The Establishment of Diwan Archives: The Secretariat during the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Arabic word ‘diwan’ refers to a sitting room, where scribes can sit and attend to their work; it can also mean a collection of notebooks, or a ledger, containing the names of those who are registered in the military or who receive grants from the government. Three different types of ledgers were used during Islam’s formative years:

- A record of letters dispatched and received by the government, called Diwan al-Insha’

- A military file listing those who were registered in the military, called Diwan al-Jaysh

- An account of the treasury, bearing the relevant income and expenditure figures.

Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab is generally credited with establishing this system. Abu Hilal al-Askari says, “the first to setup diwans was ‘Umar”. But this view is not unanimously held.

Al-Qalqashandi argues that Diwan al-Insha (the registry of correspondence) was initially put together by the Prophet himself, and is the first recording system to come into use in Islam, while the military archive was founded by ‘Umar during his caliphate.

But this topic requires further probing, for it appears that the Prophet initiated, albeit in a simplified format, the usage of records.

As for the treasury account we have those amongst the Prophet’s scribes who were tasked with recording all acquired booty, which was among the state’s major sources of income at the time. What the Prophet did with the boot of Banu al-Mustalaq was, according to as-Sarakhsi, the nucleus for establishing a treasury system. There the Prophet appointed Mahmiyyah ibn Jaz’ az-Zubaydi on the khums¹ of the Banu al-Mustalaq tribe, for he was the man responsible for collecting the khums on such occasions.

Sadaqat (charities) were collected separately and had their own recipients, and fay’² had its own recipients. From the allotment for charity, the Prophet gave to the orphans, the feeble and the poor. After passing puberty and reaching an age when he could partake in jihad, an orphan’s name was transferred to the fay’ ledger so that the state would continue providing his livelihood. If he disliked participating in Jihad, this monetary assistance was discontinued and he was expected to ear for himself.

From these strands, we can deduce that during the Prophet’s life, ledgers for correspondence, and military and monetary affairs, were already in place. A few years later, coming to power at a time of rapid expansion, ‘Umar found it necessary to further refine this system.