Here, we understood that, if something bad happened to his people, a Leader, should not be mad if the blame was placed on him. Theologically, the community in Islam, is the source of legitimacy, and that leadership position, is contingent upon the approval of the community. Leaders are, therefore, assumed to act according to people's expectations, otherwise, followers would desert the leader.
In Islamic teaching, the approval of followers, is a prerequisite for effective leadership. Once leadership is established both followers and leaders have reciprocal obligations and entitlements. The fourth Caliph, Ali, stated, 'When both the constituencies and leaders observe each other's due right is strengthened, religion tenets are respected, justice prevails, and the society will benefit.’
So, these assumptions, constitute the foundations for leader selection and the nature of leadership. In terms of leader selection, the qualities of leaders, are given considerable attention in Islamic teaching and early tradition. The Quran repeatedly prohibits oppression and calls for justice and kindness. An additional quality, is the mandate to be, ‘Competent and Trustworthy.’
Our beloved Prophet (ﷺ), paced considerable emphasis on three qualities: Rahima (mercy), Ihsaan (excellence) and Adl (justice). These are considered prerequisites for leadership without any consideration to age or ethnicity. For example, when the Prophet (ﷺ) appointed Zaid bin Thabit to lead Muslims, Thabit placed under his command senior members of the Muslim community. In terms of ethnicity, the Prophet (ﷺ) asserted, ‘Listen to and obey whoever is in charge, even though he is an Ethiopian.'
Almost all Islamic thinkers agree on the qualities. There are variations, however, in details and additional qualities that are specific to certain tasks, or events. For example, Ikhwan-us-Safa (a tenth century intellectual society) asserts that, leaders must be intellectually sound, display an unwavering commitment to justice, and should have the following qualities in order to sustain power and governance: the ability to follow up on, and be concerned with, the affairs of the people; to treat people according to their deeds; to apply justice with no exception; to avoid brutality; to reward the knowledgeable and uneducated people accordingly, in terms of position and compensation; to select and appoint subordinates who have the best reputations and are independent; to supervise and conduct people's affairs; to select advisers from those who share his/her faith and outlook; to select a chief of staff in terms of faith and worldly affairs; to protect the rights of the weak and the oppressed people and to make certain that people who have been wrongly treated, are given justice.
The collapse of Baghdad, and the end of the Abbasid era after the Mongol invasion in 1258, left most Muslim societies in total disarray. This event was a turning point in Islamic history as it represented the end of rationalistic thinking and the beginning of the domination of a doctrine of Qadariyyah in all its gloom and pessimism. One of the few Muslim thinkers, who emerged after the demise of the Islamic golden era, Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406 CE). He attributed the decline of Islamic culture and state, to the absence of group solidarity and thoughtful leadership. He argued that Excellence (Ihsaan) and an inclination for collective or group feeling, are prerequisites for any leader. These are necessary qualities, and the absence of these qualities, he asserted, ‘would be like the existence of a person with his limbs cut off.' Ibn Khaldun made a powerful argument that, the decline of a nation, is linked to absence of leadership. And when a nation persists in its rejection of its leaders, its virtues subside, and eventually, leadership ceases to exist. He prescribed several qualities needed by leaders to ensure acceptance by followers. These are: generosity, forgiveness of errors, tolerance toward the weak, hospitality toward guests, support of subordinates, maintenance of the indigent, patience in adverse circumstances, faithful fulfilment of obligations, generosity with money for the preservation of honour, respect for the religious law and for the scholars who are learned in it, high regard for religious scholarship, belief in and veneration for men of religion and a desire to receive their prayers, respect for the elderly and teachers, justice for those who call for it , fairness to and care for those who are too weak to take care of themselves, humility toward the poor, attentiveness to the complaints of supplicants, fulfilment of the duties of the religious law and divine worship in all details, and avoidance of fraud , cunning, deceit and shirking of obligations.
The Prophet (ﷺ) looked at leadership as a process of shared influence. In his (ﷺ) general conduct of affairs, whether religious or otherwise, the Prophet (ﷺ) maintained two-way communication with his followers. He utilized both open public debate and sermons to introduce desired changes and reiterated that every person, regardless of his or her position, is a leader.
It appears that, the Prophet (ﷺ) recognized, that leadership is a shared influence process, and that such influence, must be goal oriented to serve the community. He (ﷺ) says,
أَحَبُّ النَّاسِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَنْفَعُهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ
'The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to people.' [al-Muʻjam al-Awsaṭ; Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani]
That is, leadership is valid only when it results in a benefit to the society, regardless of the setting. When linking leadership to societal contribution, the Prophet (ﷺ) appeared to underscore the significance of shouldering responsibility to achieve cohesiveness and the prosperity of the community. Furthermore, the Prophet (ﷺ) highlighted two necessary qualities for leadership: persuasion and moderation. In terms of persuasion, the Qur’an instructs,
اُدْعُ اِلٰى سَبِيْلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُمْ بِالَّتِيْ هِيَ اَحْسَنُۗ
'Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best ....' [QS. An-Nahl (16):125]
In terms of moderation, seeking the middle way is considered a virtue as the Prophet (ﷺ) asserts, ‘The best way is the middle-way.’ The Qur'an declares,
وَكَذٰلِكَ جَعَلْنٰكُمْ اُمَّةً وَّسَطًا
'And thus We have made you a Wasat Nation ....' [QS. Al-Baqarah (2):143]
The Prophet (ﷺ) said,
وَالْوَسَطُ الْعَدْلُ
'... And Al-Wasat is 'Just' ....' [Recorded in Fath Al-Bari 8 :21 , Tuhfat Al Ahwadhi 8 :297, An-Nasai in Al-Kubra 6:292, and Ibn Majah 2 :1432]
The immediate successors to the Prophet (ﷺ), seemed, in general, not to deviate from the Islamic view of leadership set out in the Qur'an and the teachings and examples of our beloved the Prophet (ﷺ). During their era, the newly emerged Islamic State expanded, acquired more resources, and in the process, faced more complex challenges. In fact the leaders, who for a long time were under the supervision of the the Prophet (ﷺ), had to answer questions related to managing the State and coping with existing military threats while being responsive to a much larger, more vocal, and diverse constituency. In meeting these emerging difficulties, these successors articulated a vision of leadership that captured the essence of Islamic thinking and energized followers to participate actively in building new institutions and vibrant communities. Their vision of leadership, is based on four interrelated assumptions.
First, Leadership Responsibility is a Civic Duty. In the early years of Islam, Muslims viewed the role of Caliph as a position that represented a successor to the Prophet (ﷺ), but that was neither an heir to his right nor a replacement for him (ﷺ). In Islam, the government is considered a civic system, that is entirely built on the will of the community. Community approval of how things should be done, and who should assume the leadership position is needed to ensure legitimacy and continuation.
Second, Leadership is a Shared Influence. Leaders are influenced by their followers’ expectations and demands. Thus, consensus in the decision-making process, is the foundation for governance. During that time, public debate and transparency in decision making, were a policy choice. This was exemplified by an incident that took place between the Second Caliph, 'Umar, radhiyallahu 'anhu, and a community member in a public meeting. The individual criticized the second Caliph, and some in the audience thought the criticism was harsh. 'Umar’s answer was that it was the duty of the leader and followers to listen to each other, and to voice concerns. He said, ‘When followers do not participate and provide input, they are not contributing something useful. And we are not useful, if we do not consent to their contributions.’
Third, Leadership is a Reciprocal Relationship. In line with the first two points, Islamic teaching asserts that leadership is reciprocal. The philosophical assumption is that there will be neither leaders nor leadership without followers. The followers give meaning and legitimacy to leadership. The First Caliph, Abu Bakr, radhiyallahu 'anhu, argued that, ‘When a leader is good in conduct, followers will be sincere for him.’ The fourth Caliph, Ali, radhiyallahu 'anhu, articulated the nature of reciprocity between a leader and followers and argued that it was essential for legitimacy, 'Allah has made it an obligation for His creatures, to observe their obligations toward each other. He made them equitable and interdependent. The greatest of those obligations are the mutual rights of the ruler and the ruled. Allah has made them reciprocal so that they constitute a basis for their cohesion.'
Fourth, Leadership is an Attribution Phenomenon. Followers attribute certain qualities to leaders. These attributes are mostly behaviour based; followers observe leaders and make corresponding relations between observed behaviour and character. Accordingly, followers make attributions whether the person is a leader or not."
