Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa BarakatuhuAll Praise be to Allah who is the Lord of the Worlds, and may Endless Blessings be showered upon Our Master, the Most Beloved Prophet of Allah, Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa aalihi wa Sallam)Jazak'Allah for your question. The Shahaba al kiram did take
bait on the Beloved Prophet (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam)'s hand, and after that, the people did
bait on the hand of Sayyidina Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), then at the hands of Sayyidina Umar (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), then at the hands of Sayyidina Uthman Ghani (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), then at the hands of Sayyidina Ali (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu).
This is enough to state, that it is a Sunnah of the beloved Messenger of Allah (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa aalihi wa Sallam) to give the
bait, and it is a Sunnah of the Companions of the beloved Prophet (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), to take the
bait.
The
bait system was very popular in the time of the beloved Prophet (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), when they were at Hudaybiyyah, willing to come to Makkah, and perform
tawaf. At that time the Messenger of Allah (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) sent Hadrat Uthman Ghani (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), to negotiate with the kuffar of Makkah, but they refused.
News soon spread that Hadrat Uthman (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu) had been martyred, yet they were still alive, and fifteen hundred Noble Companions of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) did bait, for the purpose of Hadrat Uthman (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu). Therefore the
bait system does have its origins, and has been proven from the Qur'an al kareem, as stated in
Surah al Fatah.
These Sahabis, and also the Imams, then made
bait, in their time, while they were alive, hence the lineage of
bait did not stop until today, where it still remains. No matter who is doing the
bait, its root, and its essence, is where it had started from, and that was at the Ennobled Hands, of the Beloved Messenger of Allah Hadrat Muhammad Mustafa (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam).
A classical example of
bait being taken from Sahabis, is that Hadrat Imam Hasan (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), had taken the
bait from Hadrat 'Ali (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), who had taken it from Hadrat Uthman (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), who had taken it from Hadrat 'Umar (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), who had taken it from Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (
Radi Allahu ta'ala anhu), who had taken it from the Beloved Messenger of Allah (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam).
Hence, when we do
bait, we swear that we will be firm in Islam, pray the five times salah, ask forgiveness from passed sins, and not commit any sins in the future. Therefore, when you pray your fard
'Ibadat, then definitely you are fulfilling the conditions of
bait, and your
bait with Allah the Almighty. He gives you guidance from whom you have sworn the
bait to.
To do the
bait is not to gain
darjah, but to gain salvation, guidance, cleanliness, purity, and inner knowledge. Although all the Qur'an al kareem, the Messenger of Allah (
Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam), and the
Sunnah are all knowledge, they will teach you the outer knowledge of the physical self, whereas the
Murshid will teach you the inner knowledge (
ma'rifah) of every single outer action. When these two the outer knowledge (
shar'iyyah), and the inner knowledge (
tariqah), are gained, is it that you are stationed at a place where you can gain wisdom. But you must have a
murshid, who teaches you that inner knowledge.
May Allah the Almighty give us the knowledge of the outer, and inner self, so that we may put right what is wrong, and be firm in acting upon what is right.Wallahu A'lamu BiththawaabM. Waseem Ashrafi