Leadership--A Void in the Muslim Ummah-Part 1
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In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate
"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakaatuh
Leadership--A Void in the Muslim Ummah-Part 1
Allah SWT has created this world in perfect order; all the galaxies, sun, moon, weather, and seasons are running in order and with discipline. If we follow the system that Allah SWT created, we will flourish and prosper; whereas anytime we try to break away from this system, even if we attain temporary success, in the long run we will falter and suffer.
Allah SWT has given humans a variety of forms and personalities, but all of us are either leaders or followers by nature and by assignments that Allah SWT has allocated for us. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “All of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards. The ruler is a guardian and responsible for his subjects; the man is a guardian of his family; the woman is guardian in her husband’s house and responsible for her wards; a servant is guardian of his master’s property and responsible for his ward. So all of you are guardians and are responsible for your wards.”[1] As a Muslim, we have to be the best follower or leader depending on our personalities and role in life. Prophet Muhammad SAW said: “Allah loves a servant who when performing a task does so skillfully.”[2]
In Islam, we have the best role models to follow both as leaders and followers. Rasul-Allah (SAW) was the best leader that ever existed and his sunnah is enough to give us all the guidelines on how to be as well as produce great leaders. Allah (SWT) chose and perfected Muhammad SAW; we can never be like him but his characters and manners are so simple yet powerful that they are a guide for people till the end of times. Rasul-Allah (SAW) was able to produce amazing leaders as well as remarkable followers; all the qualities that we will discuss in this article are driven from the methods of Muhammad (SAW). After him (SAW) we have AbuBakr (RA), ‘Umar (RA), ‘Uthman (RA), ‘Ali (RA) and ‘Umar Ibn Abdul’Aziz (R) as shining examples for the entire world. They were all unique in their abilities and techniques yet astonishingly similar in their leadership qualities.
Companions of the Prophet (SAW) used to say that the secret of leadership is to deny yourself completely; put everyone before you and think of your own interest and benefit last. In other words, a leader has to have pure sincerity. If the leader lacks sincerity then Allah will give him followers who do not have sincerity either. Similarly, if followers are corrupted, then the leader will be corrupted as well. Rasul-Allah (SAW) affirmed this statement suggesting that rulers are a reflection of the population; if people are good, the rulers appointed over them will be good and vice versa.
Throughout this article you will notice that the qualities of a successful leader formulate a perfect circle. All of them stem from Iman (faith) in Allah and the more Iman a person has, the more he will have leadership qualities. Successful leadership is a gift from Allah for those successful human beings who have captured their inner-selves (nafs) and have gained victory between them and Allah. [3] At the same time for the success of any mission leaders need followers—those who are willing to obey while disregarding their own nafs for the sake of Allah in order to get the job done. So at any given time and in any circumstance, a leader and a follower both should be concerned about developing themselves to the best of their abilities.
Advice of a sage:
At any given time, you will either be a leader or a follower. If you are a leader follow Allah and do your best; and if you are a follower, fear Allah and don’t give the leader hard time.
Leadership Qualities: Heritage of Believers
Below we will discuss the qualities of true leaders that are derived from the teachings and practices of Muhammad (SAW) and his companions.
1. Sincerity:
Sincerity is the fruit of Iman; a person with true faith will have sincerity towards Allah and all his actions will be for the sake of Almighty Lord. A real leader will do anything sincerely for his goal and his people while disregarding his own personal needs. Lack of Iman brings many diseases in a person such as half heartedness at a job, selfishness, greed, lack of communication, & dictatorial attitude. All of these stem from arrogance which is blindness from Allah.
Let’s look at ‘Umar (RA)’s example as a leader. ‘Umar (RA) was very tough by nature but upon becoming Khalifah, he got up on the pulpit in front of everyone and made du’a to Allah and asked Him (SWT) to make him soft. He (RA) didn’t hide his weakness; in fact he acknowledged it in front of everyone. This is ultimate sincerity; a person has attained this level when praise and criticism become equal in his eyes[4].
2. Consideration:
Allah SWT has created every human differently with a unique set of qualities. A leader respects everyone’s qualities and limitations. He cannot push people the way he wants. Companions of the Prophet (SAW) were unique and had individual qualities that were nurtured by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who assigned them tasks based on their respective abilities. This takes humility on the part of the leader because if he is arrogant, he would want to formulate people a certain way which may break the followers’ heart and soul along with wasting his own energy and time; and at the end will not bear any fruits.
3. Personal Accountability:
A leader has real love for his people. This loves stems from mercy and a sense of responsibility. He leads with love and makes the followers obey him with pleasure, not with fear. The true sincerity requires the leader to have constant internal reflection to the point if the followers act up, instead of blaming and punishing them, he blames himself and says:
“None has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)), Glorified (and Exalted) are
You (above all that (evil) they associate with You). Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers.”
As we stated earlier everyone is a follower or a leader at any given time. You should follow the same principal on every level—be it family, job, or nation. The companions of Prophet SAW used to evaluate the status of their iman according to the behavior of their mules and horses. The more a person is closer to Allah, the more he will command respect and obedience from those around him, including animals. So the quality of a true believer and a great leader is that he holds himself responsible instead of others. If the situation goes wrong, he accepts full responsibility of the actions and tries to rectify the situation, not accusing or oppressing his subordinates.
4. Consultation:
Leadership is consultation. Rasul-Allah (SAW) always consulted people around him. The purpose of consultation is to unite the hearts which brings down the mercy of Allah. Allah (SWT) himself advised the Prophet on consultation and softness in the following words:
It is part of the Mercy of Allah that you did deal gently with your followers; for if you had been severe or harsh-hearted, they would indeed have broken away from you…” (3:159)
Once Muslims were ready to encamp while traveling and Rasul-Allah (SAW) decided to camp at a certain location; his companions asked him if this decision was based on wahee (revelation) or it was his own idea. When he notified them that it was his own idea they disagreed with it and suggested another location based on their knowledge of the locality. Prophet (SAW) immediately abandoned his original proposal and followed theirs. Muhammad (SAW) didn’t get offended or thought his companions’ disagreement a disrespectful act; again, we go back to sincerity—the purpose of leading and following is to get the job done in the best possible way.
Once the leader opens up the door of consultation, he in reality empowers everyone under his command which develops a sense of camaraderie and equal responsibility and thus produces best results. One the other hand, a leader who bosses everyone around instead of consulting them develops hatred and enmity for himself in the hearts of his followers. Rasul-Allah (SAW) said: “the worst imam is one who leads the salah, and people hate him.”
The real wisdom of consultation is to come up with the best possible advice and solution for the goal. When everyone brings in their advice and discusses it, it not only opens up hearts and minds; it allows a discussion to take place which generates the best possible outcome. All successful major companies follow this technique where there are team or unit meetings and managers take everyone’s opinion before making a final decision. This not only gives the follower a feeling of ownership of the project, it also produces love and respect for the leader.
5. Unity:
Leader unites the heart and thinking towards him; this way when people meet, all hearts are united. Allah unites the heart of the followers to the leader when the leader is sincere. Ali (RA) said: if you want to own a person and want to unite his heart towards you, drown him in your generosity. If a leader is kind and knows what his followers might need or want at any given time, he not only wins their hearts, he also wins their loyalty and time. But this, like anything else requires wisdom; if one dumps his goodness on wrong people, of course they will take advantage of it and it will not bear fruits.
6. Stability:
A leader has to have stable Iman (faith), temper, personality, goal, and vision. He cannot be one way today and act differently tomorrow. It will cause confusion among the followers and will remove his respect from their hearts. A leader is like a sponge that absorbs all the mess and does not allow it to spread everywhere. Even if the follower are unstable and in a state of chaos and confusion but the leader is calm, this calmness will radiate and affect others. Moodiness and enflamed temper are a sign of defeated person who does not know how to deal with the situation. If this is the attitude of the leader, than he has already failed in his task.
How a leader stabilizes his followers depends on his personality, time, situation, place, and the kind of people he is leading. The key ingredients that are bound to grant him success in this endeavor are kindness, considera