THE IMAMS' BAY'AH TO OPPRESSIVE RULERS

[Taqavi]

How Can an Imam Appointed by God Pledge Allegiance to Another Person, and Can This Allegiance Legitimate That Government?

 

1. The Linguistic and Terminological Meaning of "Bay'ah" (Allegiance)

Both "Bay'ah" and "Bay'" are derived from the root verb "Ba'a" (to trade/exchange); hence, a form of exchange and contract also takes place in a bay'ah. During the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) and the early days of Islam, when concluding a contract and finalizing a transaction, the Arabs would place their right hands upon one another, which was termed a "Safqah" or "Bay'ah".[1]

• Ibn Manzur writes in Lisan al-Arab: Bay'ah means concluding a contract and a covenant; it is as though each party surrenders their life, obedience, and control over their affairs to the other.[2]
• Ibn al-Athir also believes: In Islam, bay'ah means a covenant of obedience, such that the person pledging allegiance surrenders their entire existence and compliance to the one receiving the allegiance. [3]

In the technical view of Islamic scholars (such as Ibn Khaldun, [4] Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi, [5] and Ayatollah Montazeri[6]), bay'ah is a formal mechanism to announce readiness to obey a ruler and accept the responsibility of community governance based on mutual agreement and consent.

Crucial Point: In the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), the people's pledging of allegiance to a divinely appointed Imam is never the "source of legitimacy" for the Imamate; rather, it is merely a tool for "completing the proof (itmam al-hujjah), removing obstacles, and bringing about the external realization of governance".[7]

 

2. The Illegitimate Nature of Bay'ahs Taken Under Duress

Outwardly, the bay'ahs of the era of the Caliphs were carried out to establish the Caliphate and Imamate, and every Caliph tried to secure a certificate of legitimacy for his government by taking bay'ah from the people. The truth, however, is that a bay'ah taken through force and threats lacks any legal or religious validity. Fundamentally, in Islamic jurisprudence, no commitment, contract, or bay'ah is realized through coercion and compulsion. [8]

The conduct (sirah) of the Prophet (SAW) and the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), stands as clear evidence that bay'ah must be completely free and voluntary. For instance:

• The historical stance of Imam Ali (AS) regarding the first Caliph: In Shia theological principles (especially based on reports from early scholars), some—such as Shaykh al-Mufid—maintain that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) under no circumstances and under no conditions pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr, [9] while others—such as al-Sharif al-Murtada—maintain that the Imam did not pledge allegiance to the first Caliph during the initial months and until the martyrdom of Lady Fatimah al-Zahra (SA). [10] This decisive refusal by the Imam served as clear proof of the illegitimacy of that government.
• The stance of Imam Ali (AS) regarding his own Caliphate:
  • In the Nahj al-Balaghah, during the Battle of Camel, Imam Ali (AS) states that those who fought against him were people who had submitted to his obedience without coercion and had pledged allegiance to him with complete satisfaction. [11]
  • In another report, when Ammar ibn Yasir suggested inviting certain individuals to pledge allegiance, the Imam stated: "We have no need for the allegiance of one who has no inclination toward us." [12]
  • It is also narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah that after the assassination of Uthman, when his father accepted the bay'ah due to the insistent demands of the people, he stated: "The bay'ah to me must be open and solely with the free will and consent of the individuals." [13]

Many such traditions indicate that bay'ah is voluntary within the political system of Islam, and it has been established that in jurisprudence as well, no commitment is realized through force. Therefore, a valid bay'ah is one devoid of compulsion and duress. Consequently, if an infallible Imam ever performed a bay'ah, since it was carried out under duress, it holds no validity; looking at the conduct of the Infallibles, one observes that their bay'ahs with rulers were done under coercion and compulsion. [14]

 

3. The Jurisprudential Explanation of Emergency Bay'ah and "Political Taqiyyah"

The question may arise: If pledging allegiance to a tyrant ruler is religiously unlawful and void, how is it possible that in later periods or from some Imams (AS), a bay'ah or a peaceful compromise was reported? The answer is that Imami jurists distinguish between a "voluntary and legitimizing bay'ah" and a "bay'ah stemming from emergency taqiyyah and the preservation of the foundations of the school of thought":

1.    The Rule of Conflict (Tazahum) and the Most Important vs. Important (Ahamm wa Muhimm😞 The unlawfulness of pledging allegiance to a tyrant is a primary ruling (hukm awwali); however, when a tyrant ruler's insistence on taking a bay'ah threatens to result in the massacre of all Shias and the eradication of the roots of the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), the jurisprudential rule of conflict and the secondary ruling of taqiyyah (based on the rational and traditional principle: "There is no religion for one who has no taqiyyah"[15]) takes precedence.

2.    The Nature of Emergency Bay'ah: Such bay'ahs (such as Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba's (AS) peace treaty with Mu'awiyah—wherein the Imam explicitly stated in his sermons that the legitimacy of the Imamate belonged exclusively to the Ahl al-Bayt and exposed Mu'awiyah[16]) amount at most to "refraining from an armed uprising and maintaining a tactical truce," and they bear the slightest indication of endorsing legitimacy or accepting the justice of that government.

Accordingly, the Infallible Imams (AS) did not submit to compromise until they were compelled by severe taqiyyah; and in the event of structural coercion, their bay'ah was executed solely to safeguard the light of guidance and ensure the survival of the Shia under the harshest historical conditions. This was the condition in which all the Ahl al-Bayt found themselves; if any bay'ah took place, it was neither a flaw upon the Infallible Imam nor did it confer legitimacy upon the unjust rulers. Thus, it must be said that the Imams (AS) did not pledge allegiance to the ruling authority unless forced, and even when compelled, what they conceded to was avoiding an armed uprising against the regime—not recognizing the legitimacy of their rule.

 

Conclusion:

The pledging of allegiance by a divinely appointed Infallible Imam (AS) to the rulers of the time never means legitimizing their usurping government. In Islamic culture and the tradition of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), bay'ah is inherently a voluntary matter based on consent and mutual commitment to govern society. Since tyrannical governments constantly coerced the Imams (AS) or the people (SAW) through threats and force, such forced bay'ahs taken out of "taqiyyah" (such as the historical stances of the Imams (AS) or Imam Hasan's (AS) peace treaty with Mu'awiyah) served purely as a mechanism to prevent the extinction of the foundation of Shiism during critical conditions, and they carry the slightest implication of divine or legal legitimacy for those tyrannical governments.

 

 

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[1] . "Conceptualization of Bay'ah in Islamic Culture and Its Role in Proving the Imamate," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Nemat Davarpanah, Scientific-Research Quarterly of Shiite Studies, pp. 135-162, Summer 2015.

[2] . Lisan al-Arab, Ibn Manzur, vol. 8, p. 26.

[3] . Al-Nihayah fi Gharib al-Hadith wa al-Athar, Ibn al-Athir, Majd al-Din, vol. 1, p. 174.

[4] . Tarikh Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Khaldun, vol. 1, p. 261.

[5] . Anwar al-Fiqaha (Kitab al-Bay'), Makarim Shirazi, Shaykh Nasir, vol. 1, p. 477.

[6] . Dirasat fi Wilayat al-Faqih wa Fiqh al-Dawlah al-Islamiyyah, al-Montazeri, Husayn Ali, vol. 1, p. 523.

[7] . For further reading, refer to: "Conceptualization of Bay'ah in Islamic Culture and Its Role in Proving the Imamate," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Nemat Davarpanah, Scientific-Research Quarterly of Shiite Studies, pp. 135-162, Summer 2015; "Bay'ah and Its Role in Islamic Governance," Muhammad Fakir Maybodi, Hukumat-e Islami Journal, No. 5, 1997.

[8] . Mawsu'at al-Imam Khomeini (Tahrir al-Wasilah), al-Khomeini, Sayyid Ruhollah, vol. 1, p. 540.

[9] . Al-Fusul al-Mukhtarah, al-Shaykh al-Mufid, vol. 1, p. 56.

[10] . Al-Shafi fi al-Imamah, al-Sayyid al-Sharif al-Murtada, vol. 3, p. 246.

[11] . Nahj al-Balaghah, Al-Sayyid al-Radi, Sermon 172.

[12] . Al-Futuh, Ibn A'tham, vol. 2, p. 441.

[13] . Tarikh al-Tabari (Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk), al-Tabari, Ibn Jarir, vol. 4, p. 427.

[14] . Al-Sahih min Sirat al-Imam Ali (a), al-'Amili, Ja'far Murtada, vol. 9, p. 233.

[15] . Wasa'il al-Shia, Al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-'Amili, vol. 11, p. 465.

[16] . Al-Amali, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, vol. 1, p. 559.