The New ‘Caliph’
Less than a week after the killing of the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group issued an audio statement through which it confirmed the death of its ‘caliph’, as well as its spokesperson Abu Hassan al-Muhajir. The statement, which was read by the new spokesperson Abu Hamzah al-Qurashi, mentioned that shura or consultation council ‘immediately convened after the killing of al-Baghdadi and gave a bayʿa,’ or pledge of investiture, to its new caliph Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. So what is al-Bayʿa? How has it been used in Islamic history and where does its significance come from? The aim of this article is to shed some light on the concept by exploring its development throughout the Islamic history.
Linguistically, the Arabic root of the word al-Bayʿa is bay’ which means to sell. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, al-Bayʿa is defined as ‘the act by which a certain number of persons, acting individually or collectively, recognize the authority of another person.’[1] This definition, however, does not capture the mutual and contractual nature of the concept, as it does not take into consideration the interests of those persons giving their pledge to this individual. The formula of the text of al-Bayʿa roughly reads as follows:
We/I give Bayʿa to listen and obey in what is liked and in what is disliked and not to fight against the people of authority unless they command a sin against Allah which I have proof.
This denotes that the recognition of the right to rule and hence the obedience of the individuals giving the oath hinges on the ruler’s commitment to applying shari’a law. To put it differently, al-Bayʿa is a contract between the ruler and the ruled that stipulates mutual obligations. As long as the ruler does not commit a sin, obedience and recognition of his rule should be guaranteed.
During his life the prophet took many bayʿa. However, their nature should not be confused with all the succeeding bayʿa taken after his death until the present. In Islam, the prophet is infallible as his rulings were revealed by God. This renders his authority unchallengeable, and any oath given to him unbreakable. Moreover, while the bayʿa that were given after the prophet’s life have generally served as contracts for electing new leaders—with IS’ recent bayʿa as an example—by recognizing their authority in return for their commitment to applying Shari’a law, the bayʿa given to the prophet stipulated different conditions and therefore functioned differently.
Take the first bayʿa of al-Aqaba for example,[2] which took place in the 12th year of prophethood. During this period, the Muslims’ community was weak, and for ten years the prophet had been meeting with non-Muslims pilgrims coming to Mecca to convince them about his new religion.[3] It was narrated that 12 men from Yathrib—which would become known as al-Madina al-Munwara after the prophet’s hijra migration in 622—pledged a bayʿa to the prophet and converted to Islam.[4] The hadith addressing the occasion shows that it was a transaction whereby these 12 men pledged not to ‘join partners in worship besides Allah… steal… commit illegal sexual intercourse… kill a life which Allah has forbidden… commit robbery nor disobey (Allah and His Apostle).’ If they manage to fulfil these commitments, paradise would be their reward. If they do not, however, their fate would be decided by Allah.[5] Significantly, the text of this bayʿa promised the pledgers with paradise but it did not entail the prophet any further commitments such as those required from any other Muslim leader that came after him.
Just one year after the first bayʿa of al-Aqaba, the prophet met a new delegation of 70 people from Yathrib to join his religion. This time, however, pledgers not only converted to Islam, but also promised to fight with the prophet and protect him.[6] That is why it is known as the bayʿat al-Hareb or the pledge of the War. The Quran conspicuously depicts the second Aqaba as a transaction between Allah and the believers; a contract by which followers sell their life by waging jihad for Allah in return for paradise.
Allah has purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the Garden (of Paradise): they fight in His Cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur’ān: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded: that is the achievement supreme. (Quran: 9:111).
By the 6th year of the hijra, the power of the Muslims had been consolidated, particularly after al-Madina became under the banner of Islam. Hence, the prophet’s decided to go on pilgrimage with his followers and challenge Quraysh’s authority over Mecca. The journey proved difficult due to the Quraysh’s decision to forbid Muslims from entering Mecca; keeping them instead at the fringes of the city.[7] To solve the issue, the prophet first sent Uthman Ibn Affan to negotiate with Quraysh, which caused him to stay longer in Mecca than he had originally planned.[8] These negotiations were the first step in what would be known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Muslims waiting for him at the outside Mecca thought that he had been killed and the prophet decided to avenge him. To ensure the full allegiance and steadiness of the Muslims before entering Mecca, the prophet received what is known as bayʿat al-rudwan (the Satisfaction), also known as bayʿa al-Shajarah (the Tree).
Contrary to the bayʿa of first and second Aqaba, bayʿat al-rudwan did not function as a declaration of conversion to Islam, as those pledging allegiance were already Muslims. Instead, it served as a pledge of obedience to the prophet that must not be broken. The Quranic verses which address this occasion reflect the powerful link that bayʿa provides between Muslims and Allah, and the detrimental consequences of breaking it on the other.
‘Verily those who pledge their fealty to you do no less than pledge their fealty 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.’ (Quran 48:10)
With the prophet’s death, al-bayʿa s meaning shifted from an oath of unconditional allegiance and loyalty to become more of an oath of investiture. In his recent article, ‘How Did the Islamic State Pick Its New Leader,’ Aron Lund explained how the first four caliphs, known as al-Rashidun, or the rightly guided, were elected.[9] The first caliph Abu Bakr, whose election was unclear, designated Omar as his successor. The latter followed the same path and named Othman whose murder opened the door for the first fitna or internal infighting in Islamic history. Finally came Ali, whose reign was disputed by Muwaya bin Abi Sufiyan and al-Khawarij. Regardless of the method of choosing the new caliph, al-bayʿa has been always a precondition for accepting the new leader.
Two Pledges
Generally speaking, Sunni political theory differentiates between two kinds of pledges; bayʿa Khassa or special and ‘ammah or popular. In his post published on Jihadology, Philipp Holtmann showed that the former occurs upon ijma’ or the consensus of ahl al-hall wa-l-‘aqd or the people of resolution on choosing a new leader after the death of the former one.[10] It is also known as bay’t al-in’iqad or the pledge of investiture. Popular pledge on the other hand, serves as conformation tool to the special one and has to be given by the Muslim community in local mosques to representatives of the caliph, according to some Islamic jurists such as al-Mawardi (991-1031). Other jurist like Ibn Jama’a (1241-1333), argued that a caliph may usurp power to preserve the public interests, which renders that special pledge irrelevant to the process of electing him.
Back to IS, the group’s branches in different countries such as Syria, Egypt, Somalia and many others have immediately started pledging bayʿa to the new ‘calpih’. As Aaron Zelin pointed out, the campaign serves two purposes; first, al-bayʿa is leader specific which means that al-Baghdadi died with his bayʿa and therefore the new leader should receive a new one. Second, it serves as a tool of legitimization for the new ‘caliph’ as well as the transitional process. Zelin further argued that the significance of this campaign is not only related to legitimizing the new leader, but also to proactively deal with any recalcitrance the new leadership might face.[11]
For jihadi-Salafi groups that follow literalist and scripturalist interpretations of Islam, it is almost imposed on every Muslim to give a bayʿa during his/her life. Jihadi-Salafists commonly cite the following hadith to argue for its necessity: It was narrated that the prophet said, ‘one who dies without having bound himself by bayʿa will die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyyah.’[12] The hadith encourages Muslims to obey a leader who will apply Allah’s rule and unite Muslims under his banner. The question, however, is how to agree on a leader whose authority should be recognized.
During the life of the prophet, al-bayʿa served different functions. From a declaration of conversion to Islam to a pledge of allegiance, its significance as a sacred oath has been consolidated by the Quran and the Hadiths. Similar to other Islamic concepts, al-bayʿa meaning has developed through time and while describing it as an oath of allegiance conveys part of its function, its use as oath of investiture has become dominant after the death of the prophet.
About Orwa Ajjoub
Orwa Ajjoub is an affiliated researcher at the center for Middle Eastern Studies in Lund university. In 2018, Orwa graduated from the same institution where he defended his Master’s thesis which looks at the theological aspect of the split between Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS in 2013. Although his interest has been mainly focused on Salafi-Jihadi groups in the Middle East, Orwa wrote some articles about the Syrian society during the war and particularly about Syrian LGBTQ in Europe. His work was published on different media websites such as Syria Deeply, Huffington Post and World Policy. During the last two years, Orwa has participated in two academic conferences where he discussed al-Qaeda presence in Syria. In addition to writing journalistic articles, Orwa is currently working on an academic report discussing the future menace of the Islamic state and other Salafi-Jihadi groups such al-Qaeda.
REFERENCES
[1] For more about al-Bayʿa see Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/baya-COM_0107?s.num=0&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.q=baya
[2] Aqabah is an area near Mecca.
[3] Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayih wal nihayih, The third volume, Chapter: the beginning of al-Ansar conversion to Islam
[4] Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayih wal nihayih, The third volume, Chapter: the beginning of al-Ansar conversion to Islam
[5] Sahih al-Bukhari 6873
[6] Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayih wal nihayih, The third volume, Chapter: the story of the Second Aqabah
[7] Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayih wal nihayih, The third volume, Chapter: the story of the Second Aqabah
[8] ibid
[9] http://www.jihadica.com/author/aron-lund/
[10] https://jihadology.net/2014/11/15/guest-post-the-different-functions-of-is-online-and-offline-plegdes-bayat-creating-a-multifaceted-nexus-of-authority/
[11] https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/after-losses-islamic-state-plots-comeback
[12] Sahih Muslims 4/475