The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 16
the S ystem of M ush A warat in J ama ' at - e -A hmadiyya S aying of the H oly P rophet sa: “A dvise M e , O P eople ” It was the practice o f the Holy Prophetsa to consult the people whenever an expedition was being planned or some other important matter was to be decided. He would summon them and say: J-13' ZJ * ' “ Advise me, O people. ” [SIrat Ibn-e-Hisham, vol. 1, brans. Maulana Ghulam Rasul Mehr, p. 70S] Sometimes, the Holy Prophetsa would invite everybody for consultation, but as it was up to the individual whether or not give his or her opinion, there would be silence at first. Then Hadrat Abu Bakrra would stand up, put forward his opinion briefly, and sit down. Hadrat ‘Umarra would then follow suit. Sometimes other Com panions would also join in with their suggestions and the matter would be decided unanimously. The agreed opin ion of Hadrat Abu B ak P and Hadrat ‘Umar1 3 usually proved to be conclusive. It is recorded in Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal (vol. 4, p. 227) that the Holy Prophetsa once said to Hadrat Abu Bakrra and Hadrat ‘Umarra: “When the two o f you agree upon something during consulta tion, I do not disregard your opinion. ” A famous Hadith, relating to consultation in matters o f state, is attributed to Hadrat M u‘adh bin Jabalra, and has been mentioned by Imam BaihaqI in chapter Al-Ijtihad o f his book Majma ‘-ul-Zawaid wa Mamba ‘-ul-Fawaid. He says that when the Holy Prophetsa decided to send him to Yemen, he consulted a number o f Companions including Hadrat Abu Bakri3, ‘Umar1 3 , ‘Uthmanra, ‘A lfa, 16