Question:
1- It is mentioned in The Ruling System in Islam that "Ruling (Al-Hukm), Sovereignty (Al-Mulk), and Authority (As-Sultan) have the same meaning." The question is: Is this the linguistic meaning of Al-Hukm or the technical/conventional meaning? Furthermore, if it carries both meanings, is it a homonym (lafzh mushtarak)?
2- The word "Al-Bay'ah" in the Hadith refers to the contract between the Khalifah and the Ummah. Is this meaning for "Al-Bay'ah" linguistic or Shar'i? That is, is it a linguistic reality (haqiqah lughawiyyah) or a Shar'i reality (haqiqah shar'iyyah)?
The Answer:
A- The term "hakama" as established by the Arabs—meaning its linguistic origin or what is called the linguistic reality—is "to judge" (qada):
It is mentioned in Lisan al-Arab: "Al-Hukm: knowledge, understanding, and judging with justice; it is the verbal noun of hakama, yahkumu... Qada: Al-Qada is Al-Hukm (judgment)."
In Al-Qamus al-Muhit: "Al-Hukm (with a damma): Al-Qada (judgment)."
In Mukhtar al-Sihah: "Al-Hukm is Al-Qada; hakama between them, yahkumu (with a damma), hukman..."
B- However, this term was used as a technical term (istilah) in the early days of Islam to mean sovereignty and authority. A technical term is a conventional reality (haqiqah 'urfiyyah).
The use of "hukm" during the era of the Messenger (saw), the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the Arabs after them to mean sovereignty and authority is a technical usage, meaning it is a conventional reality.
C- A term is only called a homonym (lafzh mushtarak) if all its meanings were established in the original language; i.e., if the various meanings are all linguistic realities, rather than one being a linguistic reality and another being a conventional reality, for example. Consider the word dabbah (creature). The Arabs established it to mean anything that moves upon the earth. Later, it became conventionally understood (haqiqah 'urfiyyah) as being restricted to four-legged animals, excluding humans. Thus, the word dabbah is not called a homonym for everything that moves on earth and for four-legged animals, because the Arabs did not set all these meanings for dabbah; they set it for whatever moves on the earth. By convention, it was then restricted to four-legged animals. Instead, the term dabbah when applied to four-legged animals is called a conventional reality.
In summary, a homonym (lafzh mushtarak) is a word whose meanings are all linguistic realities established by the Arabs, and not where one meaning is linguistic and the other is a general or specific conventional reality (istilah). Such a word is not a homonym.
Therefore, the term "hukm" is not a homonym for "judgment" and "authority." Rather, it is a linguistic reality for "judgment" and a specific conventional reality—i.e., a technical term (istilah)—for sovereignty and authority.
2- As for the term "bay'ah," it is a Shar'i reality (haqiqah shar'iyyah) and not merely a technical convention (istilah or haqiqah 'urfiyyah khassah). This is because its meaning was established by the Shari'ah and not by convention. The explanation is as follows:
Linguistically, bay'ah is derived from buying and selling (al-bay' wa ash-shira'):
"B-Y-A: Ba'a the thing, yabi'uhu, bay'an... he sold it; and ba'ahu also means he bought it, so it is from the words with opposite meanings (al-addad)... and baya'ahu is from al-bay' (sale) and al-bay'ah (pledge) together..." (Mukhtar al-Sihah).
"Ba'ahu, yabi'uhu, bay'an: when he sold it and when he bought it; it is a word of opposites..." (Al-Qamus al-Muhit).
"Bay': Al-Bay' is the opposite of Ash-Shira' (buying), and Al-Bay' also means buying; it is from the words of opposites..." (Lisan al-Arab).
The Shari'ah has assigned it another meaning, which is the method by which the Khalifah is appointed. This method is established by the Book, the Sunnah, and the Consensus of the Companions (Ijma' as-Sahabah). This method is the Bay'ah.
The Khalifah is appointed through the Bay'ah of the Muslims to him, based on acting according to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. "The Muslims" refers to the Muslim subjects of the previous Khalifah if the Khilafah exists, or the Muslims of the region where the Khilafah is being established if it does not exist. Thus, the Bay'ah acquired a Shar'i meaning through the evidences of the Book, the Sunnah, and the Consensus:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ
"Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad] - they are actually pledging allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands." (QS. Al-Fath [48]: 10)
Al-Bukhari narrated from 'Ubadah bin as-Samit, who said:
«بايعْنا رسولَ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على السمع والطاعة، في المنشط والمكره، وأن لا ننازع الأمر أهله، وأن نقوم أو نقول بالحق حيثما كنا، لا خوف في الله لومة لائم»
"We gave the pledge of allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (saw) to hear and obey in times of ease and hardship, and that we would not dispute the authority of those in charge, and that we would stand for or say the truth wherever we were, fearing not the blame of any critic for the sake of Allah."
In Muslim, it is also narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
«إذا بويع لخليفتين فاقتلوا الآخر منهما»
"When the pledge of allegiance is given to two Caliphs, kill the latter of them."
The texts from the Book and Sunnah are explicit that the method of appointing the Khalifah is the Bay'ah. All the Companions understood this and acted upon it, and the Bay'ah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs is clear in this regard.
Thus, the Bay'ah became a Shar'i reality in this sense, because a Shar'i reality is that whose definition is derived from the Shari'ah, as we have explained above.