1.  Describe the two primary role of a leader
in Islam
1. Servent:
2. Guardian

2. Leadership in Islam is a trust (amanah).
It is a psychological contract between a
leader and his followers that he will try his
best to guide them, to protect them and to
treat them fairly and with justice.
The focus of leadership in Islam is on doing
good.
According to Islam, every person is the
“shepherd” of a flock, and occupies a
position of leadership.

3. Muslims must:
 appoint a leader during a trip
 select a leader to lead the prayer
 choose a leader for other group
activities
What a Muslim is required to do

4. Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your
Lord? It is We Who portion out between them their
livelihood in the life of this world: and We raise some
of them above others in ranks so that some may
command work from others. But the Mercy of your
Lord is better than the (wealth) which they amass.
(Qur’an, Zukhruuf, 43: 32).
Reflect on this

5. “Behold! Each of you is a guardian, and each of you will be
asked about his subjects.”
“When three are on a journey, they should appoint one of
them as their commander.”
“Muslims must appoint a leader during a trip, select a leader
(imam) to lead the prayer, and choose a leader for other
group activities.”
Reflect on these hadith

6. According to Islam, the two primary roles of a leader
are those of servant-leader and guardian-leader.
 A leader is the servant of his followers. He is to seek
their welfare and guide them towards good.
 As the guardian-leader the Muslim leader protects
his community against tyranny and oppression,
encourages God-consciousness and taqwa, and
promotes justice.
Leadership roles from an Islamic perspective
“A commander (of the Muslims) is a shield for them.”

7. Leadership in Islam is rooted in belief and
willing submission to the Creator, God. It
centers on serving Him.
To serve God, a Muslim leader is to act in
accordance with the injunctions of God and His
Prophet (saw), and must develop a strong
Islamic moral character.
Moral Bases of Islamic Leadership

8. This moral character will be reflected by his
increasingly strong belief in God as he progresses
through four stages of spiritual development:
iman,
islam,
taqwa
ihsan.

9. Iman is faith in God. Iman implies belief in the Oneness
of God and the prophethood of Muhammad (saw).
A leader with a strong iman will consider himself and all his
possessions as belonging to God. He will bow his ego, his
ideas, his passions and his thinking to God.
Iman also implies belief in the life hereafter and in one’s
ultimate accountability for one’s deeds. A leader with a firm
iman will not dodge responsibility for his actions,
and will continuously emphasize good deeds.
Moral Bases of Islamic Leadership:
Iman

10. Islam means the achievement of peace with God, within
oneself and with the creation of God, through willing
submission to Him.
Because of his or her iman, a leader who practices Islam
will never see himself as supreme.
Ali Ibn Abu Talib’s (ra) letter to Malik al-Ashtar an-Nukai,
the new Governor of Egypt, stresses this point in the
following manner:
Malik, you must never forget that if you are a ruler over them,
then the Caliph is a ruler over you, and God is the supreme
Lord over the Caliph.
Moral Bases of Islamic Leadership:
Islam

11. Taqwa is the all-encompassing, inner consciousness of
duty towards God and awareness of one’s accountability
towards Him.
When imbued with taqwa, a person’s frame of mind - his
thoughts, emotions and inclinations - will reflect Islam.
Taqwa will restrain a Muslim leader or follower from
behaving unjustly - whether to community members, to
customers, to suppliers or to anybody else.
Moral Bases of Islamic Leadership:
Taqwa

12. Ihsan is the love of God. This love of God motivates the
individual Muslim to work towards attaining God’s
Pleasure.
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) describes ihsan as follows:
“To worship God as if you see Him, and if you cannot
achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that
He is looking at you.”
The constant feeling that God is watching is likely to prompt
any leader or follower with Ihsan to behave at his best.
Moral Bases of Islamic Leadership:
Ihsan

13.  Reflect on some general priciples that
guide your thoughts about
organizational leadership?

14. Organizational leadership is about management.
Leadership by itself is transformative, it is about
shifting priorities in workers and creating followers
through the articulation of a vision. However,
when leadership is embedded within an
organization, the definition changes to leadership
within, rather than above, the organization and,
therefore, becomes management or even better,
supervision.

15. 1. Must Know Him and Continuously Seek
Self-improvement:
To know self, one has to understand attributes
like, be, know and do. Seeking self-improvement
means continually strengthening such attributes,
which can be accomplished through reading, self-
study, classes, etc.

16. 2. Be Technically Proficient:
As a leader, one must know his job and the job of his
followers.
3. Must Seek Responsibility and Take
Responsibility for His Actions:
Leader must guide his organization to new heights. In
the process of guiding, things may at time go wrong.
He must not blame others for the situation, rather,
must take the responsibility himself. He must analyse
the situation, take corrective action and
move on to the next action.

17. 4. Must Make Sound and Timely Decisions:
Using problem-solving, decision-making,
planning and various controlling tools, a
leader must make sound and timely decisions.
5. Must Set the Example:
A leader is a role model for his followers. He
must not only hear what he is expected to do,
but also see.

18. 6. Must Know People and Think about Their
Weil-Being:
Leader must know the nature of his followers and
must be nurturing and caring for them.
7. Must Keep Followers Informed:
Transparency in information enhances commitment
from the followers. Hence, a leader must know how
to communicate and keep his followers informed.

19. 8. Must Develop a Sense of Responsibility in
Followers:
Development orientation requires inculcating good
character traits within followers, which will help
them to carry out their professional responsibilities.
9. Must Ensure Tasks Are Understood, Supervised
and Accomplished:
This also requires transparent communication with
followers.

20. 10. Must Train Followers as a Team:
Inculcating team spirit and culture in the followers
enable a leader to accomplish the organizational
goals. Hence, this is also considered as one of the
important principles of leadership.
11. Must Develop Full Capabilities of
Organization:
A leader by developing a team spirit develops an
organization to its fullest capabilities.