What are the nullifiers of the pledge of allegiance?

The questioner : Your Eminence the Shaykh! I ask Your Eminence to shed light on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Whoever dies without a pledge of allegiance dies a death of ignorance," and what are the nullifiers of the pledge of allegiance?

The Shaykh : The pledge of allegiance is the act of pledging allegiance to the rulers in obedience and compliance in matters other than sin. It is derived from the letter "ba." Spreading the faults of the rulers and concealing their virtues is wrong in itself due to the spreading of faults, and it is a compounded error due to the concealing of virtues. Spreading the faults of the rulers leads to the hearts of the common people being filled with hatred and resentment toward the ruler. This leads to disobeying the rulers in matters where a person is required to obey them. If a person sees that the ruler is immersed in sins and injustice, and he removes the pledge from his neck, saying, "I do not acknowledge that this is my ruler or that this is my imam," then if he dies in that state, he dies a death of ignorance. It is obligatory for us to believe that our rulers have a pledge in our necks, and that we have a leader who guides us and binds us to the Shari'ah. If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded travelers, if they were three, to appoint one of them as their leader, how much more so for a great community that has no leader?
So this person who dies dies a death of ignorance, because the Muslim community must have an imam who manages its affairs and matters. Even if there is a deficiency in an obligatory duty or in a forbidden act, no one is free from that. It is obligatory for us to obey them in matters other than the disobedience of Allah. If they disobey Allah, their disobedience is upon them, but their obedience is obligatory for us, and their pledge is in our necks. It is not required for the pledge to be made by every single person. That is to say, if someone were to say, "I did not pledge allegiance, and I was not told to attend the pledge," we would say that this is not required. The pledge is made by whom?
By those who hold the power to bind and release, and the nobles and elders of the people. For this reason, no one can say that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the first caliph of the community, was pledged to by even the old women in Madinah. No one can say this. Rather, the people of binding and release pledged to him. His soul was stirred and he said, "I did not pledge to you two, and there is no pledge in my neck for him." We said this is wrong. If the people of binding and release pledge to the imam, his imamate is established, whether you pledged to him or not. And this is the way of the Muslims from the first caliph to the last caliph.