Page 218 - Quranic Wisdom - New.indd

Mutual Consultation

no doubt warrant consultation but more important is personal
consultation. Everyone needs to receive others’ advice in his or
her daily life. The habit of consultation creates a degree of trust
between the different members of society. Mutual trust and the
spirit of cooperation are very important for building the best kind
of society, and consultation is an essential part of that process.
Consultation is not an individual exercise: it is a bilateral
procedure. Consultation is a mutual exchange—in its true spirit,
a great source of intellectual development. When two individuals
discuss some subject with each other, a third idea is bound
to emerge, and it is this third idea which leads to personality
development.

Consultation is not an isolated habit. The willingness
to engage in it results directly from qualities like
modesty, sincerity, caution and the spirit of learning.

Consultation in one sense is a give and take culture. When you
discuss an issue with someone, it is not simply a verbal exchange.
During a discussion you take something from the other and also
give something to the other.
Fruitful consultation has no conditions attached to it. It can
be conducted between the rich and the poor, between seniors and
juniors, between the educated and the uneducated, between the
young and the old, between man and woman, in short, between
everyone and everyone else. This all-encompassing nature of
consultation makes it fruitful to the ultimate extent.

One precondition for effective consultation is that both the
parties should have open minds. Both parties should be ready to
accept opinions on their merits and without any bias.

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