The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 84
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in jam A‘ at - e -A hmadiyya tions upon those. Shura is entitled only to offer its opinion on matters upon which the Khalifa wishes to consult it. ” [Report Majlis-e-Shtira 1930, pp. 42-43] A dvantages of C onsultation other than in M ajlis - e -S hura During Majlis-e-Mushawarat 1967, Hadrat Khallfatul Masih IIIrh said: “As far as consultations are concerned, it is not the right o f every member to give his advice. It is only up to the Khalifa to seek suggestions from the Jama'at. The two things are completely different. If every member o f the Jama'at was entitled to advise the Khalifa, there would be thousands who would say that although it is their right to give advice, they choose not to exercise it. But if it is taken as the right o f the Khalifa that all useful sugges tions for the progress o f the Jama" at must be sent to him, a person who does not do so becomes guilty o f violating this right. In the first instance, he says that it is his right but he foregoes it, but in the second instance he violates the right o f the Khalifa, which can never be allowed. As for general consultations, I am grateful to hundreds o f our members who keep on sending their suggestions to me, and some o f them are indeed very valuable. But at present we cannot put them into practice due to our lim ited resources. They are nevertheless useful suggestions and may at a later time be o f use to us. ” [Report Majlis-e-Shura 1967, p. 245] Hadrat Khallfatul Masih IIIrh also said: “Thus, consultation is o f the essence. After the consulta tion, there can be four possibilities: (1) Shura gives unanimous approval, and Khallfatul Masih approves it. 84