The practical measures taken to appoint the Khalifah, before the bayah is given to him, can take different forms, which happened with the rightly guided Khulafaa’ who came immediately after the death of the Messenger (P.B.U.H) namely: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali (May Allah (S.W.T) be pleased with them). All of the Sahabah remained silent about this and vouched for it, otherwise, they would not have accepted it if it was against the Shara. This is because it is related to a vital matter upon which rely the stature of the Muslims and the preservation of the rule of Islam. If we follow the development of the appointment of those Khulafaa, we find that some Muslims had discussions in the hall (Saqifa) of Banu Sa’idah. Sa‘d, Abu Ubaydah, ‘Umar and Abu Bakr were nominated and no-one else. However, ‘Umar and Abu Ubaidah refused to challenge Abu Bakr. This meant the issue was confined to Abu Bakr and Sa’d. As a result of the debate, the Bayah was taken for Abu Bakr. The next day the Muslims were called to the Masjid and in turn they pledged their Bayah. So the Bayah in the Saqifa was a Bayah of appointment, by which he became Khalifah for the Muslims. However, the second Bayah in the Masjid, the next day was a Bayah of obedience. .

When Abu Bakr felt that his illness carried with it death, and the Muslim armies were fighting the Persian and Roman superpowers of that time, he felt it necessary to invite the Muslims and consult them with regards to who could be a Khalifah for the Muslims after him. He continued to make these consultations for three months. When they were complete and he knew the opinion of the majority of the Muslims, he announced to them, i.e. nominated, ‘Umar to be the Khalifah to succeed him. This delegation or nomination was not considered a contract of Khilafah to ‘Umar after him. This is because it was only after the death of Abu Bakr that Muslims came to the Masjid and pledged their allegiance to ‘Umar for Khilafah. It was through this Bayah that ‘Umar became the Khalifah for the Muslims, and not as a consequence of the consultations or the nomination of Abu Bakr. Had the nomination of ‘Umar by Abu Bakr been a contract of Khilafah to him, then he would not have needed the bayah of Muslims. Besides, the cited texts indicate explicitly that no one can become a Khalifah except with the Bayah from Muslims. .