‘O! Allah rescue us from this village the inhabitants of which are unjust; and raise for us from thyself a friend; and raise for us from thyself a helper’ (Quran 4: 75)
But political anomie, civil strife and disharmony, in the main, have ironically become visible features of the ordinary Muslim state in the contemporary period. Even though lack of quality leadership, is itself an effect the cause being absence of quality followership, the former has been enamoured by the seeming intractable problem of corruption. The latter has led to arrested development, poverty and the enthronement of a state of insecurity. Mention any continent in the world where Muslims are in the majority, recall a modern nation state excepting some in the Gulf region which operate “benevolent” monarchy, you would marvel about how lack of quality leadership has become a recipe for internal implosion and displacement. It has equally led to the loss of the advantages which Arabic-Islamic culture used to have far and above that of the Other.
One way by which we can begin to confront the challenge of leadership currently confronting the world is to enthrone individuals with positive philosophies to life. In other words, we need to elect leaders whose approach to leadership is possibilities not impossibilities. This flows from the saying of Aishah, the beloved wife of our Prophet. She once said: “Whenever the Prophet had to choose between two options, he always opted for the easier choice.” (Al-Bukhari) To choose the easiest option means to begin from the possible, and one who begins from the possible will surely reach his goal.
Let us move from the above to elect leaders who would see beyond the “negative now” to the “positive now”. Put differently, in order to confront the challenge of leadership across the Muslim world, we need a set of leaders who would see advantage in the present position of disadvantage in which the Muslim world is steeped. Allah says: “With every hardship there is ease, with every hardship there is ease.” (Q94:5-6).
We need a new crop of leaders whose weltanschauung, while completely ingrained in Islam would be positively strong and infectious enough as to serve as attractions for the non-Muslim other; a new crop of leaders whose approach to governance would create friends out of enemies. Such was the power of good character in the leader as exemplified in the persona of the Prophet that Allah says: “repel evil with good and you will see your worst enemy become your closest friend” (Q41:34).
Brethren, solving the problem of leadership would demand the emergence of a new set of leaders who would turn our debits to credits, our minuses to plus. After the Battle of Badr, about 70 of the unbelievers were taken as prisoners of war. They were educated people. Prophet Muhammad announced that if any one of them would teach ten Muslims how to read and write he would be freed. This led to the establishment of the first school in Islamic annals. It was a school in which all the students were Muslims while all the teachers were non-Muslims and sworn enemies of Islaam. A British Orientalist pondered this important event and remarked thus: “He faced adversity with the determination to create success out of failure”.
Brethren, we need gradualists as leaders not obscurantists and ignorant radicals. This idea is exemplified by a hadith reported by Al-Bukhari in which Aishah is reported to have said that the first verses of the Qur’an that were revealed were related mostly to heaven and hell. And then after a long time when the people’s hearts had softened, the specific commands to desist from adultery and drinking were revealed in the Qur’an. This is a clear proof that for social changes to take place, Islam prefers the evolutionary method to the revolutionary method which often leads to chaos, violence and loss of lives and properties.
Let me close with the following from Ibn Qayyim. He was once asked about the signs of a diseased heart, he responded saying: a diseased heart does not feel any hurt or pain when he commits evil deeds and sins; he finds both pleasure in committing sins and tranquility after doing them; he looks after less important matters and neglects more important and critical ones; he dislikes the truth and has difficulty accepting or submitting to it; he feels discomfort being in the company of the righteous and feels comfort in the company of the sinful; he is susceptible to misconceptions and doubts, and is attracted to debates and arguments about them rather than to reading Qur’an and other such beneficial acts; he is not affected by any kind of admonition. While pondering that, reflect on this from Prophet Muhammad: kayfama taqunu yuwalla alaykum- the way you are would determine the leader that shall be appointed unto you.
