Oath of Allegiance (Bayah)

Oath of Allegiance (Bayah) literally means “to promise” and derives from the root word meaning “to sell”. In English the term Bayah is often translated as “Pledge”.

Taking Bayah is Sunnah as Rasullullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam took Bayah from the Sahaba on many occasions. In one narration Rasullullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: ‘Will you not make Bayah to the Rasul of Allah?’ We stretched our hands and enquired: On what shall we make Bayah to you, O Rasul of Allah? He sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said. ‘That you make the Ibaadat of Allah,- that you associate nothing with Him,- that you perform the five Salaat; that you hear and obey.” (Muslim, Abu Dawood, Nisai)

In the Qur’an, Allah (swt) says about Bayah: “Verily, those who Swear Allegiance unto thee, O Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in truth Swear Allegiance to Allah: The Hand of Allah is over their hands: then anyone who violates his oath, does so to the harm of his own soul, and anyone who fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah,- Allah will soon grant him a great Reward.” (Surah Al Fath: v10)

After the demise of the Holy Prophet sallalahu alaihi wasallam this Sunnah was assumed and practised by many elite Sahabah, on the authority of Rasullullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. These eminent Sahabah included Hadhrat Abu-bakr Siddiq (ra) & Hadhrat Ali (r.a) and before they departed they also nominated their successful students to carry on this Sunnah. Thus this tradition has been passed down from one generation to the next through an authentic chain of Friends of Allah (swt)..This chain is known as a Silsilah and these vary according to the Sufi Order.

To enter a Sufi order one must do Bayah to a Kamil (perfect) Shaykh.

Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi Rahmatullah Alayhi writes: The words Bay’at in fact means to take a promise for performing some special deed. Its customary method according to the practical way Sunnah of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam Is to place the hands of both persons one on top of the other, although placing the hands above one another is not compulsory. If you make a promise to do something, then it becomes religiously incumbent on you to keep it, and breaking your promise is unlawful. (Ma’ariful Qur’aan)

Bayah al Iradah / Bayah al Salikeen: This is where one “sells” one’s self and surrenders completely to to the Friend of Allah (swt). Similar to how the corpse is left in the hands of the ghassal’ (washer). This Bayah leads one to receive both deen and dunya spiritual faiz (blessings). It is this very type of Bayah that was undertaken by the Sahaba upon the hands of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and is also injuctioned in the Quran as it leads one to Allah (swt): “O you who believe, fear Allah and seek a means of approach unto him (waseelah), and strive in His path so that you may attain success” (Surah Maidah: v35)

According to many great commentators of the Quran, like Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlwi rahmatullah alayhi, Imam Ghazali rahmatullah alayhi, etc. they state the word ‘waseelah’ here means to have a Shaykh of tasawwuf, because this shaykh will take you towards Allah.

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi Rahmatullah Alayhi, a great scholar writes that the nature of Bay’at and the relation between Murshid (the spiritual guide) and his disciple is that the Murshid promises to instruct how to perform Zikr or keep alive the remembrance of Allah, and act upon Divine orders. He also tries to diagnose the spiritual diseases of his disciples and prescribes remedies for their treatment. The disciple gives an assurance that he will act upon the advices and instructions of his Murshid. This reformation may be achieved without the customary method of taking Bay’at. But becoming a disciple (Mureed) of a spiritual guide in the customary manner has an advantage that the spiritual teacher pays more attention to his disciple, and In turn the disciple takes special care in obeying his spiritual teacher