The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 27
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ‘ at - e -A hmadiyya umma. By establishing the institution o f Mushawarat on a broad basis, Hadrat ‘Umarra highlighted its universal significance. During his Khilafat, matters relating to the state and to the umma were decided in Majlis-e-Shura after proper deliberation. He believed that consultation was an integral part of Khilafat, and would say: ‘There is no Khilafat without consultation. ” [Ibn Abl Shaiba, vol. 3, p. 139, with reference to Kanz-ul-‘Ummal] Majlis-e-Shura consisted o f wise and experienced people elected by the Muhajirin and Ansar. Hadrat ‘Umarra would encourage young people and would seek their opinions in most matters. On occasion, he would even consult with women. And if the matter under considera tion had to do with non-Muslims, they too would be included in the consultations. [Al-Faruq by Shibli Naumanl, p. 191; Shahkar-e-Risalat by Pervaiz, pp. 272-273] Hadrat ‘Umarra would give preference to the opinion of even an ordinary person, if it happened to be better than his own or that o f some other important person. On one such occasion, he said that the amount o f Mehr (dowry) given to women was increasing by the day and a limit should be set on it. Upon this, one o f the ladies said: “Allah says, that even if you have given your wives heaps o f money, do not take it back. ” When Hadrat ‘Umarra heard this, he said: “My sister is right, and ‘Umar was wrong. ” [Al-Sunan-al~Kubra, vol. 7, p. 233; Al-Faruq by ‘Allama Muhammad Raza, p. 68; A$hab-ur-Rusul Aur Unke Karname, part 1, p. 164] 27