The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 135
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ‘ at - e -A hmadiyya about the length o f the beard, it is about its shaving, and whether the sub-committee’s recommendation should be placed before the house. . . (1) We have had enough o f this discussion. Now, those o f you who think that people who shave their beards should not be allowed membership o f the Shura should stand up. (The majority stood up in favour o f the proposition, and it was considered unnecessary to count their numbers. ) (2) A ll those who think that people who shave their beards should not be given any responsibility in Markaz or in the local Jama'ats, should stand up. (This times also the majority was in favour, and no counting was considered necessary. ) (3) Those who think that the beard should be a precondi tion for those wishing to enter into W asiyyat, should stand up. ” (84 delegates supported this proposal and 95 opposed it. ) Hadrat Khallfatul Masih Hra then decided to defer the implementation o f the decision until the following year. He said: “B y the grace o f God Almighty, such is the spirit o f sin cerity and devotion in our Jamatat, that I am sure if they are repeatedly told about the importance o f having a beard in sermons and through articles, they w ill put this teaching into practice. . . Though I approve o f your recommendation, I would still like to place a condition on it. I believe that keeping a beard is very important, because physical things influ ence the morals. A person who steals surreptitiously under the cover o f darkness does not affect other people 135