Essential Qualities of a leader

In the name of Allaah, the most beneficent, the most merciful

Introduction:

All praises and thanks is due to Allaah (‫ ;)سبحانه وتعالى‬and may peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon His Prophets.

Simply leadership is the act of motivating a group of people to achieve a common goal.
In management or business terminology, it means leading or directing the workers with a
strategy to meet the goal of the company or organization. As the definition implies, the
leader bears the ultimate responsibility to encourage the group members, to act towards
achieving the predetermined goal in all possible ways. The personality and skills of the
leader defines the quality of the leadership; the performance of the members is linked to
it.

Most often the term leadership and management are used interchangeably, but in real
sense it has differences. In a manufacturing process, a manager is mainly responsible for
the operational activities on daily basis; but the responsibilities of a leader are more
focused on future situations. So, the responsibilities of a leader are much higher than that
of a manager.

Essential qualities of a Leader and their importance:

A leader is made; not born. Anyone who wants to be a good leader, he has to develop the
qualities through continuous self-study, education, training and expertise. A good leader
influences others to act towards the fulfillment of a mission to accomplish a task of an
organization by applying his leadership attributes of belief, values, ethics, good moral
conduct, knowledge, skills and experience.

The quality of appreciativeness makes a leader to encourage the team members, value
their efforts and builds confidence in them. Self confidence of the leader in his leadership

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to achieve the goals inspires. Courage, diligence, fairness, flexibility, honesty,
impartiality are among the other qualities of a successful leader.

Essential qualities for a leader from an Islamic perspective:

It is agreed by not only Muslims; but also non-muslims that Prophet ( ‫صلى هللا عليه وعلى آله‬
‫ )وسلم‬was the most influential human being in history. He was a great leader and many of
his followers led the world after him with excellent leadership qualities. Leadership is
given so much important in Islamic traditions.

Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon
him, said, “If three people set out on a journey, they should appoint one of them as the
leader.” ( Sunan Abu Dawud 2608 Grade: Hasan according to An-Nawawi)

The leader to be qualified should have technical as well as behavioral skills; otherwise
the organization will be potentially led to a wrong direction. A man being technically
qualified may not a good leader if he is not trustworthy for the responsibility. These two
major qualities of leadership have been propagated in the Quranic texts in many
occasions. For example, Allaah (‫ )سبحانه وتعالى‬mentions in context

“……Indeed, the best one you can hire is the strong and the trustworthy. (Al Qur’an,
Chapter 28, Verse 26)

[Joseph] said, "Appoint me over the storehouses of the land. Indeed, I will be a knowing
guardian." (Al Qur’an, Chapter 12, Verse 55)

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find highly skilled and highly trustworthy people; in such
cases, skilled people are given priority as seen in the examples of Prophet ( ‫صلى هللا عليه‬
‫)وعلى آله وسلم‬. Amr bin Aas was appointed as the leader of muslim army although he
became muslim few months ago; it was because of great military skills.

Another quality of a good leader is lenient and forgiveness. Allaah says,

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So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had
been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So
pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you
have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]. (Al
Qur’an, chapter 3, verse 159)

The above verse clearly states the qualities of lenience, forgiveness towards the people,
who are being led, and consulting with them in the process make a leader successful.
Harshness and dictatorship are negative qualities for a leader which neither respect nor
success in long-run.

A leader should be a role model. It is mentioned that Prophet (‫ )صلى هللا عليه وعلى آله وسلم‬is
an example for the people in the following verse,

There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for
anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often. (Al
Qur’an, chapter 33, verse 21)

Leaders should bear greater responsibility than others. They are to be held accountable
for what is under their authority.

Leaders also must have long term goals or a vision which can be achieved gradually. This
is what makes a leader different from a manager. Prophet (‫ )صلى هللا عليه وعلى آله وسلم‬and
his companions had long term vision and it make them capable to withstand against the
difficulties in achieving the goals.

A leader should be a continuous seeker of knowledge and improver of skills to be able

Conclusion:

The qualities of leadership in the modern day leaders are so much degraded; as a result,
corruption is widespread. The leadership is now focused on material gains and authority.
The Islamic guidelines and its leadership principles have the potential to lead the world
back to the golden age.

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References:

1. ____________, The Qur’an, English Meaning and with Notes by Saheeh

2. Jabnoun, Naceur, Islam and Management, @Institut Kajian Dasar, 1994

3. Sunan Abu Dawud, Arabic-english translation, collected by Abu Dawud

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