From reviewing what took place in the Bay’ah of the Khulafaa’ Ar- Rashidoon and the consensus of the Sahabah (Ijmaa’), one can conclude that the Khilafah is contracted by the Bay’ah. In the Bay’ah to Abu Bakr, the Bay’ah from the influential figures amongst the Muslims, (Ahlul Hall Wal ‘Aqd) in Madina alone was enough to contract the Khilafah. The Muslims of Makkah were not consulted, nor were those living in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, indeed they were not even asked about their opinion concerning the matter. This was also the case in the Bay’ah to ‘Umar. With regards the Bay’ah to ‘Uthman, ‘Abdul Rahman Ibnu ‘Awf asked the Muslims of Madina regarding their opinion and He did not merely content himself by asking the influential people. When the Oath was taken for ‘Ali, most of the people of Madina and Kufa gave him their Bay’ah, and He was singled out in the Bay’ah. His Bay’ah was valid even for those who opposed him and fought against him because they never actually gave their Bay’ah to another man nor did they object to his Bay’ah. They rather demanded revenge for the blood of ‘Uthman (for his killing). So the verdict regarding them was that they were rebels who withdrew from the Khaleefah over one particular issue. In this instance the Khaleefah had to explain the situation to them and fight against them. These rebels did not establish another Khilafah.

All of this occurred in the past - the Bay’ah for the Khaleefah by the people of the capital to the exclusion of the other regions - in the presence of the Sahabah. Nobody objected to or condemned that such action be confined to the people of Madina. This is considered to be a general consensus of the Sahabah (Ijmaa’) that states that those who represent the Muslims’ opinion in matters relating to ruling can contract the Khilafah. This is simply because the influential people and the majority of the people of Madina, were the majority of those who represented the opinion of the Ummah regarding the ruling matters, all over the territories of the Islamic State at the time.