The Transformation of the Legitimacy of Power in Islamic Politics: From Classical Bayʿat to the Modern Political Mandate

Abstract

The transformation of power legitimacy in Islamic politics cannot be understood as a linear shift from bayʿat (oath of allegiance) to general elections, because changes in political institutions also reconfigure the sources of authorization, the subjects granting the mandate, and the mechanisms of control over power. This study analyzes the mechanisms of this legitimacy transformation—from classical bayʿat to the modern electoral mandate—and explains the continuities and discontinuities of Islamic political principles within a democratic state configuration. The research employs a qualitative approach based on a literature review, utilizing a comparative-historical design and conceptual analysis. The primary corpus comprises fiqh siyāsah (Islamic political jurisprudence) literature and Islamic political thought regarding bayʿat. Secondary literature analyzes the nation-state, citizenship, representation, and democratic legitimacy. The analysis compares sources of authorization, legitimizing actors, mandate-granting procedures, limits of authority, and mechanisms of political accountability. The findings indicate that the transformation of legitimacy is reconstructive rather than substitutive. Bayʿat grounds authorization in community recognition through personal relationships, moral commitment, and normative authority, whereas the electoral mandate institutionalizes citizen authorization through elections, representation, term limits, and constitutional oversight. The expansion of citizenship, institutional differentiation, the formation of the nation-state, and societal pluralization have shifted legitimacy from communitarian relations to more impersonal representative mechanisms. Principles such as shūrā (consultation), justice, and accountability have not lost their relevance; rather, they have been reconstructed into normative principles that underpin participation, the limitation of power, and institutional accountability. In conclusion, the electoral mandate modernizes legitimacy mechanisms, altering the structure of authorization without severing the continuity of Islamic political ethics.