Editing Umar (section)

=== Political and civil administration ===
The government of Umar was a [[Unitary state|unitary government]], where the sovereign political authority was the caliph.{{Citation needed|date= December 2017}} The empire of Umar was divided into provinces and some [[autonomous]] territories, e.g., [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Armenia]], that had accepted the suzerainty of the caliphate.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}} The provinces were administered by the provincial governors or ''[[Wali]]'', personally and fastidiously selected by Umar. Provinces were further divided into about 100 districts. Each district or main city was under the charge of a junior governor or Amir, usually appointed by Umar himself, but occasionally also appointed by the provincial governor. Other officers at the provincial level were:

# ''Katib'', the Chief Secretary;
# ''Katib-ud-Diwan'', the Military Secretary;
# ''Sahib-ul-Kharaj'', the Revenue Collector;
# ''Sahib-ul-Ahdath'', the [[Police chief]];
# ''Sahib-Bait-ul-Mal'', the [[Treasury]] Officer;
# ''Qadi'', the Chief Judge.

In some districts there were separate military officers, though the ''Wali'' was, in most cases, the Commander-in-chief of the army quartered in the province.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Every appointment was made in writing. At the time of appointment an instrument of instructions was issued with a view to regulating the ''Wali's'' conduct. On assuming office, the ''Wali'' was required to assemble the people in the main [[mosque]], and read the instrument of instructions before them.<ref>''The Cambridge History of Islam'', ed. P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, Cambridge, 1970</ref>

Umar's general instructions to his officers were:

{{blockquote|Remember, I have not appointed you as commanders and tyrants over the people. I have sent you as leaders instead, so that the people may follow your example. Give the Muslims their rights and do not beat them lest they become abused. Do not praise them unduly, lest they fall into the error of conceit. Do not keep your doors shut in their faces, lest the more powerful of them eat up the weaker ones. And do not behave as if you were superior to them, for that is tyranny over them.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}}}

Various other strict codes of conduct were to be obeyed by the governors and state officials. The principal officers were required to travel to Mecca on the occasion of the Hajj, during which people were free to present any complaint against them. In order to minimize the chances of corruption, Umar made it a point to pay high salaries to the staff.{{Citation needed|date=December 2014}} Provincial governors received as much as five to seven thousand dirham annually besides their shares of the spoils of war (if they were also the commander in chief of the army of their sector).{{Citation needed|date=December 2014}}

Under Umar, the empire was divided into the following provinces:
# Mecca (Arabia)
# Medina (Arabia)
# [[Basra]] (Iraq)
# [[Kufa]] (Iraq)
# [[Al-Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazira]], in the upper reaches of the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]]
# Syria
# [[Aelia Capitolina|Iliyā' (إلياء)]] ([[Palestine (region)|Palestine]])
# [[Ramlah]] (Palestine)
# [[Upper Egypt]]
# [[Lower Egypt]]
# [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] (Persia)
# Azerbaijan (Persia)
# [[Fars province|Fars]] (Persia)

Umar was first to establish a special department for the investigation of complaints against the officers of the State. This department acted as the [[Administrative court]], where the legal proceedings were personally led by Umar.<ref>''Commanding right and forbidding wrong in Islamic thought'', M. A. Cook, p. 79</ref>

The department was under the charge of [[Muhammad ibn Maslamah]], one of Umar's most trusted men. In important cases, Muhammad ibn Maslamah was deputed by Umar to proceed to the spot, investigate the charge and take action. Sometimes an Inquiry Commission was constituted to investigate the charge. On occasion, the officers against whom complaints were received were summoned to Medina and charged in Umar's administrative court.

Umar was known for this intelligence service through which he made his officials accountable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Al-Buraey |first=Muhammad |title=Administrative Development - An Islamic Perspective |date=2002 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-7103-0333-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJE9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA249 |pages=248–249}}</ref> This service was also said to have inspired fear in his subjects.<ref>{{cite book |last=Essid |first=Yassine |title=A Critique of the Origins of Islamic Economic Thought |date=1995 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-10079-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ij86T6DAwzgC&pg=PA67 |pages=24, 67}}</ref>

Umar was a pioneer in some affairs:
# Umar was the first to introduce the public ministry system, where the records of officials and soldiers were kept. He also kept a record system for messages he sent to Governors and heads of state;
# He was the first to appoint police forces to keep civil order;
# He was the first to discipline the people when they became disordered.<ref>"The Precious Pearls" by Muhammad Ayub Sipra, Darussalam publishers and distributors, 2002, p. 57.</ref>

Another important aspect of Umar's rule was that he forbade any of his governors and agents from engaging in any sort of business dealings whilst in a position of power. An agent of Umar by the name of Al Harith ibn K'ab ibn Wahb was once found to have extra money beyond his salary and Umar enquired about his wealth. Al Harith replied that he had some money and he engaged in trade with it. Umar said: ''By Allah, we did not send you to engage in trade!'' and he took from him the profits he had made.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/UmarIbnAl-KhattabHisLifeAndTimesVolume2/100713541-Umar-Ibn-Al-Khattab-Vol-2#page/n47/mode/2up |title=Umar Ibn Al-Khattab - His Life and Times, Volume 2}}</ref>