Question:
We have adopted that "the Army, Internal Security, Industry, and International Relations" are independent apparatuses (ajhizah) and not departments (dawair), so why do we use the word department (da’irah) and not apparatus (jihaz)? May Allah bless you.
Answer:
Yes, each of them is an independent apparatus, but it is an administrative apparatus, and it can be called an administration (idarah). However, it is not subordinate to the Public Interests apparatus (Masalih an-Nas) but is an independent apparatus.
Look at the chapter on Bayt al-Mal, page 135, where we stated the following:
"(Since we adopt—as we explained previously—that the Governor (Wali) is given a specific mandate that excludes the Army, the Judiciary, and Finance; therefore, the entire Army has a central department (da’irah markaziyyah) (Amir al-Jihad), the entire Judiciary has a central department (the Judiciary), and likewise, all Finance has a central department (Bayt al-Mal). For this reason, the Bayt al-Mal is an apparatus independent of any other state apparatus, following the Khalifah just as any other state apparatus does)."
As you can see, an apparatus is called a "department" if its work is administrative, but it is a "central department," meaning it is not subordinate to the administrative apparatus "Public Interests" (Masalih an-Nas).
(Therefore, we said, "the entire Army has a central department (Amir al-Jihad)", "the entire Judiciary has a central department (the Judiciary)", "all Finance has a central department (Bayt al-Mal)").
Thus, every apparatus whose work is administrative is called a department (da’irah). If there is a fear of confusion—where it might be thought to be subordinate to the administrative apparatus (i.e., one of its departments)—then the word "central" can be added. If there is no fear of confusion, then "department" is sufficient. It is clear that the Army, Internal Security, Industry, and Foreign Affairs are not confused with being part of the administrative apparatus "Public Interests"; therefore, each of these apparatuses is called a department.