Ten Conditions of Bai’at
To be an Ahmadi Muslim it is important that you have accepted Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi and accepted the 10 Conditions of Bai’at. When one joins the Community then this is the requirement. For those who are born into the Community, once you have reached the age of maturity, you should renew your pledge with the present Khalifa whenever possible. There is an opportunity to do this every year when there is the InternationalBai’at Ceremony at the UK Jalsa Salana.
You should fully understand what Bai’at is and in fact you should be constantly striving to ensure that you fulfil all the conditions of the Bai’at.
When we take the Bai’at at the hand of the Khalifa, in fact we are doing it with the Promised Messiah; for whom the Khalifa is representing. But actually we are doing it with the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; whom the Promised Messiah is representing. In actual fact we our doing the Bai’at with Allah, whom the Holy Prophet is representing. Therefore, when we do the Bai’at we are actually performing it with Allah, the Almighty.
The Holy Qur’an relates:
…Allah took a covenant from the people through the Prophets, saying “Whatever I give you of the Book and the Wisdom and then there comes to you a Messenger, fulfilling what is with you, you shall believe in him and help him’
Holy Qur’an, Chapter 3, verse 82
This is the responsibility that we have accepted when we do the Bai’at.
Ubadah Bin Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, relates that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), took the Bai’atupon the condition:
That you will not associate anything with Allah, nor will you steal, not will commit adultery, nor will you kill your children, nor will you slander, nor will you disobey me in anything good I ask you to do. So anyone of you who will prove true to this pledge of Bai’at, his reward is with Almighty Allah. Whoever falls short of fulfilling this pledge and suffers a loss in this world, his loss will become expiation for him. And he who falls short of fulfilling this pledge of Bai’at, and Almighty Allah covers his faults, his affair is with Almighty Allah; if He wills, He may punish him, and if He wills, He may forgive him
Bukhari
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
All of you who have taken Bai’at and have made a commitment, listen! To utter these words is easy, but to do justice to them is hard because Satan is always busy trying to make man careless about his faith. Satan shows the world and its benefits to be within reach and faith to be distant. In this way, the heart is hardened and each subsequent condition is worse than the previous one. If you want to please Allah, put your entire strength and effort to abide faithfully to this commitment of freeing yourself from sins.
Dhikr-e-Habib, Pg 436
The Ten Conditions of Bai’at are listed as follows:
1st Condition of Bai’at
“The initiate shall solemnly promise that he/she shall abstain from shirk right up to the day of his/her death”
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
Shirk here does not merely mean bowing before stones etc. Rather, it is also shirk that you should depend entirely on worldly means and more importance on worldly idols. This is what Shirk is.
Al-Hakim
2nd Condition of Bai’at
“That he/she shall keep away from falsehood, fornication/adultery, trespasses of the eye, debauchery, dissipation, cruelty, dishonesty, mischief and rebellion; and that he/she will not permit himself/herself to be carried away by passions, however strong they might be”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has guided us
He who from among you observes something evil should reverse it with his hand; if he is unable to do that then he should condemn it with his tongue; If he is unable to do that then he should at least resent it in his heart; this is the lowest degree of faith
Muslim
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said
Do not go near adultery. That is to say, avoid all occasions that create that thought in your mind. Avoid all ways that carry a risk of getting involved in this sin. Whosever commits adultery goes to the limit of evil. Adultery is a very evil way. It stops you from reaching your true objective and carries major risks in it. He who is unable to get married should try to maintain his chastity in other ways; for instance, he should keep fasts or reduce his food intake, or should do hard physical work.
Philosophy of the teachings of Islam
3rd Condition of Bai’at
“That he/she shall regularly offer the five daily prayers in accordance with the commandments of God and the Holy Prophet and shall try his/her best to be regular in offering the Tahajjud and invoking Durood on the Holy Prophet. That he/she shall make it his /her daily routine to ask forgiveness for his/her sins, to remember the bounties of God and to praise and glorify Him.”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us that:
The first thing, for which the account will be taken on the Day of Judgement, will be the observance of prayer. If he succeeds in this account, he would be successful and will attain salvation. If that account is deficient, he will be ruined and will be a loser. If there is a shortfall in the obligatory prayers, Allah will make it up from his Nafl. Similarly, all his other deeds will be accounted for.
Tirmidhi
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
So, you who count yourselves among my followers, you will be counted in Heaven among my followers only when you act righteously. So you should observe your five daily prayers with such fear and fervour as though you see God
Kishti Nuh pg 17
Our beloved Huzoor, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, may Allah strengthen him with His mighty hand, has said:
The observance of Prayer is a basic obligation, without which religion has no meaning. The Holy Qur’an has greatly highlighted the importance of prayer And the Holy Prophet has described it as the pillar of faith. Hence, it is our duty to guard our prayers on which our faith rests. Every Ahmadi should aim for a 100% attendance in Prayers
4th Condition fo Bai’at
“That under the impulse of any passion, he/she shall cause no harm whatsoever to the creatures of God in general and Muslims in particular, neither by his/her tongue, hands, nor any other means.”
The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us that:
The true Muslim is he from whose hands and from whose tongue other Muslims are safe
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
the first moral quality is forgiveness, that is, to forgive someone’s sins. The virtue in this is that the person who commits a sin causes harm to someone else and, therefore, becomes liable to be punished or to be put in jail or to be fined or be chastised with direct action. Thus, to forgive him, if forgiveness is appropriate, would be a good deed.
Philosophy of the teachings of Islam
5th Condition of Bai’at
“That he / she shall remain faithful to God in all circumstances of life, in sorrow and in happiness, in adversity and in prosperity, in felicity and in trial; and that he / she shall in all conditions remain resigned to the decree of God and keep himself / herself ready to face all kinds of indignities and sufferings in His way and shall never turn away from Him at the onslaught of any misfortune; on the contrary, he / she shall march forward”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us that:
For a Muslim, life is full of good, and nobody but a true believer finds himself in that position, for if he meets with success he is grateful to God and becomes the recipient of greater favours from Him. On the other hand, if he suffers pain and tribulation he endures it with patience and thus again makes himself deserving of God’s favours.
Muslim
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
A verse in the Holy Qur’an relates:
‘Our Lord pour down upon us steadfastness and cause us to die in a state of submission to Thee (7:127);’
which means, Lord, at this time of trial send down upon our hearts the comfort that should make us steadfast and do Thou so ordain that we should die in a state of submission to Thee. At the time of trials and misfortune, God Almighty causes a light to descend upon the hearts of those who are dear to Him, being strengthened by which they face misfortunes calmly and out of the sweetness of their faith, they kiss the chains that are put round their feet in His cause.
6th Condition of Bai’at
“That he/she shall refrain from following un-Islamic customs and lustful inclinations and shall completely submit himself / herself to the authority of the Holy Qur’an; and that he/she shall make the Word of God and the sayings of the Holy Prophet his/her guiding principles in every walk of his/her life”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us that:
Now I tell you that the best discourse is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance given by Muhammad, may peace be upon him, The most evil thing is to introduce innovations in religion; and every innovation leads to error.
Muslim
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
Beware! Do not take a single step in contravention of Allah’s teaching and the Guidance contained in the Qur’an. Verily, I tell you truly that whosoever evades even the least of the seven hundred commandments embodied in the Holy Qur’an, he slams the door of salvation upon himself. Only the Holy Qur’an has opened the real and perfect paths of salvation; all others were only its shadows. Therefore, you should study this Holy Scripture with the utmost attention and deepest thought; and you should love it as you have never loved anything else.
Kishti Nuh
7th Condition of Bai’at
“That he / she shall entirely give up pride and vanity and shall pass all his / her life in humbleness, cheerfulness, forbearance and meekness”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us that:
Three things are the roots of every sin. One should avoid them. Refrain from arrogance because it was due to arrogance That Satan was instigated not to prostrate to Adam. Second, stay away from greed because it was greed that made Adam eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. Third, avoid jealousy because it was out of jealousy that one of Adam’s sons killed his brother.
Ar-Risalah Al-Qushairiyyah Bab-ul-Hasadi, pg 79
He who has a jot of arrogance in his heart will not enter Paradise. Someone said, ‘what about a person who likes to have beautiful clothes and beautiful shoes?’ The Prophet answered, ‘Allah is Beauty and He loves beauty. (One cannot be called arrogant if one beautifies oneself). Arrogance lies in the rejection of the truth and in looking down upon people.
Muslim
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
I admonish my community to shun arrogance because arrogance is most loathsome to God, the Lord of Glory. You may not perhaps fully realise what arrogance is. So learn it from me because I speak with the spirit of God. Everyone who looks down upon his brother because he considers himself to be more learned, wiser, or more accomplished than him is arrogant. He is arrogant because, instead of considering God to be the Fountainhead Of all wisdom and knowledge, he considers himself something Likewise he too is arrogant who thinking if his wealth or high status, Looks down upon his brother. He is arrogant because he has ignored the fact that this status and grandeur Were bestowed upon him by God.
Nazul-ul-Masih
8th Condition of Bai’at
“That he / she shall hold faith, the honour of faith and the cause of Islam dearer to him than his / her life, wealth, honour, children and all other dear ones.”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was asked:
What is the religion of Islam?” The Holy Prophet may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him replied: “Islam is that you surrender your entire being to Allah, abandon all other deities, establish Salat, and give Zaka’at.
Al-Isti‘ab
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
The rebirth of Islam demands a great sacrifice from us. What is this sacrifice? It is our lives: On this sacrifice depends the life of Islam, the life of Muslims, the manifestation of God in our times. Sacrifice is the essence of Islam. This is the Islam God wants to restore.
The Victory of Islam
9th Condition of Bai’at
“That he / she shall keep himself / herself occupied in the service of God’s creatures for His sake only and shall endeavour towards the beneficence of mankind to the best of his / her God-given abilities and powers”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us that:
The best among you are those who are good to their families and I am the best of those who are good to their families
Abu Dawad
The most perfect of believers in respect of their faith are those whose behaviour is most excellent and the best of you are those who behave best towards their wives
Tirmidhi
A person is not a true believer unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself
Bukhari
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, may peace be upon him, has said:
Remember that there are two commandments of Allah the Almighty. First, associate no partner with Him, neither in His being and attributes, nor in His worship. Second, be compassionate to the others. Benevolence does not imply that it should be only for your brothers and relations, but it should be for anyone, any human, and any of God’s creation.
Malfoozat Vol 9, pg164-165
10th Condition of Bai’at
“That he/she shall enter into a bond of brotherhood with this humble servant of God, pledging obedience to me in everything good for the sake of God, and remain faithful to it until the day of his/her death.”
Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has informed us that:
A Muslim is obligated to hear and obey whether he likes it or not, except when he is required to do something that is sinful, in which case there is no obligation to hear or obey
Bukhari
He who obeys me, obeys Allah and he who disobeys me, disobeys Allah, and he who obeys my appointee, obeys me and he who disobeys my appointee, disobeys me
Bukhari
The first Khalifa Hazrat Maulvi Nooruddin, may Allah be pleased with him, removed any doubt from our minds that a Rightly Guided Khalifa could make a wrong decision, he said:
There is one more error and that is in understanding of the ‘obedience in good things’ that we will not obey in those matters that we think are not ‘good’ This word has also come with reference to the Holy Prophet ‘Nor disobey thee in what is right’ Have these people made a list of faults of the Holy Prophet also? Similarly, Hazrat Sahib has written ‘obedience in good things’ in his conditions of Bai’at. There is wisdom in it. I do not doubt anyone of you at all. I have explained these things lest anyone of you be deceived subtly.
Khutabat-e-Nur, pg 420-421
The Second Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him, commentating on Holy Qur’an, Chapter 24, verse 56 said:
Khilafat is a great Divine blessing. Without it there can be no solidarity, cohesion and unity among Muslims and therefore they can make no real progress without it. If Muslims do not show proper appreciation of Khilafat by giving unstinted support and obedience to their Khalifas they will forfeit this great Divine boon and in addition will draw the displeasure of God upon themselves.
The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary, Vol. 4, pp. 1869-1870
The fourth Khalifah, Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Khalifa, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
If any Ahmadi is not in deep love with Khilafat, Khalifatul Masih’s supplication is not answered in his favour.
Our beloved Huzoor, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, may Allah strengthen him with His mighty hand, has said:
When you have taken the Bai’at and have entered the organisation of the Jama’at of the Promised Messiah, you have given everything of yours to the Promised Messiah, you have to obey his decisions; you have to act upon his teachings. Since the system of Khilafat exists after him, you have to follow the decisions and the instructions of the Khalifah of the time.
May Allah the Almighty enable us all to fulfil all our pledges made with the Promised Messiah; may we remain firmly established upon all the conditions of his Bai’at; may we, by acting upon his teachings, make our lives like paradise, and may we be judged to be the inheritors of the paradises of the next world. May Allah the Almighty help us. Amin.
