Muslimlarga xalifa tayinlash uchun belgilangan muddat ikki kechadir. Shunday ekan, hech bir musulmon bay'ah bo'yniga tushmagan holda ikki kechadan ortiq qolishi joiz emas. Yuqori chegarani ikki kecha deb belgilash sababi shundaki, xalifani tayinlash o'tgan xalifa vafot etgan yoki lavozimidan chetlatilgan paytdan boshlab farzdir. Lekin tayinlashni kechiktirish, unga kirishgan holda, ikki kecha davomida joiz. Agar kechikish ikki kechadan oshib ketsa va musulmonlar xalifa o'rnatmagan bo'lsa, masala tekshirib ko'riladi. Agar musulmonlar xalifa o'rnatishga mashg'ul bo'lgan, ammo ularga qarshi tura olmaydigan majburlovchi sabablar tufayli uni ikki kecha ichida yakunlay olmagan bo'lsa, u holda gunoh ulardan soqit bo'ladi, chunki ular farzni ado etishga kirishgan va majburiy kuch tufayli uni kechiktirishga majbur bo'lgan. Payg'ambar ﷺ shunday degan:

The time limit given for Muslims to appoint a Khalifah is two nights. So no Muslim is allowed to stay for more than two nights without having a bay’ah on his neck. Making the upper limit as two nights is due to the fact that the appointment of a Khalifah is fard from the moment the previous Khalifah dies or is deposed. But it is allowed to delay the appointment while engaging in it for two nights. If the delay exceeded two nights and the Muslims did not establish a Khalifah, the matter is examined. If the Muslims were busy in establishing a Khalifah but could not complete it within two nights due to overpowering matters they couldn't resist, then the sin will drop from them because they are engaged in establishing the duty and they were forced to delay it by compelling power. The Prophet (saw) said:

Agar ular farzni ado etishga kirishmagan bo‘lsalar, unda Xalifa tayinlanmaguncha ularning barchasi gunohkor bo‘ladi va faqat shundan keyingina farz ulardan soqit bo‘ladi. Lekin ular Xalifa tayinlashni e’tiborsiz qoldirgani uchun qilgan gunohi ulardan soqit bo‘lmaydi, aksincha ularning zimmasida qoladi va Alloh (SWT) ularni bu uchun hisobga tortadi, xuddi Alloh (SWT) har bir musulmonni farzni ado etishni e’tiborsiz qoldirganida qilgan har qanday itoatsizligi uchun hisobga tortganidek.

But if they were not engaged in performing the duty, then they will all be sinful until the Khalifah is appointed and only after that the fard will drop from them. But the sin they committed in neglecting the establishment of a Khalifah does not drop from them, it rather remains on them, and Allah (swt) will bring them to account for it the same way He (swt) brings any Muslim to account for any disobedience he commits when he neglects to perform a duty.

Xalifani tayinlash vazifasini bajarish uchun musulmonlarga berilgan ikki kecha muddat cheklovi haqidagi dalil sahobalarning ijmosidir. Vafot xabari yetib kelgach, sahobalar (roziyallohu anhum) Bani Sa‘ida hovlisida Allohning Rasuli ﷺ ning vorisini tayinlash masalasini muhokama qilish uchun yig‘ildilar. Ular hovlida muhokama qilishni davom ettirdilar va ikkinchi kuni odamlarni bay‘at berish uchun masjidda to‘pladilar. Bu jarayon ikki kecha va uch kunni oldi. Bundan tashqari, Umar (roziyallohu anhu) yara jarohati tufayli o‘limi yaqinlashganiga ishonch hosil qilganida, shura ahliga vasiyat qildi va yangi xalifani tanlash uchun ularga uch kun muddat berdi. U, agar uch kundan keyin xalifa haqida kelishuvga erishilmasa, muxolif bo‘lgan kishini yuqorida aytilgan uch kundan keyin o‘ldirish kerakligini tavsiya qildi. Umar (roziyallohu anhu) shuningdek, bu amalni, ya’ni muxolifni o‘ldirishni, ellik nafar musulmonga topshirdi, garchi ular shura ahli va nufuzli sahobalardan bo‘lsalar ham. Bu buyruq sahobalar (roziyallohu anhum) huzurida berildi va hech kim bunga qarshi chiqqani yoki e’tiroz bildirgani naql qilinmagan. Demak, musulmonlarga ikki kecha va uch kundan ortiq xalifasiz qolishga ruxsat berilmasligi sahobalarning ijmosi bo‘ladi va sahobalarning ijmosi Qur’on va Allohning Rasuli ﷺ ning Sunnati kabi to‘g‘ri shar‘iy dalildir.

As for the evidence concerning the two night's time limit given to Muslims to perform the duty of establishing a Khalifah, it is the Ijma’a of the Sahabah. The Sahabah (ra) met in the courtyard of Banu Sa‘ida, to discuss the appointment of a successor to the Messenger of Allah (saw) as soon as the news of the death of the Prophet (saw) reached them. They kept discussing in the courtyard, and on the second day they gathered the people in the mosque in order to give the bay’ah. This consumed two nights and three days. In addition, when ‘Umar (ra) became certain that his death was imminent as a result of the stab wound, he entrusted the people of consultation (shura) and gave them three days to choose a new Khalifah. He recommended that if after the three days an agreement was reached about a Khalifah then the dissenter should be killed after the aforementioned three days. ‘Umar (ra) also empowered fifty Muslims to carry out this action i.e. to kill the dissenter, despite the fact they were from the people of shura and of the eminent Sahabah (ra). This order was given in the presence of the Sahabah (ra), and no one was reported to deny or disagree with it, so it becomes Ijma’a of the Sahabah (ra) that Muslims are not permitted to stay without a Khalifah for more than two nights and three days, and the Ijma’a of the Sahabah is a legitimate Shari’ah evidence (daleel) like the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saw).