Bayatnama

Written below are the details of the allegiance (bayyatnama) that the twelfth imam will ask of his Shia's.

There are 25 bayyatnamas (In various books the number varies. An important point to mention here is that despite the differences in number everything is the same. This difference is due to some ulemas counting various things as one and some itemizing it as different elements. Another point to note is that the Imam said that I will take bayyit ON THESE THINGS and did not mention any specific number.) that the twelfth Imam requires from us. Only after that will momineen be allowed to perform Jihad with the Imam. There are 2 reasons why this will be done:

1. To prevent prior mistakes that occurred during the Imamate of the past 11 Imams.

Imam Ali once said in a gathering of his momins that when the 12th Imam re-appears, what things he will take bayyit on and then start his Jihad. Maula then further said that not only am I telling you this, but I am going to document it and has to be preserved and read by every Shia and passed down to every generation until the generation of the Shias of the time of Imam Mehdi (A.S.).

These 25 things are not ordinary things, but in fact our responsibility during the Ghaibat of the Imam. The army of our Imam has to be strong and free from all distractions.

This is uncommon in this part of the world, but back home or in India and Pakistan, someone approaches you for some help and you loan him some money with the promise that he will pay you back in a couple of months. As time passes by, he refuses to acknowledge the fact that you loaned him money. So the next time someone comes to you for assistance, you will make sure that it is written down somewhere. Similarly, Imam Ali mentioned that the bayyatnama will be taken so that my son (12th Imam) should not be stuck with the army that I am stuck it, where I am the Imam but they tell me what to do. When told to fight for haq by the command of Allah, they make all kinds of excuses.

One of the reasons why we are made aware of the bayyatnama is so that when the Imam asks us for our allegiance, we should not change ourselves at that moment, but we should proudly say, O Imam not only do we accept, but since we have come to understand good from evil we have been practicing upon that!

Peoples past sins will be a factor in these bayyatnama, and we will be asked to give our allegiance because we HAVE been committing these sins and have to pledge allegiance that we will not commit them again or WILL commit them and have to promise to refrain from it.

During the time of the prophet and this is in the Quran as well, the prophet took bayyat from men and women. From women he took allegiances of 6 things (Surah 60:12):

Allah commanded the prophet to take bayyatnama from the women of these six things and then pray dua-e tawbah for them. This event occurred after the Prophet gained victory over Makkah.

A very interesting incident happened during this time. As the Prophet was taking the allegiances of the women of Makkah, (An interesting point to note here is that of Hijab. Bayyat is taken by putting ones hand over the Prophet and accepting his words as the word of Allah. That particular hand gesture is the most important part of the bayyat. But when it came to the bayyat of the women, the Prophet ordered for a bucket of water to be brought, he put his hand in it, removed it and then ordered the women who accepted his bayyatnama to put their hand in it as well. Some of us shake hands or hug other na-mahram women saying that we take her as our sister or our chachi, especially during Eid or weddings. We say that our NIYYAH is clean. So what the NIYYAH of Rasul Allah was bad, nauzubillah?? Are we more TAAHIR than Rasul Allah?) everyone accepted in a unison voice. As the prophet reached the third allegiance, again everyone accepted except one woman. She said that O Prophet, what are you talking about? Is it possible that a decent woman like me from a respected family can even THINK of such a thing? The prophet looked at her and smiled and kept quiet. That lady was none other than Hinda, Abu Sufyan's wife, mother of Muawiyya, the grandmother of Yazid. (I will not say anything else, your good selves can understand.)

So it is clear that some of the bayyatnama will be to bring out the past. So when the twelfth Imam reappears, we should without hesitance agree to the conditions because we are good practicing Muslims masha allah, and these should have nothing to do with us. Out of the bayyatnama of the 12th Imam, these six things will be there as well as other bayyatnama of other Imams. Out of all these, only one condition will be new to the Shias. Our twelfth Imam will take bayyat from us (meaning that we should not have committed this act before as per explanation above) that those who want to go fight the Kuffaar, fight the Mushrekeen are those who do not create a hazard for people travelling. This condition did not come after 9/11, but in fact existed way before. You will not make travelling a discomfort to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, such that they become scared of their lives whilst travelling even if it is the same army of Kuffaar. The rules of engagement in a battlefield are different and how to deal with innocent travelers are different. In the Quran and the 13 Masumeen, whatever bayyatnama is there, you will not find anything about any travelling or travelers or the lives of Kaafirs. Why? why is this clause only in the bayyatnama of the twelfth Imam? Did the Imam know that a group of Muslims will arise who will hijack the religion of the Prophet? They will say that we are doing Dawah and their ways will be to play with the lives of innocent travelers and civilians. And it is said that this method will become so famous before the zuhoor of the Imam, that the 12th Imam will particularly take bayyat on this particular bayyatnama.

The Imam has taken a promise from his followers not to attack travelers, but O Imam, what of those Shias who are mazloom and whose road is of danger? You have asked us to protect other travelers, but what if our life is in danger from travelling as well? At that point, Imam says that during my Ghaibah if you experience such a problem, then just remember my grandfather whose name itself bails you out of danger. Take the name of Imam Zamin, my grandfather who will make your road safe.

The first people whom the Imam will take Bayyat from will be the 313 people. These are not ordinary people, but infact chiefs of the Imam. There is a misconception amongst various people that the Imam's army will consist of only 313 people. That is absolutely false. 313 is the number of people who will be the first ones to answer the call of the Imam. After that every hour groups of people will keep on coming, and the Imam's army will reach approximately 10,000.

After Imam has taken over Meddina, Damascus, Kerbala and Kufa and defeated Dajjals and Sufyani army, he will establish his administration and make Kufa his capital. The whole world will be under his command. Right now, there are over two hundred countries, some big and small. But he cannot rule each country in the whole world effectively himself. The world will be divided in to 313 parts and those 313 people who will be close to the Imam will be sent North, East, West and South with their respective armies (each country-part will have its own governor and each governor will have his own army and the number of members in the army will vary) and will be made governors of the country-part that they will capture from the Kuffaar.

There are no details on each and every 313 close companions of the Imam. But a name has been mentioned in reference to a governor of India and Pakistan region and his first name will be Abul-Qasim and his tafseer is as follows that he will establish his reign in Sindh.

Secondly, some people from Nabi Issa's community will come, 4 Angels will come, Ashabs of the Prophet (brought back alive) will come to help the Imam as well, 3 prophets, Seven ashaabe Kahf and 15 people from the community of Musa. All these people will be outside the 313 circle. These (313) will be people born after the Khilafat of the Imam, normal people like us living right now. It could be someone reading this email. We will only know after the zuhoor of the Imam!

How did they get such a high status? That for the past 1200 years we have been hearing about them, the rest 10,000 are not even mentioned.

Ayatullah Shaheede Daste Ghaibe Shirazi was a very prominent ulema of our period who also contributed towards the Iranian revolution. One of the few great ayatullahs who when used to perform Amr bil Maroof and Nahianil mankoor and used to remind the people about fear of Allah and Qiyamah, the crowds used to cry so loudly that it appeared as if the walls and the ceilings were crying as well. Ayatullah Khomeini even advised all the madressahs, teachers and parents that the books of Shaheede Daste Ghaib should be utilised because it would cleanse their souls and strengthen their akhlaq.

Ayatullah's death was a sad one as well. One day during namaze Jamat, someone brought a taperecorder which contained a bomb which went off and his body was blown to pieces all over the ceiling, walls and floors

Every week, Shaheed Daste Ghaib used to hold a question answer session in Shirazi and someone once asked this question regarding the 313 individuals. If these do not contain people like Salman Farsi and Abu Zar's status, and contain people like us, then what is the basic qualification?

Shaheed Shirazi then narrated an incident as follows: About 70 years ago (It has now been over 20 years since his death, therefore this event about to be cited happened nearly a century ago.) when I was a student in Najaf (amongst other students like Agha Khui, Imam Khomeini, Agha Marashi, Agha Ghulpaygani) this same question was discussed amongst us, and our research from books didn't show us much apart from the fact that it will be Shias born after the Imamate of the 12th Imam. We were still troubled and thus remembered the amal that has to be performed whenever someone is in dire need of an answer from the Imam himself. This amaal has to be performed by the most pious, muttaqee person of your city for three days, after which during those three days or before the third day gets over, Imame Zamana will give you your solution either himself or in the form of a dream. Najaf is in itself a pure city and therefore finding someone really pure on top of that was a problem, but after a while coincidentally all of us agreed on a name of a prominent person and we approached him saying that the time has now come for you to perform the amal of Imame Zamana.

That individual fasted (Fasting is one of the requirements of the amal and the answer comes during fasting.) the first day and in the evening we went to him and asked him if anything happened. That individual declined. The second day and the third day the same thing happened.

On the third evening, we decided to go and stay at his doorstep as it was the last night. (The three fasts had already been completed, and at night there are ibadats to be performed and the actual third day would be completed during Fajr, so they decided to stay there and see if anything happens.)

We were excited at the fact that we might see the imam as well. We waited whole night until the time where it was nearly time for fajr and yet no one had come or gone and neither was there any news.

But as soon as the time for fajr set in (the third day now completed), the door opened and that pious individual (Not only pious but in the whole of Najaf where there are ulemas, marja, mujtahids, he was the most religious and pious of all, hence their approach in the first case.) came out with his head bowed down and a troubled face. We asked him what happened. Did the amal fail today?

That individual said no, the message indeed came, but such a clear message that I am myself troubled as well. I have been remembering my maula and reciting his ziyarat and other dua'as until fajr today, when just five minutes were left I went to sleep. I did not want to sleep, but I got a very deep sleep and I saw a dream in which I got the answer to your problem. I didn�t see the Imam myself, but witnessed a story which gave me the solution. I was travelling on a ship and suddenly there was a storm and we approached an island that was not on a map. As soon as I stepped on the island, people from all four corners came running towards me with garlands and screaming "congratulations, you are now a king"

I asked them what is happening, and they told me that their king died two days ago and it was their custom that the first person to come to their island would be the king, if the previous king had no son.

And then I was married to the dead king's daughter. I now received two gifts; a kingdom and a princess.

Everyone told me how lucky I was to have such a beautiful wife. I had not yet seen her, but was taken in to the bedroom at night where she was sitting with a veil on her face waiting for me to take it off and see her face. I was very excited and could not wait to go and see her face. I locked the bedroom, turned and now had to walk the distance from the door to the bed. At that moment, a loud knock was sounded. I was troubled and wondered who might be at this hour. A voice came which sounded different from the island's natives saying, the Imam of your time has re-appeared, you were calling out for him and he has now come. I said I am coming right now, let me just finish walking this distance. Again, a knock sounded and the same person said Imame Zamana is calling you, he is not calling you for his own sake, but because YOU called for him. As soon as he said that, a thought came in to me. For many years when I was remembering the Imam, he didn't come. And when Imam came, he had to come at this time. As soon as I said this, my eyes opened and ghusl had become wajib on me as well.

The Imam did not come but he left such a clear message to me that those 313 people are those who will not hesitate even for a second when their Imam calls them. They will leave EVERYTHING and follow everything that the Imam says without even a slight doubt and question.

Maula muttaqiaan Ali ibne Abu Talib wrote these bayyatnama and urged his Shias to keep them at home for the same reason why we are encouraged to keep kafan at home. So that when we look at the kafan, we remember death and refrain from those things that will come back to haunt us. For that same reason Maula Ali adopted this method so that we can read them and practice them.

Out of all these things, there are some which are extremely difficult to understand in the sense that it appears to be something common, and therefore why would our Imam take our bayyat on these things?

For example in the bayyatnama of stealing, this sounds like a simple thing in the effect that in every Muslim�s heart, there is hatred for stealing. When the Imam will take our bayyat on this, it does not necessarily mean that we were doing this, but as I mentioned in my first email that some references would be to the future. The Imam's army would be a strong one and would travel all around the world spreading Islam and conquering the lands according to the ways of Islam. (There is a misconception that our Imam will take out his sword immediately after he comes out from Ghaibat and that there won't be a chance for Taubah. No, the Imam's army will have a dual status of a preacher and a fighter. When the Imam's army reaches the Christians and the Jews, they will ask for proof that Islam is the right religion and proof will be offered. [I don't want to go in those details in this email]. But those who then after the message is clear to them still refuse will then be termed as Kuffaars and will be killed. But also a chance for Taubah will be offered to Shias.) The Imam wants our bayyat that when this strong army of his goes to capture lands, we will not usurp anyone's land or property illegally, or not kill anyone and then say that he was a Kuffaar just so that we can call his property maal-e-ghanimat.

In fact, the Imam's army will have an added responsibility. An excellent example is portrayed by the Naib-e-Imam, Ayatullah Imam Khomeini in 1988 after the gassing of the Kurds by Saddam. When the Iranian army entered the city for burial of the bodies they were faced with a problem. There were certain items/personal belongings including food that was in the house and no one to claim. Leaving the non-perishable goods (clothes, jewellery) aside, what do they with the food/meat? At that moment, Ayatullah Imam Khomeini was contacted and after evaluating the situation issued a fatwa saying that the army should use up these items. But before using or eating it up, each item has to be valued, and the money then collected and paid to the heir of the heir of their heir when found no matter how long it takes. This is a classic example of how to behave with the property of Muslimeen. Although they were not involved in that war, they didn't have any relations, still that was the property of Muslims and it was wajib that it be protected, had to be accounted, it was not simply a war booty!

Another example was in the recent war on Iraq. After the Ba'ath party and the government fell, Shias in Najaf and Basra took the properties unintentionally from Saddam's palaces and other Ba'ath party leaders mistakenly thinking it belonged to Saddam. When the Allied forces saw this, they were not surprised as they knew that in war this occurs. But then Ayatullah Seestani issued a fatwa saying that whosoever has taken any property, intentionally or unintentionally, should return it. The tyranny of the tyrants on one side, but this property belongs to the Muslims. And the Shias went back to return the goods and this created a strange effect on the Allied forces, whereby they had seen people looting but this was the first time they were seeing people actually bringing back goods. This my brothers is the power of Marjaiyat! In the absence of Imam, these are our role models and people whom we should turn to in times of need. We will recognize our Imam through them. (Imam won't just come and proclaim that he is the Imam and the matter over. But at the time that Imam will be zuhoor, another false Imam will be brought. The biggest test for us Shias would be recognizing our true Imam, and during that time is when we will need guidance the most. But who will guide us? Will Jibraeel come and give us WAHEE?? Will the Imam come to us personally and tell us? No, at that moment we will have to turn to the naib-e-imams for guidance.)

Below I have now begun listing the 25 allegiances and an explanation is offered on some of the bayyatnamas that I have not touched upon in my two past emails.

6. Do not accumulate food (wheat & barley) in abundance. (When Dajjal comes after the appearance of the Imam, that is the final Dajjal, he will attract people with food as there will be shortage of that. Allah has blessed the Muslim lands with wheat and oil. The conspiracy to accumulate oil is at the moment. But in the last century, there were taking over the wheat from the Muslim countries, and throwing away the abundant food thus destroying destroy the agriculture)

7. Do not curse at, hurt, fight, or discriminate in terms of race or status with any Muslim. (This is not something that I have pulled out of the US Constitution. This is what Imam Ali told his Shias, and hence has passed down to us. The Prophet has said that there are five categories of people who due to a special one sin will go to hell. Out of that one of them will be the Arabs who will go to hell due to their racism. Where Arabs are separate from non-Arabs e.t.c. There are some Shias who are suffering from this illness, where we discriminate because someone is Pakistani and the other is Hindustani; Where one is Khoja and the other is non-Khoja; Where we will not go there because that mosque is Urdu-speaking and this English speaking; We are Punjabi and they are Arabs. At this junction, because the topic has come up let me make another point. If you ask someone why he is not going to the majlis, and he replies because he did not like the style of the majlis, or he did not understand the topic then it is a different matter. But if he doesn't go because he says that the maulana is Punjabi, or because he is an Urdu-speaking aalim, it can be anything but NOT Shia'ism. We are all one under the banner of Hadhrat Abbas. We all gather together putting aside our differences to mourn Hussain, and this azadari, this gathering in the masjid is but a reinforcement of this bayyatnama where we are promising our Imam that we will not discriminate any Muslim due to his race or status.)

9. You will not wear those clothes that create indecency and will dress respectfully.

Whilst reading these bayyatnamas, a thought can occur in one's mind that Imam is preparing a strong army to go to war against the world's kuffaar and if he is taking bayyat from them, then why is it in these common things? And secondly, why doesn't Imam mention anything about namaz, fasting and the other wajibaats?

Addressing the first question, these do not appear to be simple things but in fact preparation for war before even the war has started. In any military organization cadets undergo intensive training to prepare them for the worst, be it the jungles of Vietnam or the scorching deserts of Arabia. When we are exposed to those environments, instead of complaining about the cold and heat (Imam Ali's army), we should be ready and adaptation to various environments should pose no problem because we have been following what we were told in the bayyatnama during the ghaibah.

Having said this I would like to end with the last bayyatnama and instead of quoting the next one or 14th one, I will present the last one so that one can see that it also has references to the war-to-come as well.

25. You will fight the Jihad in the way that Allah wants you to fight without any reservations.

The second question is that often a thought arises in the hearts of Shia Mo'mineen that why doesn't Imam take bayyat from us about namaz, fasting, hajj? I will explain this with a riwayat (Usoole Kaafi, Volume 2).

Someone approached Sadiq-e Aale Mohamed, Imam Jaffer Sadiq (AS) and asked him: O grandson of the Prophet, I have heard that in Islam some things are haram and have also heard that from these haram things, some of them are major sins (Gunahaane Kabira), But Maula, those major sins are 40. (Some hadith say 40 and some say 70, again there are two different riwayats. But I again stress the point that the sins are the same, the difference is due to counting some sins as one instead of listing them separately.) Maula, out of those 40, which ones are even greater sins? Imam replied that in my grandfather's (Ali) book there are seven sins that are even worse than the major sins, these are:

7. Migrating from a Muslim country or a country with a Muslim culture to a non-Muslim country or a country where there is lack of Muslim culture such that it becomes impossible for you to practice your religion.

After Maula had mentioned these things, the person got troubled and asked Imam, O Maula, isn't neglecting namaz one of these sins as well? If someone takes away one dirham ($0.60) of an orphan, is it greater than not praying namaz?! That person was now shocked.

Maula said of course, not praying namaz is even worse than taking away 60 cents from the orphan. So that person then asked Imam that you have mentioned about the orphans rights, but why haven't you mentioned anywhere in these seven sins anything about namaz??

Imam Sadiq (AS) replied that I don't have to mention anything about namaz, didn't you hear me say what the first sin in that category is? The person said that Maula you said the first sin is Kufr.

Maula said that it is understood that a person who does not say his salat, who neglects his namaz without any reason intentionally is just as a Kafir (Not necessarily that Kafir whose body is impure, but a Kafir in the sense that he does not believe in God and disobeys him. Despite knowing the fact that namaz is wajib, he intentionally does Tauheen of Allah and his commands.)

From these narration, it is clearly evident that some things are already taken for granted. It should be point clear here that only those will be allowed in the presence of the Imam who have been performing all the wajibats. Imam will only take bayyat from those who are already following the religion as prescribed by Allah and the Infallibles. That is why when Imam gives the first call, those 313 people who will answer the Imam are already doing the wajibats and therefore Imam will only take Bayyat from them for those things which will arise as a result of war. (Not everyone's past has to be the same. But as far as the 313 people are concerned their past should be no factor, but the remaining 10,000 is another matter)

14. You will not cast an evil eye or play with anyone's honor self-respect or integrity

15. Do not attack anyone's home (Imam specifies that if you want to attack anyone, attack him on the battlefield AFTER the war has been declared. But even after war has been declared, do not attack anyone's house even if he is a kaafir sitting at home. Until the time that he does not take out his sword and pose a threat to you, do not attack him. Today most of the attacks occur at peoples houses such that Islam has been labeled terrorism.)

16. Promise me that you will not attack any mosque. (Here mosque is a code-word. What the Imam is trying to emphasize, what the Imam is trying to get us to promise is that we will not attack any place of worship, be it a mosque in India or a church in North America.)

17. Do not be a witness or claim to be a witness to anything that you haven't seen with your own eyes. (In other words do not spread rumors, or in Arabic, Tohmat, about anything that you haven't witnessed yourself. We have a habit that we believe a lot of hearsay and then spread it on. Imam says, If you want to be in my army disassociate yourself from hearsay.)

18. Refrain from looting. (The first bayyatnama referred to stealing when a person in his own city. This condition applies to a person in the army of the Imam when he is travelling and will have to go to various areas. The Imam is making us promise that we will not loot any person and refrain from stealing when we are in other areas other than our own.)

19. Do not commit any physical torture (The Imam's army is now a powerful one. But it still does not create any rights for us to extract our personal vengeance on anyone. Today the ball is in the hands of the enemies and many Shias' houses are being destroyed and their family members killed especially in Pakistan. But tomorrow when the ball is in our court, it should not happen that we impose torture or revenge on someone due to a personal vendetta. The Imam is making us promise that we will not kill or take revenge on anyone until the time that we do not accept a command from the chief of the army, one of the 313 people. This also adds to the fact that the 313 people will have a great responsibility of controlling their army.)

20. You will not perform same-sex marriages. (With this condition in place, it can be understood that the Imam fears for us that we should not be influenced. The reason for this bayyatnama is that the army of the Imam will have to go countries where this is a norm and occurring publicly, and not only that but also it would be against the so-called Human Rights to discriminate against them. Therefore our Imam is right from the beginning asking for our commitment to refrain from this act which invokes Allah's curse.

21. Do not take, usurp, or deny an orphan's right. (A person approached our sixth Holy Imam and asked that O Maula, you are always talking about orphans and their rights. The Imam said: We too are orphans and our rights are being denied and what is ours by haq is not being paid by the people. Not paying Khums, unintentionally or intentionally, is not a loss to any Marja or any A'alim, but a zulm on the family of Fatima Zahra (a.s.))

22. Do not tie an attractive or luxurious belt around your waist. (As much as this condition seems not to make sense, its reference is to refrain from a life of luxury amongst the other bayyatnamas of clothing and bedding. The Imam wants us to lead a simple life. A life that the rest of our ma'soomeens have lived, and in the ghaibat of the Imam our best examples are our Marajas.)

23. Be satisfied with what you get. (Imam is training us to get full satisfaction not with what we can get, but with little we have to survive. Imam doesn't want his army to repeat the mistakes that the army of Islam made in the earlier days by fighting over maal-e ghanimat. But he wants to make us aware that we are Shias of Ali who lived his whole life on dry bread.)

25. In the battlefield, perform Jihad as true soldiers and promise that you will not be from those who will run away (Imam right from the first bayyatnama is building the characters of his soldiers, then after that comes the condition of war, the last one. Our Imam doesn't want an army who will win the war for Islam, but loots peoples homes; win the war for Islam but steals. Imam before making any promises of war makes us promise that we will repair or improve or polish our characters, then only does he extract a promise of war from us, after we have accepted all the other conditions.)

In the entire world, all the military forces have to promise to abide by the code of ethic and rules of engagement of war, and if they disobey they are court-martialed.

But in the Imam's army, there won't be a court-martial, but instead right from the beginning the army will consist of selected Shias with a commitment towards haq and their masoom, their Imam. Not only that, but the Imam will also take bayyit just like any other military in the world, except one.

History has only reported one army where promises were not taken, but instead the promises were lifted from the people, their responsibility absolved. And that is the army of Hussain Ibne Ali on the night of Ashura, but look at the spirit of those soldiers where one says, Maula you want us to leave, we will leave, but tell us a better house to go to than the house of the grandson of the Prophet; tell us a better doorstep to sit on than your doorstep. Another companion got up and said Hussain, you are right that you don't need us, but what do we do, we are in need of you and your guidance. Even if you throw us out, we will still come back and sacrifice our lives for you.

Let us pray to Allah to make us brave like the ashabs of the grandfather of our Imam. O Imam, we were not there in Kerbala to help your grandfather, but we promise to remain loyal to you like the Ashabs of Kerbala.

When Imam Mohamed Mehdi (a.s.) re-appears, he will proclaim to his Shias: O You who answer Labaik at my call, know this that Allah created me only for this reason that I wipe out tyranny and injustice in this world, BUT I will only establish peace and justice after you people (Shias) promise me, give me bayyat on these things, then only will I start my jihad.

Let is pray to the Almighty to guide us all on the right path and fill our hearts and the hearts of our children with the love of Ahlul Bayt, and give us the strength to follow on their footsteps and strive to rise to the level of Fizza and Qambar.

[1] The Imam for a reason has the bayyatnama of Zina just as the Prophet did. The Prophet took this bayyat from the women. But the Imam will also take this bayyat from the men. Why will the Imam do this when he will have people of high status and pious people from the 313 people? If he takes it from us then we can understand, but why also from those 313? Nauzubillah, is the Imam making a mistake? No, but as I mentioned earlier on that this is a reference to avoid past problems that the nabis and the 11 Imams encountered. I will quote a story from the Quran about Balaam-e Baoor who was Mustaajabo Dawat. It's a long story and I don't want to go in to the details, but if you read the tafseer of S.V. Mir Ahmed Ali the whole situation will make sense to you and it is an interesting event as well. This is in Sura Al-A'raf and ayah number 175-176. He had knowledge of Isme Azam and whatever dua'a he does and for whomsoever he does it comes out successful. Firaun approached him and asked him to do dua'a against Prophet Musa. (A war was taking place where Musa was taking over the lands from Firaun one by one and one last land was left, but again I don't want to go in to the details as the emails are becoming long.) -

Balaam-e Baoor hit his head against the wall till he bled and threw Firaun out cursing him for thinking of such an evil thing against the Nabi of Allah. The story then goes on to say how Firaun convinced him by sending abundant gold, jewellery and riches to his house such that his mindset changed completely. If a person of such a high post and muttaqee person who is known as Mustajabo Dawat, whom Allah grants whatever he asks, if he can change overnight due to wealth, then what about us who commit sins all the time?

And another classic example of why our Imam will ask this bayyit is also because of what transpired just before the event of Kerbala. Yazid approached Umar Sa'ad and told him that he wants him to stop Imam Hussein and detain him in Kerbala and e.t.c. Umar Sa'ad became outraged and told Yazid's men that you want me to kill the grandson of the Prophet? Do you know how much the Holy Prophet loves Hussain and you want me to kill him and go to hell? Yazid although not reciting the Quran used the same tactic that Firaun used on Balame Baoor and in the silence of the night sent him vast riches such that Umar Sa'ad said, tell me what exactly has to be done to Hussein!

With this the third bayyatnama of gold and silver becomes evident.

Now I want to link the second bayyatnama with the above explanation because it continues the story of Balaam-e Baoor and it clarifies the significance of the second bayyatnama.

Nabi Musa's army was a very strong one and kept on defeating the forces of Firaun till the last land was left to conquer (The Promised Land which was under the control of the Jews). At that moment Balam-e Baoor was approached and after what happened, Allah took away his knowledge and the Quran calls him a dog! But anyways, Balam-e Baoor then tells the Firaun's men that if you want to defeat the army of Musa then I will give you a golden formula. I got this high status by reading various holy books (the Holy 4) and other books by the Prophets and followed their guidance. And out of it I realized the following, if you ever want to defeat the army of a Prophet of God or an infallible Imam then always remember this golden formula. If you want to destroy the army, then don't use swords or arrows but instead introduce in to the army indecent women, who are without coverings and who will create mischief. This army is fighting for Islam therefore their spirit is pure and Allah is blessing them, but if you attack their spirit and their hearts, that Islamic soul will go away, and Allah in anger will remove his roohani taaqat (divine strength) from the army. This army will be finished by its own. (Just as Maula Ali said at the battle of Khaiber, that I am not lifting this door due to my own strength, but by the divine strength put in to me by Allah.). Again, due to length I do not want to go in the details of exactly what happened and how this idea was implemented, but the army of Nabi Musa that had conquered 10 cities in 10 weeks couldn't conquer this land in the next 2 months to follow.

Therefore, our Imam will have a right to have an army free from all satanic distractions and that's why right from the beginning he will ask for our commitments.

COVENANT OF TRUTH/JUSTICE
IMAM HUJJAT (A.S.)
(Kitabe Jahan ba�daz zhuhur pg.125-126)
1. Not to steal
2. Not to commit adultery
3. Not to abuse a Muslim
4. Not to murder anyone unlawfully
5. Not to violate anyone�s honour
6. Not to attack anyone�s dwelling
7. Not to harm anyone
8. Not to hoard gold, silver, wheat and barley
9. Not to usurp the property of an orphan
10. Not give false testimony
11. Not to forsake the masjid
12. Not to take intoxicants
13. Not wear clothing of silk or golden thread
14. Not wear a gold belt
15. Not indulge in highway robbery
16. Not attack travellers and wayfarers
17. Not to indulge in homosexuality
18. Not to destroy food stocks
19. Be content with little
20. Use perfume and fragrance
21. Stay away from uncleanliness
22. Exhort towards goodness
23. Keep away from haram acts
24. Wear simple clothes
25. Rest on an earthen pillow
26. Strive in Allah�s way as is His right
Imam (A.S.) WILL PROMISE THAT HE WILL:
1. Stay with them
2. Dress like them
3. Keep a mount similar to them
4. Work with consultation with them
5. Be content with a little
6. With Allah�s help fill the world with equity and justice
7. Do the ibadah of Allah as is His right
8. Be directly accessible to them at all times