because governance is one of the rational activities and is therefore based on the intellect, and it has no purpose but to attract public interests and repel public harms. However, the opinion of the majority of people is not necessarily rational or based on the intellect, nor is it considered a criterion for recognizing interests and harms. Therefore, governance based on it often leads to defeating the purpose, especially in societies where the intellect of the majority of people is less developed and where the impediments to knowing are prevalent among them; because governance in them based on the opinion of the majority of people inevitably leads to attracting public harms and repelling public interests. However, in societies where the majority of people have attained sufficient intellectual development and are less afflicted by the impediments to knowing, governance based on the opinion of the majority of people is more likely to achieve the purpose than to defeat it. Therefore, the permissibility of council-based governance in such societies is not unlikely; as Allah Almighty has considered consultation to be the manner of the righteous, saying: ﴿وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ ۝ وَالَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُوا هُمْ يَغْفِرُونَ ۝ وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ ۝ وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْبَغْيُ هُمْ يَنْتَصِرُونَ ۝ وَجَزَاءُ سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِثْلُهَا ۖ فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾[1]; “And what is with Allah is better for those who have faith and place their trust in their Lord. And those who avoid great sins and indecencies, and forgive when they are angry. And those who responded to their Lord and established prayer, whose affair is by consultation among themselves, and who spend from what We provided for them. And those who defend themselves when transgression befalls them. And the response to an evil deed is an evil deed like it. So whoever pardons and makes amends, his reward is with Allah; for He does not like oppressors.” However, to be fair, managing the affairs of society based on consultation does not necessarily mean governance based on the opinion of the majority of people; because it can mean governance based on the most reasonable opinion among people, which is discovered through the exchange of opinions in consultation. This is a requirement of the intellect being the criterion for knowing;