Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 277
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 277 Founder of the Movement in a manner that might be mis- construed as placing him in juxtaposition to the Holy Pro- phet, peace be on him, he snuffed it out instantly and made it. quite clear, as the Promised Messiah had himself done repeat- edly, that everything that was bestowed upon him was due to his devoted obedience to the Holy Prophet, and as a spiritual reflection of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. On the other hand, he constantly reminded the community that in. the words of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, the Pro- mised Messiah was a just arbiter and that all his pronounce- ments were binding upon the community and not one of them could be contravened with impunity. He laboured constantly to build up the organization of the Community so as to fashion it as an effective instrument for the achievement of the purposes of the Movement. For instance, in 1922 he established the Advisory Consultative Council of the Movement which is normally convened once a year to submit its advice to the Khalifa on such matters as might be committed to it for advice. It is composed of elected representatives of every branch of the Movement in the country. Practical considerations have imposed the limi- tation of representation in the Council to branches of the Movement in the country, but it is visualized that on the needed facilities becoming available representation would be extended to branches of the Movement outside the country also. The Khalifatul Masih himself presides over the delibe- rations of the Council, except on the rare occasion when any matter involving the personal interest of the Khalifa is the subject of consideration. The Council also discusses the Annual Budget of the Movement and submits its recommendations on it. After the session of the Council is opened with an address by the Khalifatul Masih, committees are set up for the detailed consideration of the items on the agenda of the Council, and submit their reports to the Council for discussion and the formulation of its recommendations. In the course of these