International Baiat
Encyclopedia
Bai'at or Bay'ah
(Arabic: بَيْعَة) is an Islam
ic 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 an Islamic religious sense, this oath is the standard procedure of pledging allegiance to an Imam
, a 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 the United Kingdom
. This ceremony is called the International Bay'ah. The ceremony is led by the head of the community, the Khalifatul Masih
, at whose hand the new converts take the oath of initiation.
The concept of bay'ah is considered very important to Ahmadiyya
Muslims. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
, after claiming to be divinely appointed as the promised messiah
and Mahdi
, took the first bay'ah in 1889 at Ludhiana. After this, many of his converts travelled long distances to Qadian
to be initiated in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The tradition was carried on during the Khalifatul Masih or Ahmadiyya caliphate
.
, the fourth Ahmadiyya Caliph
, internationalised the Bay'ah through Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA) by which people from all over the world are now able to partake in this pledge which is simultaneously translated into 12 different languages. This international oath of allegiance takes place every year at the annual gatherings in UK, except for one year (2001) when it took place in Germany
.
.
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 Muslim
s 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 English
or in Urdu
language, which the members of the community repeat after him. 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 the congregation, which includes all members around the world prostrate themselves. This prostration is not directed in any particular direction, but it is led by the caliph, but in whichever direction they find suitable. The tradition of this prostration goes back to Mirza Tahir Ahmad, who started it as an act of gratitude to God
.
The year by year count of converts in accordance with the reports announced by the Caliph at the occasion of the International Bai'at and printed officially by the community are as follows:
Bay'ah
Bay'ah , in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad...
(Arabic: بَيْعَة) is an Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic practice which is literally translated with the meaning to sell. In a religious context it means oath of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
. With this oath, the convert to a certain community declares himself/herself a part of that community. In an Islamic religious sense, this oath is the standard procedure of pledging allegiance to an Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
, a 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
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...
is held every year during the annual gathering of the community in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This ceremony is called the International Bay'ah. The ceremony is led by the head of the community, the Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih
Khalifatul Masih sometimes simply referred to as Khalifah is the elected spiritual leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and is the successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian...
, at whose hand the new converts take the oath of initiation.
Bay'ah (Ahmadiyya)
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
Muslims. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mīrzā Ghulām Aḥmad was a religious figure from India and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Community. He claimed to be the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century, the promised Messiah , and the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims in the end days...
, after claiming to be divinely appointed as the promised messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
and Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
, took the first bay'ah in 1889 at Ludhiana. After this, many of his converts travelled long distances to Qadian
Qadian
Qadian is a small town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur District, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India....
to be initiated in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The tradition was carried on during the Khalifatul Masih or Ahmadiyya caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
.
International baiat
In 1993 Mirza Tahir AhmadMirza Tahir Ahmad
Mirza Tahir Ahmad was Khalifatul Masih IV, Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and fourth successor to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad...
, the fourth Ahmadiyya Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
, internationalised the Bay'ah through Muslim Television Ahmadiyya International (MTA) by which people from all over the world are now able to partake in this pledge which is simultaneously translated into 12 different languages. This international oath of allegiance takes place every year at the annual gatherings in UK, except for one year (2001) when it took place in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
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 AhmadMirza Masroor Ahmad
His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad is Khalifatul Masih V, the spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. He was elected as the fifth successor of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on April 22, 2003, a few days after the death of his predecessor Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph for the Ahmadiiya...
.
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 Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s at the time of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, 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 English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
language, which the members of the community repeat after him. 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 the congregation, which includes all members around the world prostrate themselves. This prostration is not directed in any particular direction, but it is led by the caliph, but in whichever direction they find suitable. The tradition of this prostration goes back to Mirza Tahir Ahmad, who started it as an act of gratitude to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
Number of converts
| Year | Number of Converts |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 480,822 |
| 2010 | 458,760 |
| 2009 | 416,010 |
| 2008 | 354,638 |
| 2007 | 261,969 |
| 2006 | 293,881 |
| 2005 | 209,799 |
| 2004 | 304,910 |
| 2003 | 892,403 |
| 2002 | 20,654,000 |
| 2001 | 81,006,721 |
| 2000 | 41,308,975 |
| 1999 | 10,820,226 |
| 1998 | 5,004,591 |
| 1997 | 3,004,585 |
| 1996 | 1,602,721 |
| 1995 | 847,725 |
| 1994 | 421,753 |
| 1993 | 204,308 |
| Total | 168,067,975 |
See also
- Pledge of the TreePledge of the TreeThe Pledge of the Tree or Pledge of Pleasure or Pledge of Ridwan was a pledge that was sworn to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by his Sahaba prior to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah...
- Ten Conditions of Bai'atTen Conditions of Bai'atThe Ten Conditions of Bai'at is a list of 10 conditions required for a person wishing to become an Ahmadi, written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement...