The Leadership Process in Islam
The Leadership Process in Islam
The Leadership Process in Islam
Rafik I. Beekun
• The focus of leadership in Islam is on integrity
and justice
According to Islam, the two primary roles of a leader are those of:
servant-leader
guardian-leader.
A servant leader is the one whose primary aim is to serve and help his people
keeping all his personal motives aside. He seeks their welfare and guide them
towards good.
The guardian leader protect his community against tyranny and oppression,
encourage God-consciousness and promotes justice.
“A commander (of the Muslims) is a shield for them.”
Leadership and the bases of power
Power is the influence someone
has over another. It refers to the
ability to accomplish a goal with
the help of others.
• For example, Prophet Yusuf (as) asked for such a position when he requested
the King of Egypt to be placed in charge of the granaries. When there was
plenty of grains in the Egyptian land, he collected it for the times of famine and
once the calamity hit, he proposed to be the leader for a wise and fair
distribution to those in need.
• Islam recognizes the legitimacy of coercive power, but suggests that it should not be
used to force followers towards evil.
• Placing emphasis on the role of the leader as servant, Hazrat Umar (ra), was quoted
as saying to the people:
“I have appointed over you governors and agents not to beat your bodies or take your
monies, but rather to teach you and serve you”
Expert Power
• Leaders who possess valuable expertise and information have expert power with
respect to their followers who need this information to perform their task.
• Ethical charismatic leaders, such as Prophet Muhammad (saw) and all other
Prophets (as), used power for the benefit of mankind, learned from criticism,
worked to develop their followers into leaders, and relied on moral standards and
that’s what leaders today must take lessons from.
Stages of Spiritual Development
• Leadership in Islam is rooted in belief and willing submission to Allah. It centers
on serving Him.
• To serve Allah the Almighty, a Muslim leader is to act in accordance with the
injunctions of Allah and His Prophet (saw), and must develop a strong Islamic
moral character.
• This moral character will be reflected by his increasingly strong belief in Him as he
progresses through 4 stages of spiritual development which are as follows
1) Iman
• At the core of Islamic moral character is iman or faith in Allah (swt)
• Iman implies belief in the Oneness of Allah and the Prophethood of Muhammad (saw).
• A leader with a strong iman will consider himself and all his possessions as belonging to
Allah. He will bow his ego, implies belief in the life hereafter and in ultimate
accountability for one’s deeds.
• A leader with a firm iman will not dodge responsibility for his actions, and will
continuously emphasize good deeds.
• To reinforce this idea, the Qur’an links iman with good deeds no less than 60 times.
2) Islam
Islam is the second layer of the moral personality of an Islamic leader and followers.
It refers to the achievement of peace with Allah, within oneself and with his creation
, through willing submission to Him.
As the great Islamic scholar Abu Ala Maudoodi pointed out beautifully as
“Iman is the seed and Islam is the fruition.”
Because of his or her iman, a leader who practices Islam will never see himself as
supreme
3) Taqwa
As an individual submits to Allah (swt) through Islam, he develops an inner
consciousness of his duty towards Him and this awareness of his accountability
towards Allah is taqwa.
The love of Allah (swt) motivates the individual Muslim to work towards attaining His
Pleasure.
The constant feeling that Allah is watching is likely to prompt any leader or follower with
Ihsan to behave at his best.
Difference between Taqwa & Ishan :
Among government employees, there may be some who perform their duties
properly as required, but do not demonstrate any additional commitment. Other
employees, however, push themselves beyond the call of duty; they are energized,
and willing to make sacrifices in the performance of their tasks.
Within the context of Islam, the first group of employees are like believers who do
what is sufficient and necessary; they are those that have taqwa. By contrast, the
second group of employees have ihsan. These are the Muslim leaders and followers
who will tirelessly carry the banner of Islam under the most difficult circumstances.
5 key parameters of Islamic behavior
Justice:
Justice is a dynamic characteristic that each Muslim must strive to develop whether
he is a leader or a follower.
As mentioned in a Quranic verse:
“O you who believe! Stand out firmly for God as witnesses to fair dealing and let
not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from
justice.”
Application of justice to leadership
• The principle of justice must be observed by all Muslims—leaders and
followers alike.
This is why the Prophet (saw) emphasized that justice must never be
compromised by personal affiliations or other considerations.
Trust
The concept of trust stresses the idea of responsibility towards organizational
stakeholders, and holds true whether those entrusting something to Muslims are
themselves non-Muslims.
As a core value, trust fits within the overall Islamic etiquette governing social
relationships
Application of trust to leadership
• Once an individual has accepted to be
the leader of a group or organization,
he has become their trustee.
"The believers in the world are in three classes: those who believe in God and His
Messenger and do not doubt, but strive with their property and their persons in
God's cause; the man whom people trust with their property and their persons; and
the man who, when he is about to display greed, abandons it for the sake of God,
Who is Great and Glorious.“
The dimension of inner struggle involves the very progression from iman to ihsan,
and continues thereafter.
Application of the concept of self-struggle to leadership.
1) Honesty:
Leaders are considered honest to the extent that there is ‘consistency
between word and deed
If followers doubt the capabilities of their leader, they will be less enthusiastic in
accepting directions from him.
Except in matters where he had received a direct revelation from Allah, the Holy
Prophet (PBUH) would often seek and follow the advice of his companions as this
enabled all his men to take part in discussion and offer suggestions and in this way
the best solution was found by mutual consultation.
3) Inspiration
Followers expect their leaders to remain positive about the future no matter how
bad the situation may be.
An example of how a leader inspires his followers comes from Hazrat Abu Bakr
(RA). After the demise of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Muslims were in shock
especially Hazrat Umar (RA).
Abu Bakr (ra) calmed him down, and then delivered the following address:
“O People, if you have been worshipping Muhammad, then know that Muhammad
is dead. But if you have been worshipping God, then know that God is living and
never dies”
4) Patience:
The example of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and early converts to Islam during
the boycott of the Muslims in Makkah and various other harsh situations
created by the oppressors illustrates the need for patience.
5) Humility:
Even the Prophet , who received divine revelations and was highly
intelligent, consulted his companions and respected their views. This
was done in order to establish consultation as a practice among
Muslims.
Follower’s Characteristics
1) Obedience:
At all times, the leader must be obeyed.
On one occasion, Umar (RA) was suggesting the quantity of dowry to be fixed at
the time of a marriage ceremony. What he said was not in accordance with Islamic
principle and lady immediately stood up and questioned him. Hearing her sound
argument based on the Qur’an, Umar (RA) realized his mistake and said, “The lady
is right and the leader of the Muslims (himself) is wrong.”
Hazrat Umar’s behavior here clearly showed that the followers in Islam are not to
be passive bystanders.