What is 'Leadership'

“Leadership is the ability to persuade others to seek defined objectives enthusiastically. It is the human
factor which binds a group together and motivates it toward goals. Management activities such as
planning, organizing, decision making are dormant cocoons until the leader triggers the power of
motivation in people and guides them toward their goals.”4

Leadership is the ability of a company's management to set and achieve challenging

goals, take swift and decisive action, outperform the competition, and inspire others to
perform well. It is tough to place a value on leadership or other qualitative aspects of a
company, compared to quantitative metrics that are commonly tracked and much easier
to compare between companies. Individuals with strong leadership skills in the business
world often rise to executive positions such as CEO, COO, CFO, president and
chairman .

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. Martin Luther King, Jr.
THE CONCEPT OF LEADERSHIP IN ISLAM:
In the Holy Quran God addresses human beings as his representatives or vicegerents
on the earth providing them with all the necessary skills, principles and tools to lead
their lives towards glory and also to lead others towards realizing their fullest
potential.
"It is He Who hath made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth: He hath raised you
in ranks, some above others: that He may try you in the gifts He hath given you: for
thy Lord is quick in punishment: yet He is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful" (Al-
An'âm 6: 165)
As a representative of God Himself, human beings are assigned great faculties and
qualities which if properly deployed could result in the achievement of miraculous
goals. However to reach these goals one needs to follow certain principles and tools
which are also known as success or leadership principles. Where do these tenets come
from? Where can we find them? How to get them and use them? To answer these and
identical questions let us first deal with the first question and identify the key sources
of Islamic Leadership standards.
THE SOURCES OF ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES:
Islamic Leadership Principles are primarily derived from the following key sources:
· The Holy Quran.
· The Holy Prophet.
· The Wise Caliphs.
· Pious Followers
THE HOLY QURAN AS A PRIMARY SOURCE OF ISLAMIC LEADERSHIP
PRINCIPLES:
"There has come to you from Allah Light and a Plain Book." (5.15)

"For you the life of the Prophet is a good model of behaviour" (33:21).

There are many laws and principles and models but grouped together we can classify
them into the following cardinal principles and values:
1. Faith and belief.
2. Knowledge and Wisdom.
3. Courage and determination.
4. Mutual consultation and Unity. (Fraternity and brotherhood.)
5. Morality and Piety. (Honesty and trust.)
6. Superior communication.
7. Justice and compassion.
8. Patience and Endurance.
9. Commitment and Sacrifice.
10. Lifelong Endeavour.
11. Gratitude and Prayers.
2. Knowledge and Wisdom.
“Seek knowledge from the Cradle to the Grave “Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Leadership is a great responsibility and to fulfil this important duty the leader must
continuously acquire knowledge as per the above advice put forward more than
fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
WISDOM AND LEADERSHIP:
“He (God) grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and he to whom wisdom is granted
receives indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the Message but men of
understanding.” (Qur’an 2: 269)
Wisdom or hikmah in Arabic one of the most admired, ancient, recurring and popular
attributes credited to great leaders is yet another quality highly admired by God
himself as quoted in the Holy Quran. The word wisdom though one of the most
admired quality is rarely defined or clarified. One of the reasons that wisdom is rarely
defined or clarified is probably its intangibility or the many elements it possesses.
However one thing is clear Knowledge is not necessarily
,… Knowledge and wisdom (`Ilm wa Hikmah): To achieve proper knowledge and wisdom is an
obligatory requirement for a good leader. In Islamic point of view, Hikmah does not mean the wisdom
and special knowledge merely, it is such a divine gift that comes only through an inner enlightenment
and by seeking sincere guidance from Allah; it is the ability to apply knowledge to a particular situation
to bring about the most desirable outcome. Allah mentions this quality for leadership in the holy
Qura‟an- “Their Prophet said unto them: Lo! Allah hath raised up Saul to be a king for you. They said:
How can he have kingdom over us when we are more deserving of the kingdom than he is, since he hath
not been given wealth enough? He said: Lo! Allah hath chosen him above you, and hath increased him
abundantly in wisdom and stature. Allah bestoweth His Sovereignty on whom He will. Allah is All-
Embracing, All-Knowing.”45 A leader has to embodied himself with this quality to get success for his
direction. He has to know about the principles of Islamic Fiqh and Shariah, the current political situation,
contemporary trends of international politics, proper utilization of limited resources, demands and
psychological needs of his followers etc. Imam Ragib Ispahani said- “you will not be able to lead (the
nation), until you attain a deeper knowledge on Islamic laws and the international politics.”46

3. Courage and determination.

Courage and determination are qualities which every leader must embrace, acquire,
and possess. History is full of stories where ordinary people emerged as great leaders
because they showed courage and determination. Courage and determination emanate
from strong faith and belief and the complete satisfaction of one’s righteousness. The
story of Tariq Bin Ziad a young army general is a classic example where courage,
determination and confronting his fear led to the achievement of impossible tasks. It is
related that the Spanish King Roderick was a very cruel king who inflicted extreme
cruelties on his people. Besides being a tyrant and a repressive person he also
disgraced his own people. In one such display of his tyranny he laid his hands on a
female courtier who was the daughter of Count Julian, the Governor of Ceuta. This
infuriated the count so much that he decided to overthrow Roderick and approached
Musa bin Nusayr, the governor of Muslim North Africa, for help. Musa got the
Caliph’s approval, after which he sent Tariq bin Ziad a young general in 711 to assist
the Spanish people and get rid of the cruel King Roderick. Landing at Gibraltar ,
Tariq's army of 12,000 stood against 60,000 Spaniards, outnumbered 5:1. With his
back to the Mediterranean Sea and a seemingly overwhelming force in front of him,
Tariq gave the unthinkable order to his men to "burn their boats." His army's only
means of escape. Tariq then delivered an inspiring speech and urged his comrades to
be brave and think about the end goal, victory, and how they would achieve it. His
courage, determination, speech and vision of victory rallied his troops to total
commitment to the job at hand. With sheer courage and determination Tariq defeated
his strong enemy and led his people to victory. Leaders are indeed with their mettle
when they possess courage and determination as part of their character traits.
4.3 Courage and Determination The life of the Holy Prophet (SAW) involved numerous
examples of bravery and determination. To start with, when He was helpless with his crusade for
Islam, He proceeded with solid minded and never gave up. At the point when travelling from
Makkah to Madina, the kuffaars gathered around the cave and their place of hiding, Abu Bakr
(R.A) shuddered with fear of being found, however Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) was not alarmed.
What's more, Allah is noteworthy in Strength and Judicious. It displays His strength and how He
persisted on His intensity, which is the reason He never persecuted any of His exercises and used
to stay comfortable front of each fight that He battled against kuffars. From conception to
courageousness, from stimulation to sympathy and from perception to generosity, He had all
types to be unique in His attractiveness which oscillate Him from other conspicuous charismas
that existed, and tiered Him at the topmost of the list of the utmost dominant being in the past.
From a business perspective, mettle is having safe impacts about the expected plans of the
association and being readied to relate the contemplations of laborers and organization assets to
finish those objectives. Leader = Role Model

8. Patience and Endurance:

Patience (Sabr) and endurance is yet another hallmark of great leadership. God the
Mighty Wise himself has praised this quality in many verses of the Holy Quran. The
verse “O ye who believe! Persevere in PATIENCE and constancy; vie in such
perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear Allah. that ye may prosper.” Quran
3:200. This shows how important patience and endurance is for a leader and a believer
in general. This include the capacity to endure; the stamina to persevere in the face of
inevitable resistance, difficulty, and opposition in the struggle to bring about
improvement of social condition. All great leaders face tremendous challenges and
enormous difficulties but with patience and endurance they persevere and achieve the
………Patience and tolerance (Sabr): This is also an essential quality for a leader. It helps a person to
do something with great care. Criticism of opposition, failure in desired success, debate on decision
making etc may be properly overcome with the quality of Sabr. Allah likes the virtue and admires-“And
when they became steadfast and believed firmly in Our revelations, We appointed from among them
leaders who guided by Our command.”38 We see a great number of instances of Sabr in the life of
Prophets like Yakub, Aiyub, Yusuf (s). Our Prophet Muhammad (s) also showed mentionable patience
and tolerance in the event of His Taif tour and triumph of Makka.
Accountability (Ihtisab): a vital component for the leadership process. According to Islam, every single
person is responsible for all of his works and he has to be accountable for this. Allah says- “… Whosoever
does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of
an atom shall see it.”43 A leader is mostly responsible for his deeds and he is bound to be accountable
to his followers and Allah the Almighty. Prophet (s) clearly said- “Each of you is a shepherd and each of
you is responsible of his flock. The Amir (ruler) who is over the people is a shepherd and is responsible
for his flock.”44

0 Character as a Role Model

1.

The Prophet said, “Mark your personality decent for the individuals.”xiii A good leader has and
model personality. A leader should be renowned to be upright and honest in all his matters. A
 great leader should have the aptitude to be a leader; he should have undying commitment to his
vision and a good personality and be able to deal with personnel, clients, suppliers, regulators
and the wide-ranging people within which they function. The character attributes of
respectfulness, fairness, cooperativeness, benevolence, Self-sacrifice, truthfulness, reliability,
strategic thinking best signify the features of a great Leader. A leader will be a role model for his
people. It is because they choose and rooting his leader to bring them for kindness, peace, and well-
being. So for a leader in any circumstances, we have to aware and keep ourselves from negative things
that affect not only ourselves, but also people around us. It does not mean that we drastically change only
to keep our image; we still can be ourselves, with extra attention from people around us. It is normally
happen because they are dreaming a perfect leader and do not want their leader go to the wrong way.

From the four mandatory attributes of Prophet SAW, there’re many character of Prophet Muhammad
that we must know and learn it. There’re 50 character of Prophet Muhammad SAW :

 General Appearance
 Politeness
 Good Manners
 Humor
 Peace Lover
 Concerned about Orphans
 Sincerity
 Kindness
 Simplification and Ease
 Humbleness
 Juctice and Fairness
 Love of Purification
 Strong Faith and Dependence of God
 Generosity
 Confident
 Cooperation
 Bravery
 Good Morals
 Good Ethics
 Forbearance
 Sounds of Intellect
 Doing Things for the Sake of God
 Altuirsm
 Fearing God, being mindful to not Tresspass His limits
 Spending Geneorusly
 Having Bright face
 Aprroachable
 Being active and Noble in helping in action
 Having the best and cleariest speech
 Being skilled in managing and directing Ummah well
 Watching what to eat and drink (only pure and good things)
 Modesty
 Being Appreciative
 Being Pardoning
 Self Controlling in life
 Always seeking the Moderate path
 Bashfulness
 Richness
 Contentmen of hearts
 Hooping Goodnes, Even for His enemies
 Caring of women
 Kind to the kids
 Animal Rights Activist
 Disassociation From Worldly Possessions
 Considerate
 Being extremely forbearing
 Dignity
 Mercy
 Being very Excellent when dealing with people in interaction and with oneself
 Being Consistent in what you start and do to achieve

See also:

Islamic teachings and self-discipline

As explained earlier, Islam holds self-discipline in the highest regard.

Again and again, we are reminded as Muslims to exercise self-control,
to be in perfect control of our faculties, to be moderate in everything
and avoid excess wherever we can. Consider the following:

 Both men and women are instructed to lower their gaze so as to avoid
temptations stemming from noticing people of the opposite gender;
 Muslims are instructed to avoid anger, which is considered as the root
of evil;
 Muslims are instructed to pray five times a day, at specific times;
 fast for thirty days with very specific rules;
 perform the pilgrimage, which requires time, physical effort, money,
and a willing to momentarily leave the comforts of everyday life;
 pay a part of their wealth on a yearly basis to the poor;
 be polite and respectful in all interactions;
 think before speaking and avoid insults and disrespect;
 be clean and organized in all affairs;
 be in constant rememberance of God;
 remain in a state of ritual purity as much as possible;
 eat and drink according to a code
 …

I’m sure you get the point. (and I’m sure you also realize the
unfortunate gap between Islam and Muslims…)

No one denies that these teachings

Leadership Truth: Trust Rules Increased trust in a leader leads to followers having an increased
willingness to be influenced by that leader. This higher level of trust also motivates followers to work
harder for the leader. When people trust their leader they feel more secure and can focus their energy
on higher-level problems at work, instead of being concerned with their own security. To earn trust, the
leader must take the first risk by placing trust in their followers. Kouzes and Posner (2010a) mentioned
that it is also critical to trust that followers can and will improve, even when they are having difficulties.
The authors outline four actions to help a leader build trust: behave predictably and consistently,
communicate clearly, treat promises seriously, and be forthright and candid. Followers will also trust the
leader more if he or she shares information appropriately…. respectability of self-discipline and case,
of Leadership and self-assuredness, are certainly the furthermost vital social aids a Leader can
make to the business. 3.3 Dynamism. Credibility in Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the
last Prophet is the indispensable standard of Islam. He had the kindheartedness and
empathy ..
Physical fitness
Pilgrimage is a hard physical exercise that only can be enjoyed by the physically able
and fit.

The Prophet asked Muslims to teach their children swimming, archery and horse riding.
It was reported that he used to jog and race with his wife, Aisha, while he was in his
late 50s. He encouraged wrestling competitions among youth. He said, "The strong
believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, while there is good
in both."

Most of the companions were physically fit and strong, especially Hamza, Omar, Ali,
Saad, Kahled, Aisha, Safeyya, Asma and many others.
The women also participated in defending the community during different battles. One of the Prophet's
companions, Umm Umara, was instrumental in protecting his life in the battle of Uhud, which indicates
that women at the time of the Prophet were exercising regularly and were very fit. They fought side by
side with men and sometimes even won in sport competitions.

The Quran describes the physical fitness and strength of many Prophets, especially David, Solomon,
Moses and Joseph.

Public health interventions focusing on healthy eating – and environmental change to support these
behaviors – have been shown to be successful in reducing obesity and promoting healthy weight and
physical activity among children and adults. That is why the efforts of First Lady Michele Obama in
her"Let Us Move" campaign to encourage physical fitness, exercise and healthy eating habits should be
commended and promoted.

In Illinois, Muslim organizations are leading several initiatives to promote physical fitness, healthy diet and
exercise.

The Inner City Muslim Action Network, better known as IMAN, has launched the "Muslim Run"campaign

to promote health, wellness and healing in the "hood" through improving access to healthier food in "food

deserts," racial and ethnic healing and alternative business models. he Prophet SAW

said “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, while there

is good in both.” (Sahih Muslim). This further emphasizes the need for exercise and

fitness in Islam and life altogether. Like mentioned before, 3 of the 5 pillars of Islam

require the person to be of the right health and fitness, so it is imperative that a Muslim

keeps himself in shape to fulfil his obligations. Prayer requires movement of the

muscles and the joint and concentration of the mind; Fasting requires health to cope

with the rigours of hunger and Hajj requires strength and endurance to complete its

tasks.

The Prophet SAW advised us to be healthy and hardworking and other means that

maintain and improve our health, he said “O God, make the early morning hours

blessed for my nation.” Waking up early is one of the ways of keeping yourself healthy

and the Prophet has urged us to do so. Indeed physical activities has been around

since the time of the Prophet SAW and has virtues attached to it.
“Any action without the remembrance of God is either a diversion or heedlessness excepting

four acts: Walking from target to target [during archery practice], training a horse, playing with

one’s family, and learning to swim.”

The Prophet SAW even engaged in physical exercise with his wife Aisha (may Allah be

pleased with her) as narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her);

“I raced with the Prophet and I beat him. Later when I had put on some weight, we raced again

and he won. Then he said, ‘this cancels that (referring to the previous race).’”

Muslims should realize good health is a gift from Allah SWT and we shouldn’t take it

lightly. We will indeed be asked about it on the day of judgement so we should make

sure we live a healthy life. That being said, one should make sure he strikes a balance

between exercise and fulfilling his religious obligation because Allah SWT does not like

those who over do things.