What is the opinion of one who says: “I will not pledge allegiance to anyone until the Rightly Guided Caliphate is established”?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: There are those who do not consider it permissible to pledge allegiance to the rulers, and they say that they will not pledge allegiance to anyone until the Rightly Guided Caliphate is established. What is the validity of this statement?

Answer:
This means criticizing the Muslims since the fall of the Abbasid state. Since the fall of the Abbasid state, there has been no general caliphate. Rather, every region or every country is ruled by a Muslim ruler, and they listen to him and obey him. This is the practice of the Muslims since the fall of the Banu Abbas state. If it were otherwise, the Muslims would be in error. May Allah preserve us from that, and it is not so. You have heard that if the Muslims submit to a person, come under his command, and pledge allegiance to him as their imam, he becomes an imam, even if he is not a general caliph and even if he is only in some of the lands. This is the practice of the Muslims. Al-Shawkani has a valuable discussion on this topic. Yes.