哈里发制度是一种建立在相互同意与自主选择之上的契约,是一种对有权获得服从的当权者的效忠宣誓(Bay'ah)。因此,接受效忠者本人必须同意担任该职位,授予效忠者也必须同意,这一点是必不可少的。所以,若有人拒绝哈里发之职,则禁止强迫他担任哈里发,不应迫使他接受。在这种情况下,就须另行考虑他人来担任此职。同样,禁止以武力或胁迫的方式向民众索取效忠宣誓,因为在这种情况下,契约将无效。与任何其他契约一样,相互同意与自主选择必须在没有任何强迫的情况下得到遵守。 然而,如果效忠宣誓是由其效忠具有可靠性的人所缔结的,那么该效忠宣誓即被视为有效并已达成,而被授予效忠的人便成为当权者,服从他随之成为义务。此后,若其余民众也向他效忠宣誓,那便是服从的效忠(Bay'ah),而非缔结哈里发的效忠。只有到这一阶段,他才可以强迫民众向他效忠宣誓,因为此时这已是对他们施加服从的义务,而这在伊斯兰教法之下是必须履行的。在这种情况下,这就不是缔结哈里发的效忠宣誓了。 有人或许声称,强迫民众效忠宣誓是被禁止的。首先,效忠宣誓是一种契约,只有在遵守相互同意与自主选择(须在伊斯兰教法范围之内)的前提下才有效。一旦效忠宣誓已经达成,它便成为服从的效忠宣誓,即服从哈里发的命令,此时强迫便成为执行真主命令的合法手段。由于哈里发制度是一种契约,它若没有订约者便无法成立。 就像司法职位一样，一个人若没有被任命为法官，就不能成为法官。伊玛目（领导权）也是如此：一个人若没有被任命为艾米尔，就不能成为艾米尔。同样，一个人若没有被任命担任哈里发职位，也就不能成为哈里发。这表明，除非穆斯林任命某人担任此职，否则此人不会承担哈里发职位；并且除非哈里发的职权已先授予他，他也不会拥有哈里发所必需的权力。这一授权契约必须有两方当事人才能缔结：一方是寻求哈里发职位的人（即未来的哈里发），另一方是接受他作为其哈里发的穆斯林。因此，哈里发职位的契约缔结，必须有穆斯林的宣誓效忠（拜尔阿）。

The Khilafah is a contract based on mutual consent and choice, it is a Bay’ah of obedience to whoever is entitled of obedience of people in authority. It is therefore imperative to have the consent of the one who is given the Bay’ah to take the post, and of those who give him the ba Bay’ah. Thus, it is forbidden to force anyone to become Khaleefah if He rejected the post of Khilafah. He should not be forced to accept it. Under such circumstances another person would then have to be considered to fill the post. It is also forbidden to take the Bay’ah from the people by force or by using coercion because in this case the contract would be invalid. Mutual consent and choice have to be observed without any compulsion as in any other contract. However, if the Bay’ah has been contracted by those whose Bay’ah is reliable then the Bay’ah would be considered valid and concluded, and the person for whom the Bay’ah was given would become the person in authority, his obedience would subsequently become compulsory. If afterwards the rest of the people were to give him their Bay’ah, it would be a pledge (Bay’ah) of obedience and not of contracting the Khilafah. Only then could He force the people to give him the Bay’ah, because, at this stage, it would be imposing on them obedience to him, and this is compulsory under Shari’ah law. In this case it would not be a Bay’ah of contracting the Khilafah. Some people may claim that it is forbidden to coerce people to give their Bay’ah. Firstly, the Bay’ah is a contract that would only be valid if mutual consent and choice (within the Islamic Shari’ah) was observed. Once the Bay’ah has been concluded it would become a Bay’ah of obedience, i.e. submission to the order of the Khaleefah, where compulsion would then become lawful as an execution to the command of Allah. Since the Khilafah is a contract, it cannot take place without a contractor. It is like the judiciary, where a man cannot become a judge unless somebody had appointed him as such. The same applies to the Imara; a man cannot become Ameer unless somebody had appointed him as an Ameer. So a man cannot become a Khaleefah unless somebody had appointed him into the Khilafah post. This indicates that no man assumes the post of Khilafah unless the Muslims appointed him to the post, and He would not possess the mandatory powers of the Khilafah unless it was first contracted to him. This contract would not be concluded unless two parties existed, one party would be the one seeking the post of Khilafah (the potential Khaleefah) and the other party would be the Muslims who accepted him to be their Khaleefah. Therefore, for the Khilafah to be contracted the Bay’ah of the Muslims is necessary.