INTERNATIONAL BURCH UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ECONOMICS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP

by
Emina Heri

Project supervisor Edin Smaji

SARAJEVO April, 2012

Introduction

By the first period of Islam, the essence has been pointed out, a man kind cannot survive without a leader who will explain and deliver a Gods message to them. Therefore throughout the history of Islam, or more precisely from the very first man created, Allah was sending a leader to the people to simplify, explain, guide, motivate, encourage and promise them reward for worshiping Allah, the One, the Almightier. There is a huge message behind this, and many forget to consider it. By sending a leader to human kind Allah Almighty prevented any kind of lack of information, there cannot be a single person who would say I didnt know what the right way is. This is the holiness of Gods message, it is comprehensive, and it pertains to any person regardless of nation, skin color or geographical position. It is the worlds only message that is aimed to be applied globally. The essence of the Muhammad (PBUH) dawah is summarized in the Holy Quran, the book that Allah Almighty revealed to him by His angel Jebrail. In the Holy Quran the word right path has been mentioned 543 times, showing its importance. In the Holy Quran Allah says: Certainly an apostle has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into distress, excessively solicitous respecting you; to the believers (he is) Compassionate, Merciful. (9:128). This verse is explaining few characteristics of a leader of a mankind, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): From yourselves means that the Prophet (PBUH) is from among the people so that he is not foreign to them. He is a human being like others. As a leader being from and among the people is one of the factors for his success. Grievous to him is your falling into distress means that he suffers with his Ummah and as a leader, he tries to decrease the factors which result in peoples distress and hardships. Excessively solicitous respecting you means that he is eager to rescue and guide the people. To the believers (he is) compassionate, merciful shows that he is compassionate and kind towards his followers and believers [1]. Therefore in the following pages my concentration will be on presenting the uniqueness, rightness and comprehensiveness of Prophet (PBUH) leadership. I would use him as model for Islamic leadership perspectives, the one that has been subject to many controversies and yet remains safe from the many manipulation and hostile intentions.

Islamic Leadership

Sources of Islamic Leadership

Before a leader prepares him for this sublime vocation, there are a few basic conditions that have to be fulfilled. Meaning to say, a leader has to be close with his heart and deeds to the origins of any action in Islam. Those are: -Holy Quran- a Book given to the whole man kind to be their manual in exhibiting their lives towards the pureness and glory, There has come to you from Allah Light and a Plain Book (5:15)". This Book is completely intended to approve the dignity of a human, to explain disputes and to promise the rewards for obeying. Therefore in the Holy Quran, chapter 6, verse 165 Allah The Merciful says: 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" - Sunnah- the term Sunnah refers to those actions of the Prophet (pbuh), which the Prophet (pbuh) initiated, performed and promoted among all his followers, as a part of God's faith and the holy mission given to him. His mission has been many times pointed out in the Quran, emphasizing that he is a true model for a Muslims life. Therefore chapter 33, verse 21 says: For you the life of the Prophet is a good model of behavior". -Wise Caliphs- After death of the Prophet (pbuh), Islamic country was ruled by the four pious, wise Caliphs who were his ashabs, firstly supporting him on the saint journey of spreading the Islamic message and later on strengthening the Islamic country through political order not weakening the saturation of Islam. Those were: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. -Ummah- represents all of the followers of the Prophet (pbuh) then and now. That is the connection that never will be broken, and after the Prophet (pbuh) all of them have given legacy to continue the Prophets (pbuh) message.

Principles of Leadership

Many have found difficulty to give one, common and comprehensive definition of a leadership. Therefore there are as many definitions as those who tried to define it. On the other hand Islamic Leadership can be defined as follows: A person or a group that will lead humanity from the brink of destruction to the way of Allah the Almighty [2]. A leader in Islam is said to be not free to act as he chooses, nor must he submit to the desires of others --- he must act in accordance to Allahs laws like how Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) exemplified his kind of leadership. Allah said in the Quran, And We made them leaders guiding men by Our Command and We sent inspiration to do good deeds, to establish prayers and to practice charity; and they constantly served Us only(Quran 21:37)[3]. Prophet (pbuh) was a leader for Muslims, in the war and peace time, in the past and in the present. His set of skills pertaining to communication, presentation, influencing, persuading, negotiating and deciding were used in the way that even in 21st century many are coming back to them as a model of the best leadership. Principle 1: Mutually Consulting (Shura) Shura, as a principle, is rooted in the Quran itself. The Quran has presented shura as a principle, and not as a system, of governance. The distinction is important to note, because the Quran thereby has left it to successive generations of Muslims to continue to strive toward a more perfect realization of the shura principle. [4]. Therefore in the chapter 3, verse 159 this principle is presented: So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. By applying this principle prophet was practicing what is today called as participative leadership, giving to everyone equal chance for contribution, asking for everyones opinion and sharing the risk and results commonly. Principle 2: Empathy and Compassion towards All In the Quran, chapter 21, verse 107 Allah, The One, says: We sent you merely as a Mercy for all humanity. By revealing this and similar verses to the Prophet (pbuh), Allah emphasized the importance of empathy and compassion. He shall not be compassionate just toward human kind,

rather towards all and everything that surrounds him. In Islam, compassionate leaders enact the following attributes: Are willing to overlook mistakes and failures, and view them as learning opportunities, Dont beat their followers over their head with their mishaps, but rather ask for Allah to forgive them, Persevere with sabr (patience) in the path of Allah without any decrement in their own iman and level of taqwa, as mentioned in Quran: And We made of them leaders giving guidance under Our command when they patiently persevered, and had conviction in Our signs. (Surah 32:24) [5] Principle 3: The Power of Peace is Stronger than the Power of Violence This principle is best explained by the certain event. When Mecca was conquered all of the Prophets (saw) direst opponents were brought before him. They were war criminals, in every sense of the word. But the Prophet (saw) did not order to kill them. He simply said: Go, you are free. The result of this kind behavior was miraculous. They immediately accepted Islam. [6] Principle 4: Gradualism instead of Radicalism This principle is well-established by a hadith of Al-Bukhari. Aishah says that the first verses of the Quran were related mostly to heaven and hell. And then after a long time when the peoples hearts had softened, the specific commands to desist from adultery and drinking were revealed in the Quran. This is a clear proof that for social changes, Islam advocates the evolutionary method, rather than the revolutionary method. . [7] Principle 5: Being Pragmatic in Controversial Matters During the writing of Hudaibiyyah treaty, the Prophet (saw) dictated these words: This is from Muhammad, the Messenger of God. The Qurayshi delegate raised objections over these words. The Prophet (saw) promptly changed the word and ordered to write simply Muhammad, son of Abdullah. [8]

Conclusion

Five principles together with short an overview represented are just one small pit in the remarkable cluster of Islamic, or more precisely Prophets (PBUH) leadership. Those were general one, starting point or ice breakers that Prophet (pbuh) used in order to lead and deliver the essence of life for human kind. He was a leader never similar to present ones, so modest (his bad was from straw, his mantle was almost whole quilted), he was a negotiator with friends and enemies, he never attacked first, and acceptance of the right pat was always more precious to him than slavery. He was respecting the dignity of a man and woman, he was a high-high leader there and after. In many books Prophet (pbuh) was presented as a leader that influenced and will influence humanity till where the Suns rays spreads.

REFERENCES:
[1] http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=223828 [2]http://www.ibrahimm.com/ISLAM/Islamic%20Articles/PRINCIPLES%20OF%20ISLAMIC%20LEADERSHI P.htm [3] Sumndad, M. R., Steping outside the Culture: The Islamic Way of Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/16026292/Leadership-in-Islam [4] Sulaiman, S. J. (1999), The http://www.alhewar.com/SadekShura.htm Shura Principle in Islam, Retrieved from

[5] http://theislamicworkplace.com/2011/06/05/core-principles-of-islamic-leadership-empathy-andcompassion-towards-all/ [6], [7], [8] http://theislamicworkplace.com/leadership-and-islam/