The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 149
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ‘ at - e -A hmadiyya IS^UwM' That is, ‘My Companions are like stars; they suffered great tribulations but bore them all with patience and for titude until they had learned all the lessons in the Divine academy, and had qualified in the tests o f piety and vir tue. ’ Today it is your duty to follow their example. Instead o f adopting new ways and undertaking new ex periments, you should look at your predecessors and follow them. Those o f you who have joined M ajlis-e- Shura for the first time should follow the example o f your predecessors, and' should not only adopt their vir tues but should try to get ahead o f them, so that you may win Allah’s approbation. ” ; ‘ [Report Majlis-e-Shura 1941, pp. 4-7] D e t e r m i n i n g t h e N u m b e r o f R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s Having discussed different aspects of the eligibility of representatives for Shura, it will be appropriate now to lay down the principle instructions regarding the number of representatives. Initially, the Jama'ats were at liberty to send as many representatives as they liked, but certain restrictions were imposed later on and the number was fixed. During Majlis-e-Shura 1935, it was recommended that, in order to reduce expenditure, only one representa tive should be elected from districts where the number of Ahmadls is small, but where the number is greater, one representative may be elected from each Jama'at o f the district. The second proposal was that one representative should be elected from each Imdrat and one from each city Jama'at. In this way, the expenditure will be reduced, everyone will have representation and the areas will be 149