The Secret Bayah System of Tablighi Jamaat — Is It From Islam?

The Secret Bayah System of Tablighi Jamaat — Is It From Islam?

(Or is it another Sufi carryover in disguise?)

You’ve heard them say:

“We are only a Jamāʿah for rectification, brother. No politics. No sectarianism. No group allegiance…”

But here’s the truth they don’t tell you:

Tablīghī Jamāʿah operates on a Bayʿah system — yes, a spiritual pledge of allegiance to a Sufi shaykh (pir/murshid), often under the Naqshbandi, Chishti, or other Sufi ṭarīqahs.

And it’s not just a personal choice — it’s an unspoken requirement for serious participants in the Jamāʿah.

Ask yourself:

Did the Prophet (peace be upon him) tell us to give bayʿah to a shaykh for “spiritual training”?

Did the Sahābah pledge to elders for sulūk and dhikr techniques?

Did the Imams of the Salaf teach that every seeker needs a spiritual chain (silsilah) that traces back to a Sufi saint?

None of this is from the Sunnah.

This is pure Sufi innovation that has infiltrated Tablīghī circles under the guise of “humbleness” and “spirituality.”

Scholars of Tablīgh openly affirm this:

Mawlānā Ilyās Kandhlawī (the founder) took Bayʿah in multiple Sufi paths.

Key figures like Zakariyyā Kandhlawī and Ashraf ʿAlī Thānwī were Sufi shaykhs themselves.

Their books (Malfūẓāt, Tarbiyat-us-Sālikīn, Fazā’il-e-Aʿmāl) promote dreams, miracles, and reliance on mashāyikh.

And this Bayʿah is often secretive — quietly promoted behind the scenes, especially in the 4-month “training” journeys.

This is not Islam. This is loyalty to a ṭarīqah, not Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).

The Salafi daʿwah has no bayʿah, no secret allegiance, no hidden elders.

Only submission to revelation:

— The Qur’an

— The Sunnah

— Upon the understanding of the Sahābah

That’s the only pledge we’re bound to.

O sincere brother in Tableegh:

Are you pledging to follow a man — or the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?

Abandon this innovation of spiritual allegiance.

Follow the path of the Prophets — pure Tawḥīd, clear Sunnah, and no allegiance but to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).

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