Part I

 

1. Initial Supplication

 

I seek refuge with Allah from the Accursed Shaytan

In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

All Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds

And peace be upon the greatest among the prophets and messengers

Our master and leader Muhammad…..

 

And upon his righteous and pure progeny. 

 

As-Salaam Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuho!

The Peace, Mercy of God and the Blessings of God be on you!

 

2. Starting with a verse from the Holy Qur’an (the Final Testament)

 

Bismillah Hir Rahman Nir Raheem

In The Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

  

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا

 

[2:124] And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make you an Imam of men.

 

3. Importance of Leadership

1. There is a tradition which says: "Allah appointed Ibrahim a Prophet before He appointed him His Messenger; He appointed him His Messenger before He appointed him His Friend; and He appointed him His Friend before He appointed him an Imam."

2. Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.) had to pass through many trials because of his faith

   1. thrown into a burning fire

   2. fight a whole nation single-handedly

   3. broke the idols

   4. about to slaughter his own son

3. After he had passed through all these trials successfully, Allah called him an Imam and a leader

4. Holy Prophet said: "If more than two persons travel together, let them elect one of them as their leader."

5. Each one of us is a leader in our circles (at work, at home, with friends, with committees)

    

   So what does it take to be an Imam/Leader of people for us?

    

4. First Characteristic: Character

   I found more than a dozen by Shaheed Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari, but here are 3

   1. Compassion -

   Imam Ali (a.s.) said: "Allah, the Almighty has appointed me an Imam of His creation. As such He has made it incumbent on me to be on a level with the poorest so that a poor man may remain content with his poverty and the riches of a rich man may not distract him."

   2. Justice -

   "Allah commands you that you restore trusts to their owners, and if you judge between people, judge justly." (4:58)

   3. Generosity -

   In distribution of war spoils, the Prophet (s.a.w.) always preferred the others over his family members. His share in the spoils of the Battle of Hunayn consisted of 40,000 sheep, 24,000 camels and 16 tons of silver. Safwan ibn Umayya, from whom God’s Messenger had borrowed some weapons before the battle, gazed upon the spoils with greed and bewilderment. Aware of Safwan’s desire, the Messenger gave him as many camels as he wanted. Astounded with the generosity of God’s Messenger, Safwan ran to his people and announced; ‘O my people! Accept Islam without hesitation. For Muhammad gives in such a way that only a man who is never afraid of poverty and has a perfect reliance on God can give.’ The generosity of God’s Messenger sufficed for the guidance of Safwan and his people, who had been among the most bitter enemies of Islam until just before that day.

    

   Of course the most generous example was the sacrifices made by the Prophet in spreading the message of Islam

   يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا

   [33:45] O Prophet! surely We have sent you as a witness, and as a bearer of good news and as a warner,

   وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُّنِيرًا

   [33:46] And as one inviting to Allah by His permission, and as a light-giving torch.

 

5. Second Characteristic: Having the right Vision / Guided

   1. The Holy Prophet was the bearer of the Divine Message and the leader of Divine movement. Imam Husayn (a.s.) rose to bring back a straying society to the right path. Both of them displayed high qualities of leadership because they had a vision of through the guidance of Allah s.w.t.

   عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَى غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا

   [72:26] The Knower of the unseen! so He does not reveal His secrets to any,

   إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَى مِن رَّسُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَصَدًا

   [72:27] Except to him whom He chooses as a messenger; ...

    

   2. Allah has provided His Prophets from the treasures of His subtlety, generosity, and mercy
   3. He has taught them from the wealth of His knowledge, and He has singled them out for Himself from among all creation
   4. He made obedience to and love for them the cause of His contentment, and opposition to them and rejection of them a cause for His wrath
   5. Therefore glorify all the prophets of Allah, and do not place them in the same position as anyone inferior to them. … How can you arrive at the reality of what they have from Allah?
   6. People at the time of the Prophet knew this: Al-Bukhari, Ibn Majah, & Ahmad

    

   Al-Bukhari narrated from Ibn `Umar: "We kept away from conversation and leisurely talk to our women lest some revelation come down concerning us. After the Prophet died we spoke more freely."

    

   7. And here the Prophet publicly proclaimed in one of his final sermon: "The Messenger of Allah - may Allah bestow peace and benedictions upon him and his Progeny - said: "Verily, I am leaving behind two precious things (thaqalayn) among you: the Book of God and my kindred (`itrah), my household (Ahl al­Bayt), for indeed, the two will never separate until they come back to me by the Pond (of al­Kawthar on the Judgement's Day)."

 

In conclusion for the first part, Leadership is important in Islam. The 2 characteristics we covered that are essential for a Leader are Character and Vision

 

Glossary

s.w.t. = May He be Glorified and Exalted

a.s. = Upon him be Peace

p.u.b.h.&f = Peace be Upon him and his family

 

- Mujtaba Khambatti, Sept. 7, 2007