If the position of the Khilafah becomes vacant due to the death of its leader, his resignation or his removal, it is obligatory to appoint a Khalifah within three days from the date that the position of the Khilafah became vacant.

Appointing the Khalifah becomes obligatory from the moment that the previous Khalifah dies or is removed. However, it is permitted for the appointment to occur within three days with their nights as long as it is due to working to achieve it. If it takes longer than three nights and the Khalifah has still not been appointed, then the issue is considered – if the Muslims are working to establish it but are unable to achieve that during the three night time limit due to overwhelming circumstances that they are unable to overcome, then the sin is lifted from them since they are busy working to establish the obligation and are compelled to delay its establishment due to whatever forced them. It is reported from Ibn Hibban and Ibn Maja from Ibn Abbas: the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

. » إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَضَعَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي الْخَطَأَ وَالنِّسْيَانَ وَمَا اسْ تُكْرِهُوا عَلَيْهِ « .

“Verily Allah has pardoned for my Ummah: their mistakes, their forgetfulness, and that which they have been forced to do”. If they were not made busy with such overwhelming issues, then the most time allowed for the appointment is three days with their nights.

The evidence for the obligation of immediately working to establish the pledge of allegiance (Bay’a) to the Khalifah due only to the vacation of the position of the Khilafah is the Ijma’ of the companions. They immediately hurried to gather at Saqifa Bani Sa‘idah after the death of the Messenger (pbuh) on the same day and before his burial, and the pledge of contracting (Bay'at Al- In‘iqad) was completed on the same day with Abu Bakr (ra), and the next day the people gathered in the mosque to give the pledge of obedience (Bay'at Al-ta‘ah).