← Quranic WisdomQuranic Wisdom
Successful Leadership
English · 2 min read
The crux of this divine scheme is that man should apply his reason and common sense, he should follow his conscience, he should discover the laws of nature.
Man was given freedom by his Creator. This is a great divine blessing for man. As a matter of fact, it is God Almighty alone who can dispense the good things of life. He is the only giver being in this universe. But God Almighty wanted to bestow His blessing on man as a form of credit rather than as a unilateral blessing.
The human personality is a unique phenomenon in the universe. No creature, material or non-material, has this gift of freedom of choice that man has. This gives man the highest status in the whole universe. Man must have a correct understanding of this exceptional privilege and use it properly. With its proper use a man becomes a superman, but one who misuses the opportunities opened up by freedom will be reduced to a level lower than that of the animals.
The crux of this divine scheme is that man should apply his reason and common sense, he should follow his conscience, he should discover the laws of nature, he should study the divine scriptures revealed to the prophets, he should try to find out his purpose in life and God Almighty’s design regarding his creation. After taking into account all these facts, he should build his future.
Successful leadership depends on a successful following; if the followers fail to follow, no leader can play a successful role. The chapter Al-Nisa’ (Women) of the Quran sets forth this principle:
original + quoteOriginal text with a quotation or mention inside it
By your Lord, they will not be true believers until they seek your arbitration in their disputes and find within themselves no doubt about what you decide and accept it wholeheartedly. (4:65)
Qur'anQuotes the Qur'an
This Quranic verse relates to religious leadership, but the same principle is likewise applicable to the case of secular leadership. Secular leadership and religious leadership are different in their goals, but the method of both is one and the same.
Men and women are born with differences. Everyone is Mr. Different or Ms. Different, and this being so, it is not always possible to convince everyone of the correctness of the leader’s decisions. It is but natural that if some members of the group are in agreement with his decisions some other members may disagree with them. This kind of difference is a natural phenomenon which occurs in both secular groups and religious groups.
Then how to establish unity? Unity is a must for a leader to be successful. Without unity among his followers a leader cannot play an effective role. In such a situation the only formula that is applicable is—follow your leader, be it willingly or unwillingly. This is the only practical way to achieve unity: this is the sole basis for the success of the leader.