the 9/11 attacks, when he was told that the refusal of such a senior and accomplished al Qaeda leader to swear bayat set a bad example for the group's rank and file. Once an individual swore the oath, however, there were no institutional penalties for disobedience, as such matters were considered to be between the individual and God.
Sheikh Mohammed said that there is no ceremony associated with swearing bayat to al Qaeda. The individual simply met with Bin Laden, spoke the oath, and shook Bin Laden's hand. If Bin Laden was not available, one of his lieutenants also could administer the oath; however, this was a rare occurrence and Abu Hafs was the only person he knew who had administered the oath other than Bin Laden. In such cases, the individual swearing the oath would owe allegiance to Bin Laden, not Abu Hafs. Sheikh Mohammed gave the following as examples of standard bayat oaths used by al Qaeda: "I swear allegiance to you, to listen and obey, in good times and bad, and to accept the consequences myself; I swear allegiance to you, for jihad and hijrah, and to listen and obey; I swear allegiance to you, to listen and obey, and to die in the cause of God."
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