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{{Short description|Islamic oath of office}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2018}}
{{Expand Arabic|بيعة|date=November 2018}}

{{Fiqh |political}}

{{Italic title}}'''''Bayʿah''''' ({{lang-ar|بَيْعَة}}, "Pledge of allegiance"), in [[Glossary of Islam|Islamic terminology]], is an [[oath of allegiance]] to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the [[Prophets of Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. ''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]] and [[Sudan]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-77384488.html |title=THE IMPASSE IN THE CIVIL WAR |journal=[[Arab Studies Quarterly]] |last=Lesch |first=Ann M. |date=March 22, 2001 |access-date=14 December 2019 |via=[[Encyclopedia.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109235847/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc.aspx?id=1G1:77384488 |archive-date=9 November 2007}}</ref> In [[Morocco]], ''bayʿah'' is one of the foundations of the [[List of rulers of Morocco|monarchy]].

==Etymology==
''Bay'ah'' derives from the [[Semitic root|Semitic triconsonontal root]] ''B-Y-’'', related to commerce, and shows the contractual nature of the bond between [[caliph]] and the people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org/index.php/EN/tshow/1717/|title=Hizb ut Tahrir|website=www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org}}</ref> ''Bay'ah'' originally referred to the striking together of hands between buyer and seller to mark an agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qPAeAAAAMAAJ&q=+bay'ah|title=The Covenant in the Qurʼân: The Key to Unity of the Verses Contained in Qurʼanic Surahs|first=ʻAbd al-Karīm Bīʹāzār|last=Shīrāzī|date=March 9, 1977|publisher=Office for Diffusion of Islamic Culture|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTXJGu33tBwC&q=etymology+bay%27ah&pg=PA213|title=The Spiritual Background of Early Islam: Studies in Ancient Arab Concepts|first=Meïr Max|last=Bravmann|date=March 9, 2009|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004172005|via=Google Books}}</ref>

== In Islamic history ==
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The tradition of ''bayʿah'' can be traced back to the era of the [[Prophet in Islam|Prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. From the beginning, ''bayʿah'' was taken by Muhammad as an oath of allegiance. Anybody who wanted to join the growing [[Ummah|Islamic community]] did so by reciting the basic [[creed]] expressing faith in the [[Tawhid|oneness]] of [[God in Islam|God]] and the [[prophethood]] 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]]'' and prayers of repentance.

It is reported that at annual gatherings outside [[Mecca]], Muhammad met people from Yathrib (later renamed [[Medina]]), who accepted his call towards Islam. Muhammad then took ''bayʿah'' from them.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Desker|first1=Barry|title=Perspectives on the Security of Singapore: The First 50 Years|date=2015|page=243}}</ref>

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]] occasioning the [[Shi'a]]-[[Sunni]] split), then throughout the Dynastic Caliphates ([[Umayyad]], [[Abbasid]] and [[Ottoman Caliphate|Ottoman]]). With the [[abolition of the Caliphate]], ''Bayʿah'' remains in use today by some modern Muslim kingdoms such as [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Morocco]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Caruso |first=Lauren |year=2013 |title=Bay'ah: Succession, Allegiance, and Rituals of Legitimization in the Islamic World|type=MA |publisher=The University of Georgia |url=https://getd.libs.uga.edu/pdfs/caruso_lauren_a_201312_ma.pdf |access-date=6 September 2021}}</ref>

== In the Qur'an ==
[[File:Bay'ah Ceremony of the Commanders of Islamic Revolution Committees with Ali Khamenei, 8 June 1989 (video).webm|thumb|''Bayʿah'' Ceremony of the Commanders of [[Islamic Revolution Committees]] with Ali Khamenei, 8 June 1989]]
[[File:Abu bakr2.jpg|thumb|Bay'ah to [[Abu Bakr]] as the first Muslim Caliph after 632 CE]]

After the [[Pledge of the Tree]], which led to the [[Treaty of Hudaybiyyah]], the following was revealed in the [[Qur'an]] commemorating and appreciating the pledge and those who made it:

{{Blockquote|Certainly [[Allah]] was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity on them and rewarded them with a near victory, |[[Sura]] [[Al-Fath]], [[Ayah]] 18|{{Cite quran|48|18|s=r|t=s}}}}

=== History ===
The ''bayʿah'' of [[Riḍwan|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 [[caliph]]s.

In subsequent ages, it was associated with [[Sufism|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."

== See also ==
* [[Bay'ah (Ahmadiyya)]]
* [[Bay'ah Mosque]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Sufism terminology}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sufism]]
[[Category:Islamic culture]]
[[Category:Islamic jurisprudence]]
[[Category:Politics of Morocco]]
[[Category:Islamic terminology]]

Bay'ah - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 19:14, 13 August 2023