Ahmad also related that the Companions differed, and he adopted the view that permitted preference. In the report of al-Marwazī, he said: “As for Abū Bakr, he did not favor anyone over anyone else. ʿUmar, however, gave the Mothers of the Believers their allocations and favored them; he gave ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf his allocation and favored him; and he gave the earliest Emigrants their allocations, favoring them over others. As for ʿUthmān, he gave and favored some over others, whereas ʿAlī did not favor anyone. ʿUmar likewise favored some. Then, when ʿUthmān had completed six years in office, he proceeded to favor certain people.” This is his account of their disagreement.
As for his own preference for differentiation, he said, according to the report of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan al-Iskāfī: “The fayʾ belongs generally to all Muslims, except that the imam may favor some over others.” In the report of Bakr ibn Muḥammad from his father, he said: “Every Muslim has a right to a share in it, and its distribution is left to the imam’s judgment. Did not ʿUmar assign two thousand to the Mothers of the Believers and give the sons of the Emigrants something in addition to their regular stipends? When the imam is just, he distributes it as he deems appropriate, exercising independent judgment.”
As for what the sultanate dīwān encompasses, it is divided into four sections. The first consists of matters pertaining exclusively to the army: enrollment and stipends. The second consists of matters pertaining exclusively to the administrative territories: levies and dues. The third consists of matters pertaining exclusively to officials: appointments and dismissals. The fourth consists of matters pertaining exclusively to the public treasury: its revenues and expenditures.
As for the first section, concerning the army’s enrollment and stipends, their enrollment in the dīwān is subject to three conditions: first, the qualification by which their enrollment is permissible; second, the lineage by which they are entitled to their order of rank; and third, the status by which precedence is given in their stipends.