''Bayʿah'' ( ar, بَيْعَة, "Pledge of allegiance"), in

Islamic terminology The following list consists of notable concepts that are derived from Islamic and associated cultural ( Arab, Persian, Turkish) traditions, which are expressed as words in Arabic or Persian language. The main purpose of this list is to disa ...

, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

. ''Bayʿah'' is sometimes taken under a written pact given on behalf of the subjects by leading members of the tribe with the understanding that as long as the leader abides by certain requirements towards his people, they are to maintain their allegiance to him. ''Bayʿah'' is still practiced in countries such as

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and Sudan. In

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, ''bayʿah'' is one of the foundations of the

monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...

Etymology

''Bay'ah'' derives from the Semitic triconsonontal root ''B-Y-’'', related to commerce, and shows the contractual nature of the bond between

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

and the people. ''Bay'ah'' originally referred to the striking together of hands between buyer and seller to mark an agreement.

In Islamic history

The tradition of ''bayʿah'' can be traced back to the era of the

Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

. From the beginning, ''bayʿah'' was taken by Muhammad as an oath of allegiance. Anybody who wanted to join the growing Islamic community did so by reciting the basic creed expressing faith in the

oneness Oneness may refer to: Economy * Law of one price (LoP), an economic concept which posits that "a good must sell for the same price in all locations". Religious philosophy * Oneness Pentecostalism, a movement of nontrinitarian denominations * Nond ...

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

and the

prophethood In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

of Muhammad. However, this differed from the proclamation of faith necessary to become an individual Muslim. In addition to this, the Prophet formally took ''bayʿah'' from the people and tribes. Through this formal act, they were absorbed by the community and showed willingness to obey Muhammad. The text of the oath varies in different traditions, but often contains the ''

Shahada The ''Shahada'' ( Arabic: ٱلشَّهَادَةُ , "the testimony"), also transliterated as ''Shahadah'', is an Islamic oath and creed, and one of the Five Pillars of Islam and part of the Adhan. It reads: "I bear witness that there i ...

'' and prayers of repentance. It is reported that at annual gatherings outside

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

, Muhammad met people from Yathrib (later renamed

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

), who accepted his call towards Islam. Muhammad then took ''bayʿah'' from them. In Sunni Islam, the ''Bayʿah'' rite continued to be used throughout history to mark a caliph's accession, first in the Rashidun Caliphate (the ''Bayʿah'' of

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

occasioning the Shi'a- Sunni split), then throughout the Dynastic Caliphates (

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

and Ottoman). With the

abolition of the Caliphate The Ottoman Caliphate, the world's last widely recognized caliphate, was abolished on 3 March 1924 (27 Rajab 1342 AH) by decree of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The process was one of Atatürk's reforms following the replacement of th ...

, ''Bayʿah'' remains in use today by some modern Muslim kingdoms such as

and

In the Qur'an

After the Pledge of the Tree, which led to the

Treaty of Hudaybiyyah The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah ( ar, صُلح ٱلْحُدَيْبِيَّة, Ṣulḥ Al-Ḥudaybiyyah) was an event that took place during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad, representing the state of ...

, the following was revealed in the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

commemorating and appreciating the pledge and those who made it:

History

The ''bayʿah'' of Rizwan, a mass initiation of thousands of Muslims at the hands of Muhammad, is mentioned in the Qur'an. The tradition was continued by the

s. In subsequent ages, it was associated with Sufi orders, and spiritual masters would initiate their followers. The practice still exists in Sufi orders around the world.

Content

The ''Bayʿah'' varies across different times, places, and settings, but usually contains a relatively standardised formula such as the following: "I give my allegiance to...To hear and obey in times of difficulty and comfort, in hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding that which there is a proof from Allah."

References