Is the correct meaning of the hadith: "Whoever dies without having a pledge of allegiance on his neck, dies a death of Jahiliyyah (ignorance)" what you mentioned in your fatwa, or what Sheikh Al-Uthaymeen said, that its meaning is the obligation for a person to have an Imam?
The intent of the is that the pledge of allegiance (bay'ah) does not require the entire Muslim nation to unite under one Imam; rather, it is tied to whoever holds authority in each country. Muslims have unanimously agreed on the validity of a lawful imamate for two Imams simultaneously, such as the Imam of the Abbasids in Baghdad and the Imam of the Umayyads in Andalusia. The statement that the pledge of allegiance is only valid with a grand imamate is false, because it would necessitate the absence of the pledge of allegiance for long periods, and the restriction of the Prophetic "Whoever dies without a pledge of allegiance on his neck dies a death of ignorance" to certain times. The intent of the fatwa is to warn against factionalism and each group claiming that its leader is the Imam whose obedience and pledge of allegiance are obligatory.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 103620
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy