Imara (the office of amir: delegated rule, the seized emirate and the emirate of the pilgrimage)

Imara and imra mean governance in the lexical sense. The word is used for the office of the amir and for a region governed by one. ¹ The fiqh term keeps that meaning; the emirate concerns public affairs and comes only from the imam, while the wilaya (authority) may be general or particular and may come from the imam, the Law or another source. ¹ The caliphate is the general leadership in religion and state on behalf of the Prophet ﷺ, also called the great imamate. Power (sultan) is domination; there have been caliphates without power and power without a caliphate in Islamic history. ¹

The emirate is general (the caliphate, a communal obligation) or particular, for a fixed task that is part of the public interest and the imam's judgement; the Prophet appointed agents to tribes and towns, and the rightly guided caliphs did the same. ² A particular emirate may be by subject (judging, jihad, command of an army, pilgrimage, travel), by place (a region or province) or by time (the leader of the pilgrimage). ²

The imam commits a city or province to someone, with authority over its people and oversight of its usual affairs. It includes command of the armies, judging and appointing judges, collecting kharaj and zakat, protecting the faith, enforcing penalties, leading congregations, conducting the pilgrims and distributing booty; later additions may include education and health. ² Conditions: Islam, sanity and being male are agreed; justice, ijtihad and capacity are disputed; lineage is not required. ² The amir may appoint deputies to carry out his tasks, but may not delegate the office itself without the imam's leave. ³

The principle is that no one holds office except by a valid appointment from the imam. But a governor may seize power, and to prevent strife the imam may confirm him; most jurists allow this out of necessity, and al-Haskafi also states it. Al-Mawardi lists seven rules of law that the seizer shares with the caliph. ³⁴

This is confined to one task, such as command of an army, the emirate of jihad or of travel; the amir may not meddle with other matters. ⁴

• Performing the rites: the imam appoints an amir to lead the pilgrims in the holy places on his behalf. He must meet the conditions of leading prayer and know the rites and the times; his authority ends with the rites. ⁴⁵
• Conducting the pilgrims: a political office requiring an obeyed leader with judgement, courage and dignity. Al-Mawardi lists ten duties, among them gathering the pilgrims, arranging their march and halts, guarding them, and reconciling disputants. ⁴
• Judging among pilgrims: the amir may judge only if empowered and qualified, and may enforce penalties only with leave. ⁵

A group of three or more who set out on a journey are recommended to choose one of their number, and they must obey him in what concerns the journey, following the saying: "when three set out on a journey, let them appoint one of them." ⁶