Leadership in Islamic Perspective

Leadership in the Islamic Perspective Regarding our Culture

by Sultan Muhammad

Introduction

Leadership is the ability of a person to lead a group of people to achieve a given task, Leadership is an inspiration for the people, and those people are leaders who inspire others. Leaders are present around us, we can see them in every day life, when some one among them attain the level where he can demonstrate and exercise his ability for the common purpose, they excel and then we recognise them as a leader

Objective of the study

Define leader ship concept in Islam

Explore the concept of Islamic leadership in our culture

Islamic Leadership

Mohammad (peace be upon him) is the greatest leader of world, in the history of mankind there is no other person who can reach to his level or status. He is model for all humanity, how to lead the people, if we read all the modern books about leadership today, we will see the qualities of Mohammad (peace be upon him) in these books. How he guide his followers, how he inspire the people of Arab at that time. Imagine about the people of Arab at that moment, most of them were illiterate and rigid and ready to kill each other for nothing, buried alive baby girls when born in their family.

Mohammad (peace be upon him) motivated those people and changed them completely, from negative to positive and those were the Arab who later on ruled half of the world for a long time

Morshed Abul Ala defines Islamic leader ship” A person or a group that will lead humanity from the brink of destruction to the way of Allah the Almighty”

To understand the model of Islamic leadership, examine the life of our beloved prophet and his companion as Leaders and the qualities they have;

Inspired the people

Love and kindness for his follower.

Built relationship between them like brothers

Trust them and give them the lesson of trust and Build trust between them

Give respect to the people

Create the environment of Confidence between them

Always open to suggestion

Acceptable as a leader

Ready to sacrifice his own interest for the sack of others

Understand the responsibilities

Open-minded

Ability of quick decision making

To understand the problem of the people

Communication skills

Planning

Organizing ( utilizing the resources to reach the target )

Implementing of the plan

Dynamic ready to lead every time

Islamic leader is the man of words

Leadership is all about vision , can see there, where no other can see

Difference between Islamic and secular leadership

• The aim of Secular leadership's is self-establishment. While Islamic Leadership's target the community, to achieve Jannatul Firdaws (Highest position in Paradise)
• Secular leaderships work for pleasure and respect boss. Islamic Leaderships work for the pleasure of Allah.

Leadership problem in Pakistan is not new, from the very begging of Pakistan after the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first governor general of Pakistan. We had never found a sincere leader who addresses the real problems of Pakistan and to lead the people of Pakistan. Due to these reason Pakistani people are still looking for good leader who can solve their problems and lead them on the path of development and prosperity. Every time when a new government comes into power, people see them with the hope that they would take real steps and take the country to a new phase. But they never find the leader who has the courage to fight with the corrupt establishment, who could make a real team from the people of Pakistan.

The questions arise, where the problem lays, why we are not creating great and an honest leader, who can lead us? The answers to these questions can be here some where in our society, there is no doubt that we have great leader all round us, but the problem is, we are not recognising them, it is due to lack of education in our country, the lack of awareness on the part of the people. The majority of Pakistani people could not read newspaper, they did not know the people, who they are sending to the assemblies, those are maximum corrupt people and they have no character.

It is because, we ignore the basic philosophy of Islam, that tell us to select a honest person to lead you to the right direction, to lead you in the prayers and other walks of life, Islam has given us great models in leadership after Mohammad (peace be upon him) in every century.

It is the duty of teachers in Pakistan to create awareness in the students about the teachings of Islam and to create leadership and refine the student and polish their leadership qualities, it is also the responsibility of a teacher to become a reformer and educate the people around him, to select honest and educated people for their representation in every walk of life, the people who know the values of Islam and admire them,

For this purpose we need leaders in schools and colleges, who train young mind to right direction, who spread the light of knowledge in the darkness.

References

Abul Ala, . (n.d.). Principles of Islamic Leadership. Retrieved June 12, 2008, from http://www.youngmuslims.ca/articles/display.asp?ID=26.

Ahmed, A. (1987). Pakistan Society: Islam, Ethnicity and Leadership in South Asia. New York: Oxford University Press, USA.

Bangash, Z. (2001). Concepts of Leader and Leadership in Islam, The. New York: Crescent Publications.