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Mrs. Madiaba Sanoe of Mn
ISLAM’S PERSPECTIVE ON LEADERSHIP AND THOSE BEING LEAD
BY: Gofin Kosia
Once more, the reading audience, Assalaam aleikum (peace be upon you). I choose to discuss this subject matter due to its exigency and need in not just our local communities, but the world at large.
Every normal adult at certain point and time is either a leader of him self/ her self or of others and is therefore accountable for them and will be undoubtedly reckoned by Allah (swt). “And you shall be undeniably questioned about (all of Allah’s gifts to you)”. Qur’an 102:8. That includes, but not limited to your knowledge, strength, wealth, health, beauty, popularity/influence etc. In the nutshell, no one is free from responsibility and subsequent accountability, except the immature children and the mentally challenged ones.
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF LEADERSHIP (of one self and of others).
How can one be a leader of himself/herself, this happens when Allah (swt) creates you, makes you sound and gives you the faculty of distinguishing between right and wrong, you then become the leader of your self and organs (limbs, mouth, stomach, speech, genital , eyes , ears etc). “And inspire it (the soul) with conscience of what is right for it and of what is wrong for it”. Qur’an 91:8. Allah (swt) also said that He naturally gave us all what we need (knowledge of reasoning) so that we will not give any excuse of misconduct. Surah 14:34.
That means that Allah (swt) will judge between you and all the organs that He subjected to you. “…for every act of hearing (with the ear), of seeing (with the eyes) or of thinking/feeling (with the heart) will be inquired into (on the Day of Judgment)”. Quran 17:36. Allah (swt) also said: “That day (Judgment day) shall we set a seal on their mouths, but their hands will speak to us, and their feet bear witness to all that they did. Qur’an 36:65.
The second and most complicated form of leaderships is that of others, that includes households, families, communities, cities, countries, organizations of (any kind) etc.
This is the form of leadership that has caused most of the instabilities across the globe today because, the beneficiaries are not observing the divine ethics and norms of Allah (swt), but instead blatantly ignore, manipulate, or corrupt the systems of justice to suit their personal and egoistic interests at the detriment of the very people whom they claim to serve. A true leader is a servant of the people, not a tyrant. We are cognizant of the fact that peoples who are being lead are of different geographic locations and environments, different times, may be different mentalities, conditions and needs, but there are some basic things that they all unanimously aspire and deserve in common. Those include, but/and not limited to justice, consultation and decision making in their lives, respect for their dignities and views, development, tolerant, flexibility, leniency etc.
PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP ACCORDING TO PROPHETIC SEERAH (biography).
1. TO BEGIN ENDEAVOUS FROM THE ATTAINABLE: Aisha (ra), a wife of the prophet (as) is quoted to have said: “when the prophet (as) had to choose between two options, he would always opt for the easier first”. (AL-BUKHARI).
2. TO SEE THE ADVANTAGE IN THE DISADVANTAGE: This means that if there are difficult problems, there are also opportunities one way or the other to exploit from it. “So verily, with every difficulty, there is relief…..” Qur’an 94:5.
3. TO CHANGE PLACE/PLAN OF ACTION (if necessary): If one does not succeed in a particular place or direction, you get to switch to where you think there is the highest possibility of success. The HIJRA (migration) from MECCA to ABBYSSINIA (Ethiopia) and later to YATHRIB (Medina) is a historic fact to this effect. Islam prospered dramatically in those respective areas when Mecca was still hostile and defiant.
4. TO MAKE A FRIEND OUT OF AN ENEMY: The prophet (as) and his immediate tabe’en (followers) were subjected to systematic and concerted humiliation, suppression, isolation, antagonism etc by the unbelievers for over a decade. Allah (swt) then enjoined the prophet (as) to repel evil with good in these words: “…..Repel evil with what is better, then with he between you and him was hatred becomes as it was your friend and intimate”. Qur’an 41:34.
It means that a good deed in return for a bad deed has a conquering effect on your enemies. The prophet (as) did this in the case of ABU SUFYAAN (an old and a vehement, but influential enemy) during the conquest of MECCA. He said: “any one who enters ABU SUFYAAN’S house is safe”. That recognition immediately made him partake in the reconciliation. He, (ABU SUFYAAN) was at the vanguard of propagating Islam henceforth.
5. TO TURN MINUS INTO PLUS: AFTER the battle of BADR, seventy (70) disbelievers were captured in action as prisoners of war. They were all educated, so the prophet (as) gave them the option to gain there freedom by each teaching ten (10) Muslim children how to read and write and they accepted the deal. This was the first school in the historicity of Islam in which all the students were Muslims and all the teachers were from the enemy rank. He could choose other wise for them as it was acceptable at the time to do any thing with the captive of war.
6. THE POWER OF PEACE IS EFFECTIVE THAN THE POWER OF VIOLENCE: The prophet (as) did this in the case of the Meccans during its conquest, when he rendered them an unconditional amnesty which had a direct effect by their whole sale and immediate islamization.
7. GRADUALISM, INSTEAD OF RADICALISM: a new law or ordinance applied on your subject has to be flexible, also give them a reasonable amount of time for adaptation. Not every thing is automatic, most especially with human beings who have varieties of thinking faculties.
8. PRAGMATISM IN CONTROVERSIAL MATTERS: During the HUDAIBIYYAH TREATY, the prophet (as) agreed to compromise his God-given tittle from Mohammed, “Prophet of Allah” to that of “son of Abdullah”, since this was the only phrase on which the other party tried to cling to disrupt the accord. He knew and believed he was the true prophet of Allah. He was selfless; he put the general interest first instead of being egoistic or megalomaniac (power greediness). That was the melting point and was marked with the beginning of Islam’s major triumph in the Arabian peninsular, and to the world at large. Can any of our contemporary leaders venture to ever do that? I take “NO” for an answer.
9. CONSULTATION: Do not do it all by your self, as a leader. “….And consult them in affairs (of moment”). Qur’an 3:159
In another narration, the prophet (as) is quoted by ABU MARYAM AL-AZDI to have said: “If Allah puts any one in the position of authority over Muslims’ affairs and he secludes himself from them (from them), not fulfilling their needs, wants and poverty, Allah will seclude Himself from him, not fulfilling his needs, wants and poverty” SUNAN ABU DAWUD #2942.
Concurrently, the subjects (those being lead) has their share of responsibility to abide by the laws, as long as it is in conformation with your religion. They (those being lead) should reciprocate by providing sincere and impartial feedback, support your leader to collectively achieve the general goal of that organization. It is even mandatory to be loyal to a just leader. ALI (ra) is quoted to have quoted the prophet (as) to have said: “Obedience (to a leader) is required who enjoins what is good” SAHEEH AL-BUKHARI Volume 5:629
Even if you are under a non-Muslim authority, you are obliged to abide by their basic laws to avoid inconvenience. You also have to be flexible in dealing with them, remember what Allah’s (swt) advice to His prophet MOSES (as) when He sent him to PHAROAH:”But speak to him (Pharaoh) moderately…..” Qur’an 20:44. This is a prophet, with direct supports and backing of Allah being cautioned to avoid provocation. If you think and know that these laws will affect your religion (which is absolutely not compromisable), you have the choice to migrate (HIJRA) to a suitable place, regardless of the availability of all the worldly satisfaction, as compared to where you will move.
Remember that Allah did not create you to go to the USA, EUROPE, or any other relatively comfortable place, but He created you purposely to worship HIM. Leaving the opportunity of luxurious (but UN- Islamic) life to a moderate or remote one (for Allah’s sake) is another form of SABR and IMAANE . But if you chose to remain under a non-Islamic authority and be defiant (while you have alternative choice) to travel to the vast land of Allah to freely practice your religion, that is not wiser and therefore un- Islamic on your part.
In the nutshell, no one (both leaders and their subjects) is immune from responsibility and accountability. “We shall certainly question those to whom the messengers were sent and we shall certainly question the messengers”. Qur’an 7:6.
Authority is the source of many of our contemporary problems, it is not some thing new, remember that the immediate reason while Prophet ADAM (as), the progenitor of mankind lost his residency in paradise (AL-JANNAH) has a link with perpetual authority when SATAN mislead him with authority slogan. “But SATAN whispered to him (ADAM), he said, ‘O ADAM, shall I lead you to the tree of eternity and kingdom (authority) that never decays)”. Qur’an 20:120
As I mentioned above, ADAM’S eating of the forbidden tree was just the immediate reason of his expulsion from AL-JANNAH, but Allah (swt) had already, before his creation predestined him for planet earth, reason being from this below Qur’anic proof during Allah’s (swt) communication with the Angels:” Behold, your Lord said to the angels ‘I will put a vicegerent on earth’”. Qur’an 2:30. ADAM was forgiven by his Lord and may He forgive us all for our sins. Accepting predestination and predetermination is part of IMAANE.
In conclusion, I want to urge us all to recognize and take our respective responsibilities to ourselves, spouses, children, parents (dead or alive), communities (Muslims or not), employers/employees, leaders/subjects neighbors etc.
Please advise me if I go wrong, I am just a student, trying to disseminate Allah’s words. Any mistake in my write up is solely mine, to Allah (swt) belongs all perfection.
Gofin Kosia (001) 646 651 9476