Encouragement of mutual consultation

This verse renders all else superfluous, so when Allah commands it explicitly in His Book and informs His Messenger about consultation, even though he is the most perfect of all creation, what, then, of the rest of us?

Know that it is mustaḥabb for anyone who intends to embark on some undertaking to consult those whom he can trust in their religion, experience, sagacity, sincerity in advice, scrupulousness and compassion. It is mustaḥabb to consult a group which has these qualities, and to consult several of them. One should describe to them one’s objective in the matter and explain to them the good and bad aspects of the matter, if he knows of any. The command for consultation in the case of those who manage the affairs of the public, like a Sultan, a Qāḍī, and so on is more vital. The ṣaḥīḥ hadiths about ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb consulting his companions and accepting their opinions are many and well-known. The benefit of consultation lies in accepting the opinion of those consulted, if they have the above-mentioned qualities and there is no obvious flaw in their opinion. The person being consulted should do their utmost to give sincere advice and ponder the matter.

We relate in the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muslim that Tamīm ad-Dārī narrated: “The Prophet said: ‘The Dīn is sincere good counsel.’ [Those present] asked: ‘For whom?’ He replied: ‘For Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and the Muslims in general.’” ^[2].

We relate in the Sunans of Abū Dāwūd, at-Tirmidhī, an-Nasā’ī and Ibn Mājah that Abū Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “A person who is consulted is a confidant.” ^[3].