda ﷺ dahulu melantik seorang komander bagi setiap ekspedisi, dan kadangkala mengambil langkah berjaga-jaga dengan melantik seseorang lain untuk menggantikan mereka jika mereka terbunuh, sebagaimana yang berlaku dalam peperangan Mu'tah. Al-Bukhari meriwayatkan daripada 'Abd Allah bin Umar (ra) yang berkata:

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 .

. 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 .

Rasulullah ﷺ melantik Zaid bin Haritha sebagai ketua dalam ekspedisi Mu'tah. Baginda bersabda: jika Zaid terbunuh, maka Ja'far bin Abi Talib mengambil bendera, dan jika Ja'far terbunuh, maka 'Abdullah bin Rawahah mengambilnya. Oleh itu, Khalifah ialah orang yang melantik panglima tentera, melantik brigedier dan memberikan mereka panji-panji, serta melantik ketua-ketua bahagian. Tentera yang dihantar ke Al-Sham, seperti tentera Mu'tah dan tentera Usamah, merupakan satu briged, dengan dalil bahawa Nabi ﷺ telah mengikatkan panji untuk Usamah. Ekspedisi-ekspedisi yang berperang di Semenanjung Arab dan kembali ke Madinah, seperti ekspedisi Sa'd bin Waqqas yang dihantar ke arah Makkah, semuanya berbentuk bahagian-bahagian. Ini menunjukkan bahawa brigedier dan komander bahagian dilantik oleh Khalifah. Tidak terbukti bahawa Nabi ﷺ melantik sesiapa selain ketua-ketua tentera dan komander-komander ekspedisi, yang menunjukkan bahawa pelantikan mereka di medan perang diserahkan kepada ketua-ketua mereka.

“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.

Mengenai Ketua Staf yang bertanggungjawab ke atas urusan teknikal, beliau serupa dengan Panglima Tentera dari segi dilantik oleh Ketua Negara, dan beliau boleh dijadikan bebas serta menjalankan tugasnya tanpa diselia secara langsung oleh Khalifah, walaupun beliau tetap perlu berada di bawah perintahnya.

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.