Consultation Is A Command From Allah

In our previous weekly seminar, author and writer Safa Mürsel talked about the importance of mutual consultation as being a principle of management and governance at all levels of society.

Mürsel stated that even though the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had been honored with transmitting the Revelation, he was still charged with the duty of consultation and counsel.

In his talk, he quoted the following verse from the Qur’an that places consultation within an important context:

“And those who have responded to their lord and established prayer and whose affair is [determined by] consultation among themselves, and from what We have provided them, they spend.” (Sura Ash-Shuraa, 38).

Thus we see that among the qualities of a Believer we have “consultation” given important mention alongside and between both prayer and alms-giving (zakat). It is thus among the prior requirements for the establishment of an Islamic community and society.

Safa Mürsel talked about the importance of consultation at every level of society such as in the family, in the workplace and in spheres of government. It is also mandatory to abide by the collective decision that has been made via mutual consultation, and Mürsel stated how failure to abide by such a principle is not only an act of ignorance but also a violation of God’s Law and an act that is heedless of His Wisdom.

Mürsel also mentioned a saying related by Ali (r.a.) concerning this issue:

“One day I was with the Prophet (pbuh) and I asked him, ‘Oh Resulullah, what can we do after you have gone, and after we no longer receive personal orders from you as well as from the Qur’an when facing new issues and problems?’ The Prophet replied, ‘Gather together the pious people of my Ummah. Rely on and trust the words and judgements of those who have experience and knowledge that pertains to the subject or issue that needs to be resolved or dealt with. Organise a committee from among the people and consult among yourselves. Then act upon the decision that results from amongst you.’

An amazing example from the life of Prophet Muhammad, which Mürsel mentioned, was from the battle of Uhud. Even in such a situation, the Prophet (pbuh) renounced his own personal judgement and instead wished to follow the decision that arose as a result of mutual consultation.

He also mentioned how Bediuzzaman Said Nursi stressed the importance of consultation particularly in his earlier years whilst speaking to villagers in the eastern parts of Turkey. He was concerned with the often autocratic tribal mentality in these places and he persuaded them to practice more democratic principles and to take part in the development of regional and national government. All stable nations he says, are based on governance and law and it was constitutionalism and representative government that Nursi was promoting as an alternative over regional autocracy and tribal headmanship. With respect to the concept of democracy, Nursi was not an advocate of it in the Western sense. Rather, Mürsel stated how a democracy should be formed of God-fearing religious people who all contribute to the government regardless of what particular branch or sect they come from. In other words, no political party has the right to say “We represent Islam”, because of the danger of exclusivism and disregarding the views and contributions of other religious people.