Bay'ah

Bayʿah (, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Bedouin culture it was a procedure for choosing the leader of the tribe, and is sometimes taken under a written pact given on behalf of the subjects by leading members of the tribe with the understanding that as long as the leader abides by certain requirements towards his people, they are to maintain their allegiance to him. Bayʿah is still practiced in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Sudan. In Morocco, bayʿah is one of the foundations of the monarchy.

==Etymology and definitions== ''Bay'ah derives from the Semitic triconsonantal root B-Y-’, related to commerce, and shows the contractual nature of the bond between caliph and the people. Bay'ah originally referred to the striking together of hands between buyer and seller to mark an agreement. According to Bernard Lewis, bay'ah'' originally referred not to an oath of allegiance but to an agreement between two parties, and in the language of government a contractual agreement between ruler and ruled. In time, however, when an agreement was reached, an oath of allegiance by the ruled came "to be a normal part of the proceedings".