Dear all,
Tutorial 3 will focus on leadership issues in terms of Islamic perspective; sources of power; and the traditional malay concept of leadership. I will start with a simple section on Islamic perspective of leadership. This will take no more than 1 hour, excluding Q&A. Please seek as many views as possible regarding this topic. Then, I will proceed with 'sources of power'. I believe you have studied this before. Finding the correct books or articles should not be a problem to you because this topic is not new. After that, I will briefly discuss the traditional Malay concept of leadership. Please look for "Malay Political Leadership" by Shome (2002) in the library. Otherwise, Mahathir Mohamad's "Malay Dillema" is commendable. Have fun.Islam’s Perspective of LeadershipWith much emphasis given to the roots and fundamental of its principles in a well-ordered system where polity is laid firmly on the foundations of sovereignty of God (instead of the State) and the vicegerency (or Khilafah) of man, Islam indeed placed leadership as one of the critical components of its main tenets. It is one of the factors that helps leading the ummah (society) to the straight path, as clearly mentioned in the Al-Qur’an (1:5).Scholars even go further, stressing on the importance of ummah as a whole by giving meaning to leadership, as one says,“What we need to understand is that the political leadership of the Ummah as well as its political institutions and processes need to reflect the true nature and thought of the Ummah. Otherwise, no leadership or public political institution can ever hope to prosper, develop, or survive.”
Leadership is considered central to the Islamic personality and has been greatly exemplified by the Prophet s.a.w (Ismail, 1999:7). It is mentioned in many ways in the al-Qur’an and hadith (the sayings of Rasulallah saw). In view of this, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “All of you are trustees, and each is responsible for those entrusted to his care.” (Bukhari) and “Any superior who misrules his followers shall go to hell.” (Tabrani).
Islam, as a din regards man as the vicegerent (khalifah) of God on earth. Every man is entrusted onto him trust (amanah) and responsibility to rule and dominate the earth according to God’s will and purpose, as laid out by the al-Qur’an (Al-Baqarah (2): 30). In doing so – i.e dominating the earth – human must, at all time, hold on to the condition that they remain obidient to God, that is, being God’s servant, or ‘abd Allah.
It is, therefore, pertinent to note – though repetitively and over and over again – that Islam views leadership as a trust that comes with responsibilities. As opposed to the Western tradition, where the trust is normally observed and emphaised in the form of organisational objectives, Islam relates leadership with the trust which is from God. A leader, therefore, must at any time, adheres to the rules and regulations as stated clearly by the al-Qur’an and the Prophet’s hadith and sunnah.
Thus, it is clearly stated that the basic conception of leadership in Islam is man-centred. It goes therefore, that, in Islamic perspective, studies on leadership aspects should first concentrate on the mission of prophets which is to propagate, disseminate the teachings of Allah (swt) and establish the divine guidance in this world by building the basic foundation of the social and moral system. In fact this was the mission of all divinely inspired Prophets who appeared in succession ever since man’s habitation on earth up to the advent of Muhammad (saw) (Khurshid, 1982:149).The basic principle of Islam, then, in view of leadership, is that human beings must – individually and collectively – surrender all rights of overlordship, legislation and exercising of authority over others. This basic principle is going along consistently well with the philosophical foundations of Islam which include, though not meant to be exaustive, principles such as:
(1) The belief in oneness and unity of God and all that is in the universe are His alone (Tauhedd uluhiyyah). Man is just a trustee of resources found on earth and must undertake upon himself to allow its benefits to be shared and distributed equitably among mankind, as the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:“All of you are trustees, and each is responsible for those entrusted to his care.” (Bukhari)
(2) The belief that God alone determines the sustenance and nourishment of His creation and will direct those who believe Him towards success (Tauheed rububiyyah);
(3) Man’s role as God’s vicegerent on earth (Khilafah). The believing man must undertake responsibility of illustrating a model example for other men to follow. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:“Any superior who misrules his followers shall go to hell.” (Tabrani)
(4) The growth and purification of man as a necessary prerequisite before man undertakes the responsibilities laid out to him (Tazkiyyah an-nas); and
(5) Understanding the concept of success; that any success achieved in the life on earth will contribute as a succes in the hereafter as long as the worldly success had been achieved within the guidance of God (Al-falah).The fact that Islam views leadership as an everyone’s responsibility on earth is very much reflected in the way leaders and subordinates in any forms of organisations should behave in performing their jobs, ideally. In other words, Muslim leaders and subordinates display personal attributes that are quite different with those traits as identified and suggested by Western scholars and researchers through various theories that had been developed regarding leadership. In contrast to Western’s view of leadership, like for example the universal trait theories, Muslims are, at all time, regulated by specific guidelines as laid out in the holy Al-Qur’an and guided further by hadith (the sayings of the Prophet). The Al-Qur’an for example mentions personal traits that are considered vital to effective and meaningful leadership.
The attributes of leaders-administrators for example, are specifically mentioned, which include(1) Trustworthiness (Al-Nisa (4): 58);(2) Sincerity (Al-Zumar (39):14);(3) Accountability (Al-Zalzalah (99): 7-8); Al-Fatir (35): 18);(4) Dedication (Hadith – Al-Bayhaqi); The tradition of the Prophet has stated that Allah loves any person who has devoted towards one particular job until he is able to muster the works;(5) Gratefulness (Al-Baqarah (2): 172; 151);(6) Moderation (Al-Furqan (25): 67);(7) Cleanliness (Al-Maidah (5): 100);(8) Discipline (Al-Saff (16): 4);(9) Cooperation (Al-Maidah (5): 21);(10) Patience (Al-Qur’an (94): 6)
Another useful perspective is offered by Ismail (1999:36). He observes that the Prophet s.a.w. leadership is basically based on five tenets of excellence, i.e.: Personal integrity; Enhancement of relationships with people; Leadership efficacy; Ethical conduct; Moral uplift through spiritual knowledge.
These are all but inexaustive personal traits which are highly commendable according to Islamic’s view of leadership. The quality of a leader is observed in such a way that he is able to perform his responsibilities according to what God has laid out in the Al-Qur’an. By virtue of the trust that is bestowed upon him by God, not only a leader must guide his subordinates or followers, but to a certain extent he must be there at all time, protect and treat them fairly and with justice.
Notes:[[1]] AbdulHamid, A.A. (1993: 132).[[2]] “You who believe, obey Allah and obey the Prophet and those of authority among you” (Al-Qur’an, 4:59).[[3]] The term din is not the same as the concept ‘religion’ as interpreted and understood throughout Western religious history. Here, din is understood in such a way that, all the basic connotations inherent in the term are conceived as gathered into a single unity of coherent meaning as reflected in the Holy Qur’an and in the Arabic language to which it belongs. The primary significations of the term din can be reduced to four: (a) indebtedness; (b) submissiveness; (c) judicious power; (d) natural inclination or tendency. Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas (1992: 2). Islam. The concept of religion and the foundation of ethics and morality. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka.[[4]] Seyyed Hossein, N. (2002: 13). The heart of Islam. Enduring values for humanity. New York: HarperCollins.[[5]] The role of human and its contribution to a meaningful development in Islam is discussed in many publications. The principles as outlined in this section – which are not meant to be exaustive – are contained in a book, authored by Aidit Ghazali, entitled Development: An Islamic perspective (1990: 23). Petaling Jaya: Pelanduk Publications.[[6]] Some of the attributes are mentioned in a book, “Islamic values and management”, Syed Othman & Aidit (Eds.) (1994: 27).
