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Women's Participation in the Bai'ah "The leader of an Islamic State is confirmed
by the people through a process known as bai’ah; a symbolic
contract between the leader and the people wherein the leader promises to
obey Islamic law and the people, in exchange, promise their allegiance." "In essence, bai’ah is the election of a
leader, for without the bai’ah the purported leader has no legitimacy
and thus cannot act as the Head of State." Ibn Taymiya in his work "Minhaj al Sunna"
stresses the requirement of bai’ah by the people for a leader to be
legitimate. Ibn Taymiya discusses the incident where Abu Bakr nominated
Umar ibn al Khattab to succeed him as Caliph. Ibn Taymiya stated that Umar
became the Caliph only when he received the bai’ah from the people.
Ibn
Taymiya further stated that if Umar had not received the bai’ah, he
would not have become the leader, despite his nomination by Abu Bakr. In early Islam women were included in the
giving of the bai’ah. Prophet Muhammad received the bai’ah from the
people. The Quran addresses the issue of women giving the bai’ah to
Prophet Muhammad and God tells Muhammad to accept the pledge of the women. In 645 A.D. (23 A.H.) Umar, the second Head
of State after the death of Prophet Muhammad, convened a group to
determine his successor. One of the group, Abdul Rahman, went to the
people to consult with them as to who should be the next leader. Abdul
Rahman consulted both women and men, thus women had a say in who would be
their leader. Through this process Uthman was selected to succeed Umar.
excerpt from Muslim Women's League - USA
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