Bai'at or Bay'ah is an Islamic practice of declaring on oath, one's allegiance to a particular leader. In an Islamic religious context, this oath is the standard procedure of pledging allegiance to a religious leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophetMuhammad and his successors after him with those wishing to join the Islamic community. Within the Sufi tradition the term is used to refer to the process of initiation into a Sufi order with the idea of commending oneself to a spiritual master in exchange for the spiritual and moral guidance imparted by him. The Bay'ah is a practice that also forms a notable feature within Ahmadiyya Islam. Following the death of a Caliph, the leader of the Community, a pledge of allegiance is taken by the newly chosen Caliph from members of the Community based upon this prophetic model and the bay'ah is the standard procedure for formally joining the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Since 1993, a large Bay'ah is held on an international scale every year during the annual gathering of the Community. The Bay'ah is taken by the caliph at whose hand new converts pledge their allegiance and old members of the Community can reaffirm their pledges. The Bay'ah comprises the shahadah, prayers of repentance and a promise to abide by the Ten Conditions stipulated by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad for joining the Community.
Bay'ah (Ahmadiyya)
The concept of bay'ah is considered very important to Ahmadi Muslims. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, after claiming to be divinely appointed as the renewer of Islam, took the first bay'ah in 1889 at Ludhiana. After this, many individuals travelled long distances to Qadian to be initiated in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The practice was continued by his successors. The tradition was originally started by the Islamic prophet Muhammad and continued by the 4 Caliphs after him.
International Bay'at
In 1993 Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Ahmadiyya Caliph, internationalised the Bay'ah through Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International by which people from all over the world were now able to partake in this pledge which would be simultaneously translated into 12 different languages. Since then, The international oath of allegiance has taken place every year at the annual gatherings. Ahmad often claimed that this was the historical fulfillment of the Pentecost that was destined to occur at the time of the Second Coming.
Distinctive features
Since the first International Bay'ah, some acts have become part of the tradition during the ceremony. Foremost, the caliph wears a green coat of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad at the ceremony. This coat was lent to the fourth caliph for this ceremony by his sister. However, the coat was given to the caliphate at the request of the fifth caliph, Mirza Masroor Ahmad. The members of the community form five or seven lines in front of the caliph at the ceremony to represent the five/seven continents of the world. Officials of the community organisation and other people who have worked for the community or are otherwise selected for this ceremony are present in these lines. The lines proceed to some extent in an orderly manner after which other members are present. Members of the community all over the world join the ceremony live through TV coverage by the community's own satellite channel MTA. The members and those who want to become members place their hands on the back of the person in their front, as is known from the tradition of the early Muslims at the time of Muhammad, and so form chains of physical contact with the caliph. This physical contact is seen necessary only for those present at the ceremony. The oath of allegiance or Bay'ah is taken by the caliph in the following way: first he reads a sentence or a part of a sentence from the oath in Arabic and then in Urdu or English, which the members of the community repeat after him. The wording contains the shahadah, prayers of repentance and involves a promise to abide by the Ten Conditions of Bai'at as stipulated by Ghulam Ahmad. Then the same sentence or part of the sentence is repeated by translators in many languages of the world simultaneously and repeated by the members of the community. After having gone through the whole text of the oath of allegiance in this manner, the caliph leads the members in silent prayers. At the end, all members of the congregation, which includes those participating around the world, prostrate themselves as an expression of gratitude towards God. This prostration is not directed in any particular direction and is performed in whichever direction one finds suitable but it is led by the caliph,.
