Bai'at (Pledge of Allegiance)

Ba'iat or Bay'ah (Arabic: بَيْعَة) is an Islamic practice which is literally translated with the meaning to sell. In a religious context it means 'oath of allegiance'. With this oath the convert to a certain community declares himself/herself a part of that community. In islamic-religious sense, this oath is the standard procedure of pledging allegiance to an Imam or spiritual leader or to sell ones self in exchange of the spiritual guidance given by an Imam or spiritual leader. A large Bai'at ceremony of initiation for entering the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is held every year during the annual gathering of the community in UK. This ceremony is called the International Baait. The ceremony is led by the head of the community, the Caliph, at whose hand the new converts take the oath of initiation.

History

The tradition of bay'ah can be traced back to the era of Muhammad. Anyone who wanted to join the growing Islamic community would be initiated at the hand of the Prophet. The wordings of the oath differ in different traditions but it contains the shahadah and prayers of repentance. The bay'ah of Rizwan, a collective initiation of thousands of Muslims at the hand of Muhammad, is mentioned in the Quran. This tradition was continued by the Caliphs.

In subsequent ages, bay'āt were associated with sufi orders; spiritual masters would initiate their followers. This practice still exists in sufi orders around the world.

The concept of bay'ah is considered very important to Ahmadiyya muslims. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, after claiming to be the Mahdi and Messiah, took the first bay'ah in 1889 at Ludhiana. After this, many of his converts traveled long distances to Qadian to be initiated in the community. The tradition was carried on during the Ahmadiyya caliphate.

International Bai'at

In 1993 Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph, internationalised the bay'ah through Muslim TV Ahmadiyya by which people from all continents of the world are now able to partake in this pledge which is simultaneously translated into twelve different languages. This international oath of allegiance takes place every year at the annual gatherings of Ahmadis.