At some point in 1139/40, the Berber Salim ibn Masal, was appointed as "supervisor of affairs" ("nāẓir fi'l-umūr") or "supervisor of the public interests" ("nāẓir fi'l-maṣāliḥ"), but the vizieral title was deliberately avoided, and Ibn Masal would be named vizier only after al-Hafiz's death.