Democracy and Consultation

Question

Question: (1) Is the noble verse [ar]وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَمْرِ ۖ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ[/ar] “…and consult them in the matter; and when you have decided, then rely upon Allah” (Surah Al ‘Imran, 3:159) specific to the Prophet ﷺ or general? (2) What is called democracy? And what is its status in Islam? (3) What is the ruling on setting up a committee in madrasas? And what form should it take? (4) Further, what about Zayd’s statement that in the present age there is no democracy in Islam?

Answer

In this verse the address is originally to Hazrat the Prophet ﷺ, and then, in following him, implicitly to others. The exegetes have also written about this verse that “the referent of the object pronoun in ‘wa shawirhum’ is likewise not all the Companions; rather, what is meant are those possessed of intellect and prudence (ulu’l-ahlam wa’n-nuha)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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