(Verily, Allah has purchased from the faithful their selves and their properties, and in return for them is the Garden) (9:111).

  This is itself a transaction. In other verses of the Qur’àn this transaction and commitment is referred to as trade (tijàrah). For example in verses 10 and 11 of Surah al-Æaff it says: (O you who believe! Shall I guide you to a trade that will save you from a painful chastisement?/ Believe in Allah and His Apostle, and strive in the way of Allah).2 Also in Surah Fàìir verse 29 God says: (Verily those who recite the Book of Allah and establish prayer and spend out of what We have provided them with, secretly and openly, hope for a trade that will never bring loss).3

Types of Bay‘at

  This method of analogy has many instances in the Qur’àn, but it should also be observed that when an analogy is made, or something is used as a metaphor for something else, these two things (vehicle and target) need not be similar in every respect, but the general aspect is what is intended. For example, in the Qur’àn, taqwà4 is likened to clothing, and it says: (and the clothing of piety, that is the best) (7:26). Likewise, the wife has been mentioned as clothing for her husband, and the husband as clothing for his wife; and it says: (they are clothing for you and you are clothing for them) (2:187). In another place, (What? Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it.) (49:12). Therefore, this style is common in the Qur’àn, and one cannot say that since it makes no sense to consider bay‘at as trade or a transaction, it should be interpreted or defined as swearing allegiance (as will be discussed later).

  In the beginning of Islam, since the Prophet had not yet established a government in Mecca, and it was only the spiritual doctrines of Islam that had been revealed, the Muslims there who visited the Prophet and converted to the faith submitted to the prophecy of Muåammad. Therefore, most of the verses of the Qur’àn that were revealed in Mecca refer to them as Muslims and believers. But when the Messenger went to Medina, since he established a government there, many of the people, like the hypocrites, apparently submitted to the government, but in their hearts they were not Muslims. In reality, the bay‘at obtained by the Prophet in Medina differed from the bay‘at of Mecca. So, there were two kinds of bay‘at.

A. Prophetic Bay‘at

  This was a bay‘at by means of which one submitted to the rules of the government, even if he had no firm faith in Islam. For example, one might not have prayed or fasted, yet he could submit to the government. In contemporary language, this was really a request for citizenship. The acceptance of the bay‘at by the Prophet was a sort of granting of citizenship in the government of Islam to the new Muslim who requested it. In reality, this was prophetic bay‘at, and with its performance and acceptance of Islam one was allowed to marry another Muslim and to inherit [from a Muslim]. In the time of the Messenger, nobody’s Islam was accepted without bay‘at. After the liberation of Mecca, even Hind the Liver-eater5 made bay‘at.

B. Bay‘at Walawiyyah6

  The other bay‘at was the bay‘at of faith, which was considered different from the bay‘at of Islam. In fact, this bay‘at was made with the aspect of the walayat of the Prophet. Those who submitted to the prophecy of the Messenger in Mecca or afterward (and submission in Medina implied submission to the government of the Prophet), entered among the people of faith by this bay‘at walawiyyah. Of course, there was a group at that time who considered the prophecy of the Messenger to be the criterion, and they imagined that the bay‘at of Islam was the same as acquiring faith. Hence, in the Surah Åujuràt it says: (The dwellers of the desert say: We believe. Say: You do not believe, but say: We submit; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts).7 From this, the differentiation of Islam from faith becomes clear. Islam means submission to the government, which is obtained by the verbal declaration of the two testimonies,8 but faith pertains to the heart. Following this matter, the Prophet is addressed by God: (They count it as a favor to you that they have submitted. Say: Do not count your submission as a favor to me, nay, rather God confers a favor on you, in that He guided you to faith, if it be that you are truthful.)9 From this verse it is clear that Islam precedes faith, that is, there can be no faith without Islam, while Islam without faith is possible. Of course, at the end of this verse it says, (if it be that you are truthful), that is, if you are truthful in becoming Muslims, not that you have become Muslims because of fear of the government.

  It might be objected that the following verse conflicts with what has been said above: (O you who believe! Believe in Allah and His Apostle and the Book which He has revealed to His Apostle…) (4:136). However, this verse is addressed to those who take themselves to be believers, according to the verse: (…and faith has not yet entered into your hearts) (49:14). The order given to them is the explanation of verse 17 of the same sêrah (They count it as a favor to you that they have submitted…). Thus they are guided to faith. As for the apparent contradiction between the two words “you who believe” (àmanê) and “believe” (àminê) in the phrase “believe in Allah…,” there are differences of opinion among the commentators. The nearest in meaning to the verse is that “believe” (àminê) gives emphasis to coming to believe. But this only explains a part of the matter. Attention to this issue reveals the difference between the bay‘at of those like Salmàn, Abê Dharr, etc., and that of the hypocrites, and the like.

  Considering the fact that the Qur’àn avoids excess in speech and unnecessary and pointless repetition, if we pay attention to this verse, the following points become clearer.

  First, those addressed by this order are people who were called “those who believe”.

  Second, given the content of the order given to them, “Believe in Allah,” it is clear that they are people who did not have real faith, or who apparently had a superficial faith. Perhaps they were instances of the verse, (…and faith has not yet entered into your hearts) (49:14).

  Third, in another verse of the Qur’àn we find: (Therefore believe in Allah and His Apostle and the light that We have revealed…) (64:8). Some of the commentators think that what is meant by light in this verse is the Qur’àn. In the verse: (O you who believe! Believe in Allah and His Apostle and the Book which He has revealed to His Apostle, and the Book which He revealed before…) (4:136), there is explicit mention of the book revealed to the Apostle, and after that belief in the books revealed to Moses and Jesus, peace be with both of them, are brought in at the same level as belief in the Qur’àn. If what is meant by light is the Qur’àn, then since all three books were revealed by God, all three should be considered the same way, and light should be applied to all three books. In that case, (64:8) would be a repetition of (4:136). Furthermore, in the verse: (Verily, We sent down the Torah in which is guidance and light…) (5:44), the word “light” is not applied to the Torah, rather what is meant is that there is a gleam of light in the Torah that shows the way to the Qur’àn. Also, in the verse: (Verily there came to you from Allah a light and a manifesting book) (5:15), light and the book are considered to be two things.

  Fourth, some other commentators interpret light as the Ahl al-Bayt (the household of the Prophet). In this interpretation, if what is meant by the Ahl al-Bayt is the aspect of spirituality and walàyah, it would appear to be correct, and therefore light must be taken as walàyah.

  Fifth, considering what has been said, the second occurrence of “believe” in (O you who believe! Believe in Allah and…) (4:136) corresponds to what has been mentioned in other verses as trade (tijàrah), (trade that will never bring loss).10 To bind oneself to such an exchange is called bay‘at.

  Sixth, now that it has become evident that what is meant by light is not the book, and that some have interpreted it as walàyah and faith, attending to the mentioned verses and the verses below, we can see better that light refers to walàyah and faith. So, what is our duty with respect to this?

  1. In this verse: (O you who believe! Turn (in repentance) to Allah with a sincere repentance… on the day when Allah will not disappoint the Prophet and those who believe with him; their light will run before them and at their right hand…) (66:8), since this light has come after sincere repentance as a synonym for faith, one can conclude that what is meant by light is faith.

  2. In the verse: (Those who follow the Apostle, the Prophet, the illiterate…so those who believe in him and honor him and help him and follow the light that has been sent down with him, these are those who are saved.) (7:156), it is clear that what is indicated is the human aspect of the Prophet. It is this aspect that is capable of being believed in, honored and helped. After this what is mentioned is following the “light that has been sent down with him.” From this it is to be understood that this light accompanies the Prophet and was sent down with him. Therefore, this light also definitely accompanies the human aspect of a man, as walí. From all of this it becomes clear that what is intended is the light of faith that was manifested and embodied in ‘Alí, i.e., the companion and spiritual brother of the Prophet, who succeeded the Prophet in walàyat.

  3. Taking into account the fact that faith and walàyat have been emphasized in other verses, and practicing them takes the form of bay‘at, it follows that the bay‘at of walàyat is commanded and insisted upon in the Qur’àn.

  Considering these observations, one should note that in the time of the Prophet, the bay‘at of faith was separate from the bay‘at to the government, but after the passing away of the Prophet, the bay‘at of faith was due to the walàyah of ‘Alí, and none of the other ‘rightly guided caliphs’11 claimed to take such a bay‘at. However, during the Ummayid and Abbasid periods, since for the most part they did not believe from the depths of their hearts, they did not differentiate these two important kinds of bay‘at from one another, and hence, they imagined that bay‘at was only for the sake of governing.12 Therefore, if they had noticed that our Imams were taking bay‘at, the lives of the Imams would have been in danger. 

The Continuation of the Bay‘at of Faith in the Time of the Pure Imams

  The Imams (‘a) appointed some people to take bay‘at for them. For example, according to some narrations, Åaèrat Sajjàd u gave license to his uncle, Muåammad Åanafiyyah, to take bay‘at for him. This practice continued throughout the period of the Shí‘í Imams, and the Imams, who considered bay‘at to be obligatory for the believers, usually took bay‘at in secret through their representatives.

  In this way we see how bay‘at became legitimated in Islam. As appears from the verse of the bay‘at of women, (O Prophet! When believing women come to you making bay‘at on the terms that they will not associate anything with God and will not steal, neither commit adultery, nor slay their children nor bring a calumny they forge between their hands and their feet, nor disobey you in anything honorable,…) (60:12), and from the previously mentioned verse, (Verily, Allah has purchased from the faithful…) (9:111), in these bay‘ats one commits oneself to religious affairs and selling one’s life and property. It is not merely, as some have imagined, for jihad and war, for jihad was prohibited for women even though the practice of bay‘at for women continued.

  In the history of Islam, even those who neglected the bay‘at of faith, took the bay‘at of Islam or governmental bay‘at, and no abrogation of bay‘at has been narrated. Hence, the precept of bay‘at must also be practiced now.

  It has already been said that in the time of the Imams (‘a), they themselves or their representatives took bay‘at. In the time of the twelfth Imam, the duty of the four deputies (nuwwàb arba‘ah)13 was only that they were intermediaries for the exoteric relations between the Shí‘ah and the Imam. For example, since they had been told and knew the place of residence of the Imam, they took letters that the Shí‘ah wrote and delivered them to him, obtained his replies and returned these to them. These four individuals themselves never claimed to take bay‘at, nor has it been written in any book that they took it. The responsibility for the practice of taking bay‘at in this period for the Imam was given to Shaykh Junayd Baghdàdí.14

  The explanation of the matter is that after the time of Åaèrat Rièà (the eighth Shí‘í Imam) the strangulation of the Shí‘ah intensified.15 Åaèrat Rièà u himself gave permission for taking bay‘at to his door-keeper, Ma‘rêf Karkhí. He also allowed him to appoint whoever he saw fit to succeed him (Ma‘rêf) after informing and being granted the permission of the Imam.

  Ma‘rêf Karkhí appointed Sarí Saqaìí who was thus given approval by the Imam. Sarí Saqaìí also was given the same permission, and he appointed Junayd Baghdàdí. The latter also had this license. After the occultation, the twelfth Imam gave Junayd permission to appoint his (Junayd’s) successor. He exercised this permission. Hence, the bay‘at of faith was not abrogated, and the successors of Junayd, in fact, are the indirect representatives of the Imam, who take bay‘at. Of course, all the chains of permission are technically termed ‘chains of the saints’ or ‘chains of Æêfism’ [Æêfi orders], and there are various orders which claim to be connected to the Imams (‘a). However, the soundness of these connections—in the view of us Shí‘ah—must be investigated and researched, for orders that do not go back to the Imams have gaps in their chains of permission.

  Since it is not clear that all the orders that claim to go back to the Imams are not without gaps in their chains of permission, one who has accepted these premises and the above mentioned theory is obliged to investigate and research the different orders, and those who consider themselves to be heads of the orders, to discover which chain of permission goes back to the Imams without interruption. Then he should acknowledge the order (silsilah) or orders that probably are connected to the Imams. 

The Practice of Bay‘at

  The practice of bay‘at in Islam has been performed in such a way that there must be hand to hand contact, and it is still customary at present, so that in every bay‘at [trade] and every transaction the two sides shake hands. In the case of women, bay‘at was obtained by a putting something over the hand, or by means of a bowl of water, or by using a tasbíå [prayer beads] so that the hands may make contact indirectly. Of course, in the bay‘at of faith, this contact of hands has taken place in a special fashion. Where God says (the hand of Allah is over their hands) (48:11), it is addressed to the Prophet, that (those who make bay‘at with you really make bay‘at with God) (48:11). However, since God is not corporeal or material—so that one could make bay‘at with Him directly—He obtains bay‘at through His Messenger, namely, the Prophet and his successors. In fact He wants to say that in the two hands that touch, the hand of God also is among them. This is what is intended by the expression (the hand of Allah is over their hands). This verse also indicates that the hand of God is above the hand of the one who offers bay‘at, for the entire existence of the one who accepts the bay‘at, that is, the Prophet, is overwhelmed by God. When the Prophet, as is mentioned in some narrations, would kiss the hand of his daughter, Fàìimah, in reality he was kissing the hand of God who accompanied the hand of Fàìimah.  
 

The Misunderstanding of Some Orientalists

  Before Islam, the practice of bay‘at of faith was customary in all the divine religions, although in every epoch it had a particular form. For example, when Jesusu went to Johnu to be baptized, John—who was aware of the future status of Jesusu—said, ‘I am the one who should be baptized by you’, because this is the requirement of the present time. After being baptized, according to the instructions of Johnu, he started ascetic practices and became a prophet.16

  According to what has been explained, those who do not believe in the bay‘at of faith, consider bay‘at to be only political, and since the latter is held to be presently precluded, they take it to be completely invalid.

  Another point is that since the Orientalists and Islamicists cannot easily understand the word bay‘at, which originally meant buying and selling, in the sense of a faith commitment in which one sells his soul and property to God to attain heaven, some of the translators of the Qur’àn avoid taking bay‘at in this sense. They have translated this term with other words, which usually mean taking an oath or promising to do something. For example, in the translations of the Qur’àn into French by Regis Blachere and Edward Montet it has been translated into serment d’allegeance and jurer allegeance, meaning to pledge allegiance; however, pledging allegiance is the action of a single party while bay‘at requires two parties. Accordingly, God says to the Prophet (æ), (O Prophet! When believing women come to you to make bay‘at…) (60:12), at the end of the verse He says, (make bay‘at with them and ask forgiveness for them…). It appears from this verse that bay‘at also has a party that accepts it, and it is not like a pledge that only requires a single agent.

  Negligence of the true meaning of bay‘at has given rise to the same sort of mistake, even on the part of those who are expert in Islamic issues, but who are not aware of their spiritual subtleties, such as Professor Åamídullah, who has translated the Qur’àn into French. He translated the word bay‘at as jurer fidelite, meaning a pledge of fidelity.

  Apparently, the English translators of the Qur’àn have fallen into the same trap. Arberry has used the expression ‘to swear fealty’, Pikthall ‘to swear allegiance’, and finally, in the translation of Yusuf Ali the expression ‘plight one’s fealty’ is used. All these expressions more or less have the sense of promising loyalty.

  Recently, I have seen that in some books the word ‘initiation’ is used for bay‘at.17 Although this word is similar to ‘ceremonies’ and ‘customs’, such as purity of the body or clothes, etc., which may be observed along with bay‘at, nevertheless ‘initiation’ differs from bay‘at. In general, it may be said that the word bay‘at, like the word walàyah, has no synonym in European languages, and the word bay‘at itself should be employed.