The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 14
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ' at - e -A hmadiyya the Holy Prophetsa said, “I will return to you your men, women and children who are in my or my family’s pos session. As for the prisoners who have fallen to the lot of other people, you should make a request for their release in front o f everybody after Zuhr prayer. I shall then see what I can do. ” After they had done as instructed: The Holy Prophetsa said, “Friends, I return my own share and that o f Banu ‘Abdul Muttalib. ” Hearing this the Companions unanimously said: jdsj 4 * 4iJ!jU Jj-ijd atf u “Whatever we possess is not ours but belongs to the Prophet o f Allahsa. ” Saying so, they too gladly returned the prisoners who had fallen to their lot. [Hayat-e-Muhammad, pp. 545-546] M ore I nstances of C onsultation by the H oly P rophetsa Before the advent o f Islam, there was no proper system of governance in Medina. It was inhabited by different tribes and each followed its own laws. No attention was given to matters o f administration, and all powers re sided in the Chiefs. It was the Holy Prophetsa who first introduced a regular civil and administrative structure in Medina, though he did not consider it expedient to inter fere with the internal affairs o f the tribes. Whenever the Holy Prophetsa invited opinions on various matters, the Chief o f the tribe was expected to give his opinion about it. It is evident from Hadith that some people were also consulted individually. [Da’ira-tuI-Ma;arif (Urdu), vol. 19, p. 45} 14