The Role of Bai‘yah in Muslim History
So
far, I have mentioned the fact twice that bai‘yah formed the only basis of
organization in the thirteen hundred years long history of the Muslim Ummah. It
is now time to substantiate this claim with examples from our past. As all of
you know, the institution of Khilafah established after the death of Prophet
Muhammad (SAW) was based on bai‘yah. Soon afterwards, when it was felt that the
all important institution of Khilafah is slowly degenerating into monarchy and
kingship of a particular clan, we see that Hussain Ibn Ali (RAA), followed by Abdullah
Ibn Zubair (RAA),
rose to check
this trend. Both
these movements, though
unsuccessful, were based on bai‘yah. Subsequently, we find that although
monarchy established itself with brute force, the kings — still called Caliphs
— continued to rule on the basis of bai‘yah.
Even though
there is essentially
no separation between
faith/religion and
government/state in Islam, for all practical purposes this separation did take
place during the era of kingship. Consequently, and unfortunately, the institution
of bai‘yah was also bisected into two kinds. The monarchs or the kings would
demand a political pledge of obedience from the citizens, and, in addition,
there were sufis and mystics who would receive a moral and spiritual pledge of
allegiance from the same citizens for the purpose of purification of their
souls (tazkiyyah al-nafs). This became the basis of bai‘yah al-irshad.
What
is meant by bai‘yah al-irshad? A person feels the need for a spiritual guide or
mentor who would coach and instruct him so that he can become a better Muslim,
and, with this purpose in mind, he attaches himself with a pious person who has
already purified his own self. This attachment is symbolized by bai‘yah, a
pledge of allegiance on the part of the disciple, who says, in effect, that you
are more knowledgeable and more experienced than I am, so you would tell me
what to do and what to avoid, and you would monitor my progress and advise and
instruct me at every step of the way. This is bai‘yah al-irshad, and, due to the
deplorable decline of the Ummah, this is the only type of bai‘yah that an
ordinary Muslim is aware of. It may
be noted that
this institution is
justifiable on the grounds
of the bai‘yah
of women, mentioned in the
Qur’an, which had a similar nature and purpose.
Please
note that all freedom movements, that were launched during the previous century
with the aim of liberating the Muslim lands from Colonial rule, were based on
bai‘yah.
The Mujahideen Movement of Sayyed Ahmad Shaheed (1786-1831) in India,
the Sanussi Movement of Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Sannusi (1787-1859) in Libya,
and the Mahdist Movement of Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi (1844-1885) in Sudan — each one of these freedom struggles was based on the institution of bai‘yah. In the present century, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad formed his party, called Hizbullah, in 1913, on the basis of bai‘yah. Similarly, the founding members in the Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun gave their pledge of allegiance to their al-murshid al-‘am, Hassan Al-Banna Shaheed.
The Mujahideen Movement of Sayyed Ahmad Shaheed (1786-1831) in India,
the Sanussi Movement of Muhammad Ibn Ali Al-Sannusi (1787-1859) in Libya,
and the Mahdist Movement of Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi (1844-1885) in Sudan — each one of these freedom struggles was based on the institution of bai‘yah. In the present century, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad formed his party, called Hizbullah, in 1913, on the basis of bai‘yah. Similarly, the founding members in the Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun gave their pledge of allegiance to their al-murshid al-‘am, Hassan Al-Banna Shaheed.
Let
me narrate here a very important but largely forgotten episode of the present
century. The second convention of Jamiyat Ulama-e-Hind was held in November
1920. It was presided over by Sheikh-ul-Hind Maulana Mehmood Hassan of Deoband
who exhorted and tried hard to convince
the Ulama belonging to
various sects and
different schools of thought to
accept Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as their leader, to give him their pledge
of allegiance, and to start the struggle for freedom and establishment of Islam
in the Indian subcontinent. Unfortunately, the Ulama did not show any
enthusiasm and refused to commit themselves, mainly due to sectarian
disagreements.
Another
movement of the recent past that involved bai‘yah was the one launched in the 1930’s
in order to deal with the menace of Qadianiyat. Five hundred Ulama belonging to
the Deoband school of thought chose Maulana Ataullah Shah Bukhari as
Ameer-e-Shari‘at, and they gave their pledge to him in Lahore. Although Maulana
Bukhari was not a very prominent scholar,
we find that
people like Maulana
Ahmad Ali Lahori
and Maulana Anwar
Shah Kashmiri were among those who gave their bai‘yah to the
Ameer-e-Shariat.
Thus,
we see that, throughout the thirteen hundred year’s history of the Muslim
Ummah, the only means and the only approach that was used to organize the
masses is bai‘yah. Whether the issue was that of formation of a legitimate
government, the launching of movements to re- introduce the high ideals of
pristine Islam, the purification of souls, or the struggle to liberate Muslim
lands from non-Muslim occupation, you will find that, invariably, people were
gathered, motivated, and assembled only on the basis of bai‘yah. The only
exception is that when Maulana Sayyid Abul ‘Ala Maududi decided to establish an
Islamic revivalist party in 1941, he did not adopt the institution of bai‘yah
as the basis of his organization. I have been talking about the
“thirteen-hundred year’s history” of the Ummah only on account of this very
exception, as I had to exclude the fourteenth century.
To be continued....
No comments:
Post a Comment