Ruling on Giving the Pledge of Allegiance to Other Than the One in Authority

Question:
The first message in this episode is one that reached the program from one of our brother listeners. He says: Muhammad Akram Hussein. Our brother concluded his message by saying: I hope that His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz will answer this question.
He began his message in the following manner, saying: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him), peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. After that: I am a young man from India who came to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, for a scholarship to study at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, in the College of Usul al-Din, Department of Aqeedah. Praise be to Allah, I graduated from it last year. And by my understanding of what I studied, I came to know what our country, India, is upon regarding the Muslims: shirk (associating partners with Allah), the Sufi paths, and the widespread religious innovations. So I went with the determination to call people to Allah, to correct the creed, and to purify it from everything that defiles it, whether shirk or Sufism. But in our country in India, the pledge of allegiance to the paths is well-known, and it seems they believe that whoever does not pledge allegiance is not a Muslim. Therefore, I found difficulty in calling people to the truth.
An idea came to my mind, but I did not act on it, and I am consulting you about it. It is this: that I pledge allegiance to those who come in the form of the Companion’s saying: the hadith. But in this pledge, I clarify to them that what is required is: the sincerity of worship for Allah alone, with no partner for Him. And I clarify in it the religious innovations, and the prohibition of the Sufi paths in a good manner. And I encourage them to hold fast to the Sunnah, to maintain the five daily prayers, to recite the Qur’an, and to remember Allah with the prescribed dhikr (remembrance of Allah) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the two Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim and others. And this act is considered a pledge of allegiance with them, and it suffices them from going to the Sufis. And in reality, it is commanding what came from Allah and from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). What is your opinion, Your Eminence, about this act?
Give us a ruling, may Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
So we do not know of any original basis for this pledge of allegiance, except what is done for those in authority. Indeed, Allah the Exalted has prescribed that one pledges allegiance to the one in authority to obey in ease and hardship, in what is pleasant and what is unpleasant, and in being deprived of one's rights, just as the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and He was pleased with them, pledged allegiance to our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, the pledge of allegiance is for those in authority in accordance with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and that they speak the truth wherever they are, and that they do not dispute the matter with its rightful people, except if they see clear disbelief from them, with proof from Allah regarding it.
As for the pledge of allegiance of the Sufis to one another, I do not know any basis for it. And this may cause problems, for the one pledging may think that he is obligated to obey the one he pledged to in everything, even if he says to rebel against the ones in authority. And this is something, something reprehensible that is not permissible.
So it is obligatory upon the one who calls to Allah and conveys the message of Allah: to clarify the truth to people, and to encourage them to adhere to it, and to warn them against disobeying the command of Allah and His Messenger, without the need for them to pledge allegiance to him on that. For the pledge of allegiance on this matter may be thought to be, and believed to be, obligatory for this person, with respect to the person who pledged, and that he does not contradict what he is told, and that he listens to him and obeys him as is the case with the ones in authority. And this causes division and disagreement among the Muslims, and conflict and corruption. But he commands him to obey Allah and advises him to obey Allah, and encourages him to adhere to the command of Allah, and warns him of the prohibitions of Allah. This is how the one who calls to Allah acts. And this is what I know from the pure Shari’ah. And I do not know in the pure Shari’ah a pledge of allegiance to other than the ones in authority for obedience and for following the Book and the Sunnah.
And it is possible for the one who calls to Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) wherever he is, to make people see the truth and guide them to the oneness of Allah and His obedience, and to warn them of religious innovations, and to recite for them the texts from the noble verses and the Prophetic hadiths that contain the clarification of the truth and the call to it, and that contain the warning against the types of falsehood and the warning from it. And this is what I see as necessary and required for the rights of the callers to Allah , so that they do not imitate the Sufis in what they do, and so that they do not open for people a door of evil for everyone. Whoever wants to pledge allegiance to someone says: Pledge allegiance to me as so-and-so pledged, and as so-and-so pledged. And Allah is the One to be sought for help. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, Your Eminence. I know that there is one of the groups, I think, and I do not praise anyone before Allah, I think they are concerned with the matter of calling to Allah. But among what they do is this which is called the pledge of allegiance. Is there any guidance from Your Eminence?

The Shaykh: Yes, yes. What I advise all my brothers is to leave this method (which is the pledge of allegiance), and that the caller to Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) should suffice with calling to Allah, guiding people to good and advising them, and encouraging them to follow the truth and adhere to it, and to leave what contradicts it wherever it is. And the intention is not the pledge of allegiance to so-and-so or so-and-so.
The intention is: following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in what he brought, and adhering to it. For Allah obligated people to obey Allah and His Messenger, and to leave what Allah and His Messenger prohibited, even if there is no pledge of allegiance. For the believer is obligated to obey Allah and His Messenger in everything, and to leave what Allah and His Messenger prohibited in everything, whether he is from the Companions or from other than the Companions. But the pledge of allegiance is from the aspect of confirmation, from the aspect of confirmation of adherence to the truth with which Allah sent His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
And so the ones in authority after him, like al-Siddiq, 'Umar, 'Uthman, 'Ali, and others, the subjects are obligated to obey them in what is right, even if there is no pledge of allegiance. But the pledge of allegiance is from the aspect of confirmation, and from the aspect of obligation to the truth for this one whom Allah has entrusted with the affairs of the Muslims; so that that becomes a motivator for the one who pledged to listen and obey in what is right, and to adhere to the truth.
As for other than the Caliph of the Muslims and other than the one in authority of the Muslims, there is no need for this pledge of allegiance. The intention is: only to alert him to good, and to call him to it, and to warn him from evil only. And the intention is not: that he pledges allegiance on this thing, that he adheres to the opinion of so-and-so, or the saying of so-and-so. Rather, what is obligatory is: that he adheres to the truth, and is upright on the truth to which so-and-so called him, or conveyed to him from the Book of Allah, or from the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the obligatory, and the reliance is on the Book and the Sunnah, not on the opinion of so-and-so and so-and-so. Rather, the scholars clarify and guide and convey to people the verses and hadiths, and make them see their meaning. And the intention is not: to make the opinion of so-and-so or so-and-so the judge. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah bless you. If a group of people or a specific country has become accustomed to this pledge of allegiance, even if it is for other than the ones in authority, does Your Eminence permit us to please them with this course of action?

The Shaykh: This does not appear to me. What I know from the Shari’ah is: that there is no pledge of allegiance except for the ones in authority, or their deputies if they appoint someone to take the pledge of allegiance for them. So their governor in the regions is a deputy for them in taking the pledge of allegiance, whether he is a scholar or a governor or a judge. The intention is: if the one in authority appoints him to take the pledge of allegiance from the people of such a town, and such a tribe; he takes the pledge of allegiance for the one in authority by proxy. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.