The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 12
T he S ystem of M ush A warat in J am A‘ at - e -A hmadiyya But the haughty Malik bin ‘Auf, who was driven by a wild desire to be the supreme ruler o f Arabia, paid no heed to the advice of the wise man. Consequently, he was met with a crushing defeat and hid himself in the fortresses of Banu Thaqlf in the valley o f Ta’if, who were his allies. But he left behind a huge fortune of 40,000 silver coins, 2,200 camels, more than 40,000 goats and 6,000 men, women and children. {Hayat-e-Muhammad, p. 540] The Holy Prophetsa ordered the spoils o f war to be col lected, while he himself set out in pursuit of Malik bin ‘Auf. Any laxity towards him could be dangerous since he was seeking sanctuary in the valley o f Ta’if. When the Holy Prophetsa reached Ta’if, he ordered a halt in or der to consult his Companions. While the consultation was going on, the enemy was preparing an ambush. The Banu Thaqif scaled the walls of the fort and sent down a hail o f arrows on the Muslims, martyring a number o f them. The Holy Prophetsa instantly moved his men to another location and continued the consultation. The point under consideration was whether the same sort of siege should be laid on the Banu Thaqlf, to force them to surrender, as had been laid on the Jews at Khayber. Even if they came out to fight in these circumstances, it would be easier to overpower them. Another option considered in this meeting was to shower stones on the fort using catapults. It was Hadrat Salman Farsfa who proposed this war strategy which was alien to the Arabs. But even 12