Questioner: Is it, sir, Islamic injunction that if a person desires for a position or wishes for a position he should be denied?
Huzoor: No.
Questioner: I am of the understanding that if somebody wishes for some position…
Huzoor: As such, there is no such injunction.
Questioner: That’s why probably in our Jama’at we don’t stand for elections, we are chosen.
Huzoor: The fact is that you are categorically making a statement which, if accepted, would lead into problems and difficulties. When the Holy Quran says, man ansari ilallah, and you offer yourself, would there be a desire to achieve a position or not?
Questioner: In a way, yes, sir.
Huzoor: Yeah. So, it’s not prohibited.
Questioner: But probably there was a hadith…
Huzoor: The fact is, that actually is a different thing. That hadith indicates the situation was this, that somebody who was desirous of holding offices, as such…
Questioner: That’s what I meant, sir, holding an office.
Huzoor: That is actually different. That is a different thing. If for the sake of office, you offer your name, so that your name becomes bigger with the attachment of that office, that is discouraged and, in fact, condemned by Islam.
Questioner: Yes, sir.
Huzoor: So, because this generally, this tendency creeps into a system, we don’t say that every Ahmadi who offers his name, he would be offering his name for the sake of office. But to cover certain people who do that, this is prohibited as such. That the occasion may not arise altogether, some people may not be tried. So, according to Ahmadiyya system, you cannot present your own name for any office. If somebody considers any good in you, he may propose. But you should not come forward by saying that, yes, I am fit. But sometimes, even here, if you ask this question, that I want that particular type of person with that knowledge, and I want you to offer your own name for this, then you are permitted. So, it’s not a law which has no exceptions. The main philosophy is this, that anything which promotes egotism in man should be discouraged. That’s all.
Questioner: So, my understanding was that, of course, an office in our community is a blessing from God Almighty, that we serve our community by holding offices. And it was, on one hand, not desired, not thought a good thing to desire for.
Huzoor: I have explained the reason why.
Questioner: At the same time, it is an inam from Allah.
Huzoor: So, the second part of this story, which is not yet complete, is this.That once you are entrusted with an office, you are not encouraged at all, in fact, you are condemned to resign.
Even then, if you don’t feel yourself fit to perform that, all that you can do is present the facts to your boss or your superior. But you are not permitted to resign. There is no resignation in Ahmadiyyat. So, both ends are looked into. The fact is that if for office bearing, names were invited and people were encouraged to give their own names, many wrong person would enter into the system. To prevent that possibility, this has been forbidden. And also, if you are not offering your name, it teaches you a sort of humility as well.
Of course, everybody desires to achieve a position of service. Everybody does and should. So, why shouldn’t everybody give his name? Why not? If that is the reason why you should be permitted to offer your own name, then everybody should be and everybody should because, otherwise, he would be a bad Muslim who doesn’t want to serve. So, that is understood. Everybody wants to serve. But which one is fitter? That is the question.
When you say I am the fitter person, then your humility is. more often than not, injured by that claim. You become a sort of boastful person. So, that is discouraged. But if somebody else suggests your name then, that is to say, that I am a humble person, although I am not fit. But I think my friend, I know him, I observe him doing things and I have a good opinion of him. He is a better man. He fits. He would fit admirably into this job. So, that system is working in a much better way in Ahmadiyya community than the systems working around us, and we know their follies and defaults and problems created by those systems. So, it says not only system good in theory, it is a system which has been observed for the last 100 years by many generations to be very effective and very useful in practice. But again, as I said, the second part of the story is, once you are interested with the job, then because it is Naima, because it’s Allah’s grace that you have been given this opportunity and you did not deserve it, exactly the opposite would be the result. If you resign, then it means either you are angry with your bosses and you don’t care for this office, or previously you thought you were fit and now, you know, unfit. And you take the decision in your own hands and you reject that opportunity. So, instead we teach you this behavior, the conduct, that you just present the facts. And the intention should be that these new factors have been added into the situation, which must be brought to your notice, the higher authorities, so that you may decide, if in these, with the addition of these factors, I am still capable of performing the duty or not.
Because if I do not apprise you of the situation, the change in situation, then I would be held responsible for the lack of performance, if that is the natural result of these changes, or default in some cases. So, you are authorized to present the new facts. But still you are not authorized to resign. It is for your boss to decide. And then, if he has taken the wrong decision, the onus would be on his shoulders, not on yours.
Questioner: Thank you very much.
