The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 338
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ‘ at - e - ahmadiyya defeated and the enemy would enter Arabia. Hadrat ‘Umar” sought advice in this matter, and everyone said that the Khalifa him self should go into battle. Hadrat ‘A ll” alone remained silent. When Hadrat ‘Umar” no ticed this, he asked him why he was silent and whether he was against this opinion. He said he was. When he was asked the reason, he said that the Khalifa must not be involved in battles. His job is to aid the warriors. A na tion which puts everything at stake, and no one is left behind to help it, is soon destroyed. Thus if the Muslims are defeated despite your presence, they w ill have no where to go and the enemy w ill conquer Arabia. Hadrat ‘Umar” agreed with him and did not go into battle. It, therefore, becomes clear that the purpose o f consulta tion is not to cast votes but to find out really useful ideas. In the end, the opinion o f a few or even a single person might be accepted. This was the system followed by the Companions, and this is what we learn from the Holy Quran, and it should suffice for a man o f insight. But since the opposite thinking is current these days, I w ill speak a little about the advantages o f this system, which certainly are more than those followed by the Anjuman, and the defects that are cited in this system are present in that system as w ell. Majority opinion is, in fact, not the opinion o f the majority; rather there is one man—the leader— who influences the opinions o f others. It is not the majority but only a comparison o f who is able to at tract more votes. This is also what happens in the Parliament, where members vote to save the government. Not everyone is competent enough to form a correct opinion, therefore, most people follow others. Even those who have an opinion o f their own are influenced by those 3 3 8