✦ Sharʿi Status of Forming a Jamaʿah and Taking Bayʿah for the Establishment of an Islamic State ✦
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1 – Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 175
❖ Question:
If a group forms with the goal of establishing an Islamic state, and its members give “Bayʿat al-Irshād” (pledge of allegiance) to their appointed amīr,
what is the Sharʿi ruling on such an action?
Is it permissible, impermissible, or a religious innovation (bidʿah)?
❖ Answer by:
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Wakeel Nāṣir حفظه الله
❖ The Sharʿi Method for Establishing an Islamic State:
✔ The establishment of an Islamic government should be pursued through personal reformation and collective efforts grounded in Qur’ān and Sunnah, not through sectarian party formation or artificially imposed organizational structures.
✔ Primary focus must be on individual and family-level reform, with a unified Ummah-wide approach rather than splintered organizational loyalties.
❖ Qur’ānic Prohibition Against Division:
📖 Allah Taʿālā commands:
“وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا“
“And do not divide.”
(Āl ʿImrān: 103)
“وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا…”
“And do not be like those who divided and differed after clear proofs had come to them…”
(Āl ʿImrān: 105)
⛔ Modern-day party-based groups violate this Qur’ānic injunction by promoting sectarianism and division, often under the guise of Islamic work.
❖ Is Participation in Modern Islamic Groups Permissible?
✔ Unless all sound Muslims unite under a single leader (khalīfah), it is impermissible to formally join or pledge allegiance to any particular group.
✅ Cooperation in good (maʿrūf) with such groups is allowed.
✘ But pledging loyalty, becoming members, or promoting group partisanship is not allowed.
❖ Islam Only Permits Two Types of Bayʿah:
① Bayʿah to the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ during his lifetime
② Bayʿah to the legitimate Khalīfah of all Muslims who fulfills Islamic legal criteria
📌 There is no Islamic basis for any other type of bayʿah, including Bayʿat al-Irshād, Bayʿah to a group amīr, or secret organizational pledges.
❖ Scholarly Clarifications:
Shaykh ʿAlī Ḥasan al-Ḥalabī (student of Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله) states:
“Bayʿah is only valid for the Amīr al-Mu’minīn (Caliph) of the Muslims—no one else.”
(Al-Bayʿah bayn al-Sunnah wa al-Bidʿah, p. 23)
He further clarifies:
“Bayʿah in all its forms is only for the rightful khalīfah who governs by Islamic law and enforces Sharʿi rulings and ḥudūd.”
(p. 28)
❖ Statement of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله:
“Bayʿah is only for the khalīfah upon whom there is consensus from all Muslims.”
— al-Sunnah by al-Khallāl, al-Musnad min Masāʾil al-Imām Aḥmad, Masāʾil Ibn Hānī, etc.
This indicates that bayʿah must be to a universally recognized ruler, not to party-appointed leaders or sectarian amīrs.
❖ Conclusion:
✔ Forming a group with the goal of establishing an Islamic state and taking bayʿah to an amīr is a bidʿah (innovation), as there is no Sharʿi precedent for it.
✔ Only two types of bayʿah are legislated in Islam:
- Bayʿah to the Prophet ﷺ
- Bayʿah to the agreed-upon Khalīfah of the Muslim Ummah
✘ Group-based bayʿahs and internal organizational structures go against the Qur’ānic command:
“وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا“ – “Do not divide.”
(Āl ʿImrān: 103)
وَصَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَىٰ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
