The System of Mushawarat in Jama'at-e-Ahmadiyya — Page 428
T he S ystem of M ushawarat in J ama ‘ at - e -A hmadiyya Shura has to advise him accordingly. The Shura has no more right than to advise the Khalifa in whatever issue he wants to be advised. The only other right the Shura has is to select a new Khalifa when the previous one has passed away. Hadrat ‘Umar*3 selected six people to elect the Khalifa after him. We have followed the same tradition, and have decided that, after the death o f a Khalifa, Ma- jlis-e-Shura w ill make a decision, in keeping with public opinion and the laws o f Shariah, as to who w ill be the next Khalifa, so that through him Allah’s voice can spread in the world. This is the only prerogative o f Ma- jlis-e-Shura, and apart from this it can never interfere with the work o f the K halifa. . . Election of MajIis-e-Mu‘tamadIn: The commission has also suggested that members for M ajlis-e-M u‘tamadin should be selected from among the members o f M ajlis-e- Mushawarat. It says that since the members o f M ajlis-e- Mu‘tamadxn are workers o f the Jama'at, they cannot be the true representatives o f the Jama'at. And since Majlis- e-Shura is the true representative o f the Jama'at, the members o f M ajlis-e-M u‘tamadin should be elected from amongst its members. The fact is that it is the Khalifa who is truly responsible for the Jama'at, and he is the final authority in its ad ministration. It is he who appoints M ajlis-e-M u‘tamadIn and it is he who appoints the Shura. Both o f them repre sent the Khalifa in their own right. If M ajlis-e- Mu‘tamadln was to be under Majlis-e-Shura, it would mean that the Khalifa would also be bound by the deci sion o f the Shura and he would have to make do with people who have been appointed by Shura. . . The recom mendations o f the commission are such that they would 42 8