ISLAMIC INSTITUTIONS. Of all the institutions of Islam the caliphate is the oldest, the most fundamental, and in essence the most enduring. For its history see CALIPHATE; the present subject is its origin and nature. Muhammad ruled over his people as a divinely inspired and guided prophet. He led the public prayers ; he acted as judge ; he controlled the army. On his death a leader was put in his place of similar authority, though without the divine prophetic guidance. He was called the "suc cessor" (khalifah, caliph) of the Prophet, later also the amir-al mu'minin, commander of the faithful, and was elected by the Muslims, just as the Arab tribes had always elected their chiefs. He was thus an absolute ruler, but was democratically elected. For the Sunnites it has been a matter of agreement (see ISLAMIC LAW) from the earliest times that the Muslim community must appoint such a leader (see IMAM). The Shiites, on the other hand, hold that the appointment lies with God, and that God always has appointed, though his appointment may not always have been known and accepted. Their position may be called a legitimist one. Some few heretical sects have held that the neces sity of a leader was based on reason, not on the agreement of the community. But, for all, the rule of the leader thus appointed is absolute, and all authority is delegated from him and, in theory, can be resumed by him at any time.
But Abfi Bakr, the first caliph, nominated his successor, `Umar, and that nomination was accepted and confirmed by the people. So a second precedent was fixed, which was again carried a step farther, when Mulwiyah I., the first Umayyad caliph, nominated his son, Yazid I., as his successor, and caused an oath of allegiance to be taken to him. The hereditary principle was thus introduced, though some relics of the form of election persisted. The Otto man claim was based on an asserted nomination by the last 'Ab basid, who died in exile in Egypt in 1538, of the Ottoman sultan, Salim I., as his successor. Such a nomination in itself was a perfectly legal act, but in this case had a fatal flaw. It was an absolute condition, laid down in tradition, that the caliph must be of the tribe of Quraish, that of the Prophet.
The duties of the caliph were to enforce legal decisions and maintain the divinely revealed ordinances ; guard the frontiers and equip armies ; receive the alms ; put down highwaymen ; maintain the Friday services and the festivals ; decide disputes and receive evidence bearing on legal claims; marry minors, male and female, who have no guardians ; divide booty. He had to be a free, male, adult Muslim; have administrative ability; be an effective gov ernor and do justice to the wronged. So long as he fulfilled these conditions he was to be absolutely obeyed. The caliph, therefore, was the highest executive officer of a system assumed to be defi nite and fixed. To depose him a fatwei (see Murri) would be re quired—in Turkey from the Shaykh-ul-Islam—that he had vio lated some essential of the Muslim faith, and no longer fulfilled the conditions of a caliph.
The Diwans.—But it was impossible for the caliph person ally to administer the affairs of the empire, and by degrees gov ernment bureaus (diwans; see DIVAN) were created to regulate and administer the system of taxation and the revenues of the state. The sources of revenue were (i.) the poor-rate (zakeit), a tithe paid by every Muslim; (ii.) the fifth of all booty; (iii.) the poll-tax (jizya) on non-Muslims; and (iv.) the land-tax (kharaj) also on non-Muslims. The non-Muslims must retain their lands, cultivate them and pay the land-tax and the poll-tax and give con tributions in kind to support the local Muslim garrisons which were massed in great camp-cities at strategic points. The first patri archal period of conquest, unearned wealth and the simple life passed rapidly into the genuinely Arab empire of the Umayyads, with whom came an immediate development of organization in the state. The seclusion of the caliph in Umayyad times increased still further when the administration of the state passed by delegation into other hands, and the caliph himself became a sacrosanct figurehead, as in the case of the later 'Abbasids when theories of semi-divine nature and of theocratic rule appeared, as in the case of the Fatimites ; and finally when all the elaborate court ritual of Byzantium was inherited by the Ottoman sultans.
Under the 'Abbasids the semi-independent provinces became fully independent, or at most acknowledged the caliph as a spiritual head and paid a nominal tribute. His name might stand on the coinage and prayers be offered for him in the Friday service, the two signs of sovereignty to this day in Islam. With this crumbling of the empire went a more elaborate organization ; bureaus took the place of principles and of the energy of individual rulers.
The Vizierate.—Abu 1-Abbas, the first 'Abbasid caliph, was the first to appoint a vizier (wazir, "helper," so Aaron is wazir to Moses in the Qur'an), a confidential minister to advise him and come between him and the people. The vizier sometimes became as important as the caliph, for with a weak ruler his vizier became absolute, with a strong ruler his vizier remained subordinate. Until the time of Racli the vizierate thus fluctuated in importance. In that caliphate the vizier lost all authority, and in his place came the arnir al-umard—equivalent to the major domus of the Franks—the head of the Turkish bodyguard, in terror of whom the caliph now stood. When in 945 the Buyids captured Baghdad and the caliph became a purely spiritual sove reign, they took the title "vizier" for their own chief minister, and the caliphs retained only a secretary. Under the Seljuks, however, they regained their viziers and some real authority.
Under the early 'Abbasids the four most important ministers were the chief cadi, the chief of police or head of the life guards, the minister of finance and the postmaster, who was the head of the system of information and espionage which covered the em pire. But at different times the different bureaux varied greatly. Under Mutawakkil we find the bureau of taxes and finance ; bureau of the crown estates; bureau of state book-keeping; bureau of war, i.e. of hired troops; bureau which kept reckoning and control of the pensions of the clients and slaves of the ruling family; bureau of the post system; bureau of expenditures.
As the chief of police, mentioned above, was rather the head of the caliph's bodyguard, there was also a police system after our ideas, but more thoroughgoing. The muhtasib had charge in the broadest sense of public order and morals in the streets, and had oversight as to weights, measures and adulterations; but had no right to interfere privately or enter houses save in the clearest and most necessary cases. He had a summary jurisdiction in all minor cases where no trial was necessary; but where witnesses and oaths entered the case must go to the cadi. Slaves and beasts of burden were under his guardianship; he prevented public scan dals, such as the sale of wine ; he regulated the public conduct of Jews and Christians. In the interest of public morals he had to find suitable husbands for widows and see that they did not marry before the legal time; questions of paternity also he had to investigate.
It is impossible in Islam to separate logically from the mass of institutions those which we should call religious, as Islam on all sides is for the Muslim equally religious. But perhaps the following may practically be separated under that rubric. Islam, runs a tradition, is built on five things : testimony that there is no god save Allah, and that Muhammad is the apostle of Allah; prayer ; the poor-rate; pilgrimage ; fasting. For these see ISLAM.
The law and usage of religious foundations in perpetuity (waqf, mortmain) became as important in Islam as monastic endow ments in mediaeval Europe, and such foundations tended similarly to absorb the greater part of the national wealth. A pious foun dation could be erected in such a way that either so much from its funds would be paid yearly in perpetuity to the descendants of the erector, or those descendants would be employed as officials of the foundation.
Another office exercised when possible by the caliph, but very frequently delegated to some high dignitary, such as the heir to the caliphate or a prince, was the leadership of the pilgrimage cara van to Mecca and back. Sometimes this official, called amir-al hajj, was appointed imam as well. He then led all the pilgrimage ceremonies at Mecca.
The Cadi.—Islamic law (q.v.) is treated separately. Here, again, as judging is a duty of the caliph, a cadi is the delegate, or, when appointed by a vizier or governor, a delegate of his delegate. He examines into disputes brought before him and enforces his judgments, he names administrators of the estates of minors, the insane, etc. ; he supervises the waqf property of mosques and schools in his district and inspects highways and public buildings; he watches over the execution of wills; he inflicts the due legal penalties for apostasy, neglect of religious duties, refusal to pay taxes, theft, adultery, outrages, murder; he can inflict the penalties of imprisonment, fine, corporal punishment, death; if there is no imam, he can perform his duty, as in fact can anyone who has the requisite knowledge.