17.3 The Pledge (bay’ah)
Bay’ah is an obligation upon all Muslims, and it is a right for every Muslim, man or woman. The evidence for it being an obligation is in many ahadith of the Prophet (saw), in which he said:
“Whosoever dies without having a bay’ah upon his neck dies a death of jahiliyyah.”
As for being a right for Muslims, the bay’ah itself indicates that, because the bay’ah is offered by the Muslims to the Khalifah, and not by the Khalifah to the Muslims. The bay’ah of the Muslims to the Prophet (saw) was confirmed in the ahadith. Al-Bukhari reported that ‘Ubadah bin as-Samit (ra) said:
“We made a bay’ah to the Prophet (saw) to hear and to obey in whatever pleases and displeases us, and that we would not dispute the order of those in charge, that we would speak the truth wherever we are, and that we would not fear the blame of anyone when acting or speaking for the sake of Allah.”
Al-Bukhari reported from Ayyub from Hafsa from Umm ‘Atiyyah who said:
“We gave a bay’ah to the Prophet (saw) and he recited to me the verse That they will not associate anything in worship with Allah (TMQ 60.12). And he also prevented us from wailing and lamenting over the dead. A woman from us held her hand out and said, "Such-and-such a woman cried over a dead person belonging to my family and I want to compensate her for that crying" The Prophet did not say anything in reply and she left and returned.”
And in Al-Bukhari from Abu Hurairah (ra) who said: The Prophet (saw) said:
“(There are) three persons to whom Allah will not talk on the Resurrection Day, nor purify them, and for them is a severe punishment: A person who has an excess of water on the road and prevents the wayfarer from it; a person who gives bay’ah to an Imam for his worldly affairs only, so if the Imam gave him that which he wants he fulfilled (the bay’ah) to him, otherwise he would not; and a person trading a commodity to another after asr (late afternoon) and he swore by Allah that he was offered so and so for it, although he was not, and the person believed him and bought it.”
Al-Bukhari narrated from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (ra) who said:
“When we gave a bay’ah to the Prophet (saw) to hear and obey, he would say to us: As much as you are capable of”
“When we gave a bay’ah to the Prophet (saw) to hear and obey, he would say to us: As much as you are capable of”
“I gave bay’ah to the Prophet (saw) to hear and obey and he instructed me: As much as you are able, and to give good advice to every Muslim.”
Al-Bukhari narrated from Junada bin Abu Umayyah who said:
“We entered the house of ‘Ubadah bin as-Samit while he was ill and we said: May Allah make you healthy, inform us of a hadith you heard from the Prophet (saw) by which Allah (swt) may benefit you. He said: The Prophet (saw) invited us and we gave him our bay’ah (pledge of Allegiance). And among the conditions on which he took the pledge from us, was that we were to listen and obey (the orders) both at the time when we were active and when we were tired , and in the times of ease and hardship and when we see preference (for others over us), and not to dispute the authority of those who are entrusted with it saying: Unless you see open disbelief (kufr bawah) upon which you have a clear proof from Allah.”
The bay’ah for the Khalifah is in the hands of the Muslims, and it is their right; it is they who give the bay’ah, and it is their bay’ah which makes the Khilafah contracted for a Khalifah. The bay’ah can be by shaking hand or by writing. ‘Abdullah bin Dinar narrated saying:
“I witnessed bin ‘Umar where the people gathered around ‘Abdulmalik bin Marwan. He wrote: I agree to listen and obey to the slave of Allah, ‘Abdulmalik the Amir al-Mu’mineen, according to the Sunnah of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet as much as I am able.”
Moreover, the bay’ah is correct by any means (waseelah). However, the bay’ah has to be given by the mature person, so it is improper to be given by the young. Abu Aqeel Zahra bin Ma‘bed reported from his grandfather ‘Abdullah bin Hisham--who witnessed the Prophet (saw)--that his mother Zaynab, the daughter of Hameed, took him to the Prophet (saw) and said: O Prophet of Allah, take a pledge from him. The Prophet (saw) said:
“He is a child, wiped his head and made a du‘a for him.”
As for the words of the bay’ah they are not restricted to specific terms. However they must include acting according to the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Prophet (saw) by the Khalifah, and obedience in hardship and ease and obedience, and whatever pleases and displeases on the part of the person who gives the bay’ah (to the Khalifah). Whenever the one who pledges has given his bay’ah to the Khalifah or the Khilafah is contracted to the Khalifah by the bay’ah of other Muslims, then the bay’ah has become a trust on the neck of the one who gives the bay’ah and he is not allowed to retract it. It is a right for the contract of the Khilafah until he has given it, and once he has given it he must abide by it. He is not allowed to retract from it. Al-Bukhari narrated from Jabir bin ‘Abdullah (ra) that a Bedouin gave the Prophet (saw) his pledge on Islam, and an illness struck him so he said to the Prophet (saw): “Let me withdraw my bay’ah but the Prophet (saw) refused, and the man left. The Prophet (saw) then said:
“Medina is like a furnace, it expels out the impurities and selects the good ones and makes them perfect.”
And it is narrated from Nafi‘a who said: Ibn ‘Umar (ra) said to me that he heard the Prophet (saw) saying:
“Whoever withdraws his hand from obedience (to the Amir) will find no argument (in his defense) when he stands before Allah on the Day of Resurrection.”
To break the bay’ah of the Khalifah is withdrawing of one’s hand from the obedience of Allah (swt). This is the case if his bay’ah to the Khalifah is a bay’ah of contract or it is a bay’ah of obedience to a Khalifah whom the Muslims accepted and gave their bay’ah to. However, if he gave his bay’ah in the beginning to a Khalifah and it was not completed because the Muslims as a whole did not accept him as Khalifah, then he has the right to withdraw from that bay’ah. The prohibition mentioned in the hadith is focused on the withdrawal of a bay’ah to a Khalifah, not to a man for whom the Khilafah was not accomplished