Bay`ah in different Islamic caliphate eras

Thursday, 05 August 2010

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Written by Dr. Ragheb Elsergany

Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid Billah's Bay`ah

Since Bay`ah (pledge of allegiance) was extremely important and a cornerstone in the beginning of power succession, it did not cease in Islamic caliphate eras and Islamic civilization. Even during the eras of weak caliphate institutions, Bay`ah was required and a prerequisite. Under the Seljuk rule and control of Muslims' affairs, Muslims were keen to give Bay`ah. Chief Judge of Baghdad, Abu al-Hasan al-Damghany, took Bay`ah to the new Caliph al-Mustarshid Billah in 485 AH.[1] For the importance of Bay`ah, al-Mustarshid Billah was keen to take Bay`ah from leading scholars and be sure that they accepted him. Chief Hanbali jurists in Baghdad at the time, Abu al-Wafa' Ibn `Aqil, stated: "When al-Mustarshid Billah took over, three civil servants met me, and each one of them told me: 'Our master, Commander of the Faithful, needs you.' I replied: 'This is a favor from Allah to us and to the people.' I then stretched my hand, and he stretched his honorable hand to shake hands. I gave Bay`ah, saying: 'I give Bay`ah to our master Commander of the Faithful, al-Mustarshid Billah, on the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger and his Rightly-Guided Caliphs as much as he can and I have to obey."[2]  

This tradition, which has been known since the era of Prophet (peace be upon him), demonstrates the keenness of the caliphate institution on the involvement of the nationals in the selection of their new ruler. Undoubtedly, this upholds such a great civilization, which has been keen on its nationals' affairs and that the ruler should be in line with the different classes of people, including the judiciary, scholars and the grassroots.

Bay`ah of independent emirs

The Bay`ah in the Islamic civilization was a general characteristic that the emirs, or the rulers of their independent territories, were extremely interested in taking Bay`ah from the masses to themselves or to their children after them. This was common among the emirs in the Mashreq and the Maghreb and Andalusia as well as among the old and young emirs. Idris ibn Idris ibn Abdullah, the Emir of the Idrisids Dynasty in Morocco, took the Bay`ah to himself when he was eleven years old. No wonder he was talented and eloquent and was able to assume responsibility. Idris raised the pulpit and addressed the people, saying: "Praise be to Allah; I praise Him, seek His forgiveness, seek His help, depend on Him, put my trust on Him, and seek refuge with Him from the evil of myself and the evil of evil-doers. I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, who was sent to mankind and jinn, as giver of glad tidings, a warner, and caller to Allah by His permission and an illuminating lamp. May Allah peace and blessings be upon him and his honorable household, whom Allah has purified. O people, we have taken over this affair (power), in which Allah doubles the reward of the good-doers, but the evil-doers bear their sin. We, thanks for Allah, are taking the right path; so do not look forward to other than us. You can find your demands for establishing rights on our side." He then called people to give him Bay`ah, urging them to stick to obeying him. The people wondered about his eloquence and boldness although he was young. When he got down from the pulpit, the people hurried to give him Bay`ah, scrambling to kiss his hand. All Maghreb tribes, including Zanata, Ourba, Sanhaja, Ghamara and other Berber tribes, gave him their Bay`ah.[3]

This Bay`ah, which was given to an eleven-year-old boy, by the dignitaries and notables as well as the Berber hot-tempered and revolting tribes, was a unique incident in the Islamic civilization. It indicates that Crown Prince Idris ibn Idris has had the qualities required to assume the burden of responsibility in a volatile region in Morocco. So the age has not have the slightest consideration in the Bay`ah process, which reflected a collective admiration of the personality of Idris and his ability to manage the affairs of the people.

The greatness of Bay`ah in the Islamic civilization

Thus the Bay`ah in the Islamic civilization has been a model of human giving, and recognition of the role of the individual - man or woman, young or old - in this civilization, reflecting an absolute primacy of Islamic civilization over the contemporary Western civilization, which gave a conditioned individual freedom and recognized the value of the 'aristocrat' man only in the 13th century AD, specifically in 1215 AD, when King John of Britain vowed to protect the interests of the noblemen.[4] Some counted this as an important development in the British government's view of the human dignity and freedom. They even boasted that the British government finally understood the value of the 'aristocrats' in the 13th century AD, considering this a unique, unprecedented step. On the other hand the Islamic civilization in its dealings did not differentiate between the rich and the poor, and made the views of the Muslim subjects through Bay`ah a decisive matter for the legitimacy of the new ruler, measuring the popularity of the new ruler among the masses.