In the consultation sessions, it is common to express differing views.

The purpose of such an address is for the Prophet to realize that after consultation the only authority who should decide is the Prophet who must then, in turn, rely on God. The leader of a group, on whose instructions the consultation session convened, would accept or decline the views of a third party, which were better than his view. An example of such an act was the decision by the Prophet adopted in the peace treaty of Hudaybiyyah.

He opposed the general view of his close followers and convened a peace treaty between Muslims and Quraysh, who were idolaters. And time proved that such a treaty was in the best interest of the Muslims [^7]. However, consultation in Islam differs completely from that carried out in democratic states, in which the ratification of laws must be carried out by the Senate or the House of Representatives.

The president is the administrator who should put the laws, passed by these two legislative bodies, into force. Here in Islam the Prophet has to follow neither the majority nor the minority. It is up to the Prophet to arrive at the final decision of whether or not his decision is in harmony with the majority. Then, according to the Holy Quran, the Prophet has to rely on Allah. It is the same issue with the second verse.

“And consultation is one of the most distinguished characteristics of a religious community.” This would indicate that the reasoning of some Sunnite scholars, who use these verses to justify the election of the caliph through consultation, as invalid. This is because the above mentioned verses are applicable only in those communities, where the issue of leader election has been solved. Communities where such consultation sessions were convened to solve other problems that Muslims were facing.

This is especially true regarding the first verse which was addressed to the Prophet who, as the leader of the Muslims, was to decide and carry out his decision.