By IMAM SOULEIMANE KONATÉ
One of the greatest challenges in the fight against Daesh has been providing attractive counter-narratives to their twisted ideology. Between their mastering of social media and sophisticated recruitment network, Daesh has been able to use this ideology to infiltrate our communities and prey on the most vulnerable among us. They manipulate these individuals into declaring their allegiance with false promises of greatness and belonging. We have seen this most recently in Orlando, where an angry, unstable individual gave his allegiance to the group in the course of committing a horrific crime against humanity. The “bay’ah,†or so-called pledge of allegiance, that this mass murderer allegedly gave to Daesh before slaughtering dozens and killing himself, has been one of the most powerful tools used to influence the disenfranchised in our communities, and to make Daesh’s influence seem more widespread.
Daesh’s conception of bay’ah, however, is yet another example of the extremist group’s distortion of Islamic teachings. Classical Muslim scholars and jurists have established that there are three categories of bay’ah that have existed throughout history. The first originated with the Prophet Muhammad and has been classified as bay’ah on the tenets of faith. This was a ritual one took with the Prophet upon accepting Islam and declaring the shahadah, or when reaffirming one’s faith in tawhid (monotheism) and devotion to God and His Messenger. This bay’ah also symbolized the acceptance of the Prophet as one’s spiritual mentor, a practice that still exists today within Sufism, where one gives his/her allegiance to his/her Sheikh.
Giving bay’ah to the Prophet Muhammad played a key role in the establishment of the first Muslim community in Medina. It was seen as a symbol of one’s allegiance, dedication, and faithfulness to the principles of Islam and observance of correct moral behavior. Furthermore, it served as a symbolic act in which those in the early Muslim community acknowledged their obligation to obey the Prophet Muhammad as their leader and spiritual mentor. However, this bay’ah was contractual in the sense that it existed so long as the Prophet acted in accordance to the Word and Laws of God and exhibited correct moral behavior in all aspects of life and leadership without compromise. In doing so, this bay’ah laid the foundations for the ideal Islamic society where Islam became the guiding force of daily life.
The most famous example of bay’ah during the time of the Prophet is known as the “Pledge of the Tree,†which the Prophet asked the early Muslim community in Medina to take before embarking on the pilgrimage back to Mecca. This bay’ah served as a mutual agreement between the Prophet and the Muslim community to support and protect each other against the Meccans should a battle ensue. This bay’ah was significant in that it represented the precursor to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and the ten-year peace between the Meccans and the Muslim community, which is reflected in the Qur’anic verse stating: “Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance unto thee beneath the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down peace of reassurance onto them, and hath rewarded them with a near victory†(48:18).
A crucial aspect of bay’ah under the Prophet is the fact that it was willingly and freely taken by his followers. As such, the bay’ah of the Prophet Muhammad set the precedent that any oath of allegiance given to a leader under duress is immediately null and void. Furthermore, the Prophet established the bay’ah as a conditional mutual agreement that is only valid as long as both parties uphold the moral and spiritual principles stipulated in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Clearly, Daesh can never claim to be upholding these moral and spiritual principles, as their use of violence goes against the examples set by the Prophet and the early Muslim community.
After the death of the Prophet, the ritual of bay’ahbecame a symbol of the masses’ approval of their chosen leader. This is regarded as the third category of bay’ah and was practiced under the first caliphs so as to establish a new institution of authority and ensure the continuity of leadership. This political form of bay’ah was almost democratic in nature as it was established that the bay’ah could only be given to a leader who was chosen by the consensus of the influential members of society who represented the voice of the Muslim masses.
For example, after being chosen as successor to the Prophet Muhammad by his closest companions, Abu Bakr humbly asked the general public to give their bay’ah to him with the promise that he would establish justice and follow the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad or else they were no longer obligated to follow him. Thus, from the very beginning, the concept of giving and receiving bay’ahput a limitation on human authority by stipulating that obedience to God and His Prophet is obligatory for both the ruler and the people. This is clearly stipulated in the following verse of the Qur’an, in which God says: “It is not (possible) for any human being unto whom Allah had given the Scripture and wisdom and the prophethood that he should afterwards have said unto mankind: Be slaves of me instead of Allah; but (what he said was): Be ye faithful servants of the Lord by virtue of your constant teachings of the Scripture and of your constant study thereof†(3:79).
This is the core fault in Daesh’s call for Muslims around the world to declare their allegiance to the group’s violent cause. For one, Daesh’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is far from the embodiment of the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad. He calls for the killing of innocent individuals, encourages the oppression, rape, and enslavement of women and girls, and can never claim to represent the consensus of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims. Furthermore, al-Baghdadi has attempted to legitimize his rule on the basis of being a descendant of the Prophet—a claim that has yet to be verified, as his background is still unknown to most.
Daesh has distorted and abused the practice of bay’ah, turning it into a political weapon to instigate violence and terror. Their misuse brainwashes individuals into sacrificing their lives and the lives of innocent civilians in the belief that it is the only way to reach Paradise. They propagate a distorted interpretation of the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad that states, “One who dies without having bound himself by an oath of allegiance will die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyyah†(Sahih Muslim), in order to bait individuals into carrying out violent acts on their behalf. Thus, they have concocted a narrative surrounding their distorted understanding of bay’ahin which vulnerable individuals believe the only way to Paradise is to give their allegiance—and life—to the so-called Caliphate.
Moreover, Daesh have admitted to using bay’ah as recruitment propaganda in order to engender fear and intimidation, stating, “We call every Muslim [topledge allegiance] towards this good, for indeed, it is even more infuriating for the enemies of Allah. By Allah, our rallying under one leader is harder on the enemies of Allah than a thousand victories on the battlefield.â€1 Their viral campaign shows images of people “pledging their allegiance†in different parts of the world, reducing the sacred pledge of bay’ah to nothing more than a tool of intimidation to make Daesh seem more powerful, threatening, and widespread than they actually are. But Muslims worldwide know that they are not obligated to give bay’ah to Daesh, and they know that a criminal such as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will never receive the full support of the world’s peaceful Muslims. As the Qur’an says, “Believers, obey God and the Messenger and those among you who have been entrusted with authority. If you have a dispute about anything, refer it to God and the Messenger, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day. This is best to do and in turn gives the best results†(4:59).
