Baiyat (Oath of Allegiance)

The word baiyat literally means, to sell. In the realm of spirituality, baiyat means to sell oneself and all one possesses to God to win His pleasure. The Lord of everything in the world is God Almighty. Our body, our soul and all we possess belongs to Him, But when the sevant takes unlawful possession of what belongs to God, and uses it according to his own will, he is guilty of revolt against the Creator of the universe. However, when he realizes his mistake, and repents for his insubordination and accepts God as the Lord of creation and become an obedient servant of God, this turning towards Allah in submission, while fulfilling all the necessary conditions according to his changing state, is known as baiyat. When something is given and something else is taken in return, it is known as ba’I (selling). When a seeker repents for his mistakes and hands over everything to God in return for His Pleasure (Raza) it is called bargaining in the Quran:

Verily, of the faithful hath God,

Bought their persons and their

Substance, on condition of Paradise

For them in return.

(Al-Tauba, 9:111)

Form of baiyat

In a business transaction, it is not sufficient to say in your mind that you want to purchase something from a particular person, or sell something to some one. You have to go through the due process of bargaining without which the bargain remains null and void. In the case of selling your life and property to Almighty Allah, you have to be particularly careful to implement your intention of baiyat. In selling your land or house, you have to go through a long process of compiling documents, but when you are dealing with the Greatest being, God, Most Exalted Himself, you have to be more careful in observing the etiquette and conditions of selling yourself to Him. You have to execute this most delicate and highest affair with extreme vigilance, solemnity and the strongest determination.

This contract with God Almighty is executed through the agency of a qualified and saintly personality, who is authorized to become an intermediary (wasilah) in this most serious matter. As God says in the Holy Quran:

O ye who believe! Do your duty

To Allah, seek the means of

Approach unto Him. And strive

With might and main in His

Cause. That ye may prosper.

(Al-maida, 5:35)

Wasilah (Intermediary)

In this verse, the word wasilah means the personality which unites mankind with God. Some people make the mistake of interpreting wasilah as faith (imaan). They do not know that the words, “O ye who believe” are addressed to those who already believe. There are others who interpret the word wasilah as fear of God (taqwah) not knowing that the word ‘ittaqullah’ has already been mentioned in this ayah. Those who interpret it as obedience, worship and piety are also mistaken, because all these virtues are contained in the phrase ‘Jaahidu fi sahilihi’. The letter ‘wa’ (and) between wasilah and jaahida show that both have different meanings. It means that wasilah is something other than God consciousness and striving (taqwah and mujahidab).

Early experts in the Arabic lexicon and the elders of ummat-i-Muhammadiyah interpret wasilah as the mediation of the spiritual guide. Shah Abdur Rahim, Shah Waliullah and Shah Abdul Aziz, who enjoy the distinction of honour and esteem in all sects of Islam, are of the same opinion. Interestingly, Shah Ismaeel Shaheed, who is regarded as the imam (leader), by the opponents of the above interpretation, sees the word wasilah as a spiritual guide. He writes in his book ‘Mansah-i-Imaamat’ (printed at Farooqi Press, Delhi,) on page 55, “Allah says in the Holy Quran:

O ye who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of

Approach unto Him. And strive with might and main in His cause That ye may prosper. (Al-Maida, 5:35)

“And wasilah in the above ayah is the personality who is nearest to Allah in status. And the first nearest personality in status to Allah is the Holy Prophet and after him is the imam who is the deputy of the Prophet,” Says Allah:

Those whom ye call on, themselves desire union with their Lord

Striving which of them shall be nearest to Him. (Bani Israel, 17:57)

The word wasilah has also been defined as the person nearest to Allah ‘Aqrah illallalh’. It is abundantly clear from these two ayahs that the word wasilah means those who are nearest to God in spiritual status. Allah has instructed us in the Holy Quran to find a wasilah (intermediary).

Completion of baiyat

When baiyat is taken at the hands of the right person as qualified above, it ultimately reaches the Holy Prophet and God Himself. The one who takes baiyat and is faithful and steadfast in his baiyat is rewarded abundantly by God Almighty. But when he breaks the covenant, he is at loss, in terms of the following ayah:

In truth, they who plighted fealry to thee

Really plighted that fealty to God: the

Hand of God was over their hands!

Whoever, therefore, shall break his oath

Shall only break it to his own hurt, but

Whoever shall be true to his engagement

With God, He will give him a great

Reward. (Al-Fath, 48:10)

Sanctity of baiyat

Some people are of the opinion that baiyat is wajib (obligatory). But the consensus of the ummat is that they regard it as Sunnah (practice of the Prophet’s time), which continues to be operative throughout the fourteen centuries of the Islamic era.

Kind of baiyat

Baiyat is of several kind: Baiyat-Islam, baiyat-i-khilafat, baiyat-i-bijrat, baiyat-i-jihad, baiyat for love of extreme spiritual striving. All the exercises relating to purification and illumination of the soul, which ultimately lead to God’s nearness, are included in baiyat-i-tasawwuf.

The word baiyat literally means, to sell. In the realm of spirituality, baiyat means to sell oneself and all one possesses to God to win His pleasure. The Lord of everything in the world is God Almighty. Our body, our soul and all we possess belongs to Him, But when the sevant takes unlawful possession of what belongs to God, and uses it according to his own will, he is guilty of revolt against the Creator of the universe. However, when he realizes his mistake, and repents for his insubordination and accepts God as the Lord of creation and become an obedient servant of God, this turning towards Allah in submission, while fulfilling all the necessary conditions according to his changing state, is known as baiyat. When something is given and something else is taken in return, it is known as ba’I (selling). When a seeker repents for his mistakes and hands over everything to God in return for His Pleasure (Raza) it is called bargaining in the Quran:

Verily, of the faithful hath God,

Bought their persons and their

Substance, on condition of Paradise

For them in return.

(Al-Tauba, 9:111)

Form of baiyat

In a business transaction, it is not sufficient to say in your mind that you want to purchase something from a particular person, or sell something to some one. You have to go through the due process of bargaining without which the bargain remains null and void. In the case of selling your life and property to Almighty Allah, you have to be particularly careful to implement your intention of baiyat. In selling your land or house, you have to go through a long process of compiling documents, but when you are dealing with the Greatest being, God, Most Exalted Himself, you have to be more careful in observing the etiquette and conditions of selling yourself to Him. You have to execute this most delicate and highest affair with extreme vigilance, solemnity and the strongest determination.

This contract with God Almighty is executed through the agency of a qualified and saintly personality, who is authorized to become an intermediary (wasilah) in this most serious matter. As God says in the Holy Quran:

O ye who believe! Do your duty

To Allah, seek the means of

Approach unto Him. And strive

With might and main in His

Cause. That ye may prosper.

(Al-maida, 5:35)

Wasilah (Intermediary)

In this verse, the word wasilah means the personality which unites mankind with God. Some people make the mistake of interpreting wasilah as faith (imaan). They do not know that the words, “O ye who believe” are addressed to those who already believe. There are others who interpret the word wasilah as fear of God (taqwah) not knowing that the word ‘ittaqullah’ has already been mentioned in this ayah. Those who interpret it as obedience, worship and piety are also mistaken, because all these virtues are contained in the phrase ‘Jaahidu fi sahilihi’. The letter ‘wa’ (and) between wasilah and jaahida show that both have different meanings. It means that wasilah is something other than God consciousness and striving (taqwah and mujahidab).

Early experts in the Arabic lexicon and the elders of ummat-i-Muhammadiyah interpret wasilah as the mediation of the spiritual guide. Shah Abdur Rahim, Shah Waliullah and Shah Abdul Aziz, who enjoy the distinction of honour and esteem in all sects of Islam, are of the same opinion. Interestingly, Shah Ismaeel Shaheed, who is regarded as the imam (leader), by the opponents of the above interpretation, sees the word wasilah as a spiritual guide. He writes in his book ‘Mansah-i-Imaamat’ (printed at Farooqi Press, Delhi,) on page 55, “Allah says in the Holy Quran:

O ye who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of

Approach unto Him. And strive with might and main in His cause That ye may prosper. (Al-Maida, 5:35)

“And wasilah in the above ayah is the personality who is nearest to Allah in status. And the first nearest personality in status to Allah is the Holy Prophet and after him is the imam who is the deputy of the Prophet,” Says Allah:

Those whom ye call on, themselves desire union with their Lord

Striving which of them shall be nearest to Him. (Bani Israel, 17:57)

The word wasilah has also been defined as the person nearest to Allah ‘Aqrah illallalh’. It is abundantly clear from these two ayahs that the word wasilah means those who are nearest to God in spiritual status. Allah has instructed us in the Holy Quran to find a wasilah (intermediary).

Completion of baiyat

When baiyat is taken at the hands of the right person as qualified above, it ultimately reaches the Holy Prophet and God Himself. The one who takes baiyat and is faithful and steadfast in his baiyat is rewarded abundantly by God Almighty. But when he breaks the covenant, he is at loss, in terms of the following ayah:

In truth, they who plighted fealry to thee

Really plighted that fealty to God: the

Hand of God was over their hands!

Whoever, therefore, shall break his oath

Shall only break it to his own hurt, but

Whoever shall be true to his engagement

With God, He will give him a great

Reward. (Al-Fath, 48:10)

Sanctity of baiyat

Some people are of the opinion that baiyat is wajib (obligatory). But the consensus of the ummat is that they regard it as Sunnah (practice of the Prophet’s time), which continues to be operative throughout the fourteen centuries of the Islamic era.

Kind of baiyat

Baiyat is of several kind: Baiyat-Islam, baiyat-i-khilafat, baiyat-i-bijrat, baiyat-i-jihad, baiyat for love of extreme spiritual striving. All the exercises relating to purification and illumination of the soul, which ultimately lead to God’s nearness, are included in baiyat-i-tasawwuf.