Second Caliph of Islam Hazrat Umar Farooq (R.A.)|Reign of Hazrat Umar Farooq (R.A.)Part 3

 1:The way to call the general Shoora:

Since the special shoora comprised only few members there was no special way to call it.Tue way to call the General Council of advisers was that a man used to call the following words loudly:"As-Salatu Jami'ah,"in the Prophet's(Peace be upon Him) Masjid from at a high place.

Hearing this call the people would know that a meeting of the shoora has been called and assembled in the Masjid . Hazrat Umar Farooq (R.A.) first of all offered two raka'at nafl (optional)Salat then put the matter before the shoora .Every person was allowed to give his opinion.Decisions were usually taken on the basis of unanimity or sometimes by majority.

2:Provincial administration:

Hazrat Umar Farooq (R.A.)was an outstanding model for the succeeding Muslim rulers in administration."During the thirty years that the republic lasted,"says Amir Ali ,"the policy derived it's character chiefly from from Hazrat Umar Farooq (R.A.)both during His life time and after His death."

Hazrat Umar (R.A.) divided the whole Islamic Khilafat into various provinces each with a capital.The following were the provinces and their governors in 23A.H., i-e near the end of Hazrat Umar's caliphate.

• Hijaz with Makkah as it's capital ; Governor -Nafi'bin Abu Harith .
• Syria with Damascus as its capital ; Governor --Mu'awiyah bin Abu Sufyan .
• Iran with Basrah as its capital; Governor -Abu Musa Al -Ash'ari.
• Iraq with Kufa as its capital; Governor -Mughirah bin Shu'bah.
• Egypt with Fustat as its capital; Governor --''Amr bin al-'As.
• Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital; Governor --'Alqamah bin Majaz.
• Jazirah(i.e. Mesopotamia)with Hims (Hems)as its controlling capital;Governor --Umair bin Sa'ad .
• The central province of Arabia with Madinah as its capital.
  
  
  

The capital of the state was also Madinah.The title of a provincial governor was wali ,who was the chief administrator and generally the supreme commander of the armed forces of that province.In each province ,there were usually following officers besides the governor: the Treasury officer(Sahib-i-Bait-ul-Mall); the Revenue collector (Sahib-i-Kharaj); the Chief police officer (Sahib-i-Ahdath ); the Judge (al-Qadi)In those provinces where the governor was not holding the office of the commander of armed forces ,a separate commander was appointed .

All the officers were paid high salaries so that they may not indulge in bribery and corruption.

3:The Khalifa was the religious head of the state :

Not only the Khalifa the governors were also great scholars of Islam .They were all administrative officers , theologians, Jurists and pious .The Khalifa himself was the overall religious head of the state.He used to to lead five times compulsory Salats and Jumu'a salat in the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him)Masjid at Madinah.At the time of the Hajj He was the leader of the Hajj and in his absence a person was appointed by him as his deputy.

In religious matters he used to give his verdict based upon the shariah .In case of a question of law he usually consulted a special committee for that purpose working under a department known as "Shu'ba-i-Iftah "(the department of Jurists)or sometime he sent the matter directly to the committee.