The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 75
T he S ystem of M ush A warat in J ama ‘ at - e -A hmadiy Y a Under the influence o f the age, people tend to say-, why not seek people’s opinion and make decisions on that basis. The fact is that our faith teaches us i. e. , Consult the people, but when you have made a deci sion, stay firm on it and do not fear what people might say. This has been the way in Islam. When Persia was at tacked, the enemy destroyed a bridge and many Muslims were killed. Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas wrote back that if rein forcement was not despatched immediately the Muslims would be defeated and the enemy would enter Arabia. When Hadrat ‘Umar™ sought advice from the Compan ions, they all said that the Khalifa him self should go and fight, only Hadrat ‘A ll did not speak. Hadrat ‘Umar™ asked him why he was silent, and whether he disagreed with what the people were saying. He said he was against the proposal because he did not believe that the Khalifa should fight in a battle. The Khalifa’s job is to support those who are fighting. A nation which spends all its force and has nothing to fall back upon is destroyed. If the Muslims suffer defeat despite your presence in the battle, they w ill have nowhere to turn and the enemy w ill overrun Arabia. Hadrat ‘Umar™ accepted his opinion and did not go into battle. It therefore becomes clear that the purpose o f consultation is not to cast votes but to gather really useful proposals. 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 H oly 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 the suggested system, which certainly are more than the 75