The Shepherd’s Way #01 – Lofty Goals Lead to Success

Bismillah R Rahman r Rahim in Al hamdu Lynam so that was salam ala Rasulillah. Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. Brothers and sisters and friends, and welcome to the Sapiens Institute Ville hedges series, the shepherds way, timeless leadership lessons for life. And our so what is this series all about brothers and sisters.

Sapiens Institute's vision is a world that receives the message of Islam. And our strategic focus is that we, as a team, defend and share Islam academically and intellectually. And we train and empower and develop others to do so the same.

Part of this is creating leaders. And this is very significant. So we felt it was of paramount importance to empower you with timeless leadership lessons, in order to facilitate your journey to go out there in the world, in order for the world to receive the message of Islam, and for you to become a leader. So you can share and defend Islam academically and intellectually.

And brothers and sisters,

it is extremely important for us to have these lessons not only in our daily life in sharing and defending Islam, academically and intellectually, but also in our private lives too.

If I were to summarize the whole series, I will define it in the following way.

Be principled.

If you had a choice between power, authority and principles, and you chose power and authority over principles,

your power will become your weakness. And if you chose principles over power,

your principles will become your strength. Allah subhana wa Bucha. Allah says in chapter 11, verse 49, so be patient. Surely, the ultimate outcome belongs only to the righteous brothers and sisters, these Timeless Lessons can be derived from my own experience.

Many of you may not know. But I was the CEO of AI era from April 2017, to around February 2020. And Al Hamdulillah, by the will and mercy and grace of Allah subhanho wa taala. We increased

international operations by over 1,000%. And we increased our funding by over 500%. In May 2020, I was given the mandate to lead and set up Sapiens Institute. And this involves developing its vision and implementing its strategy.

And I've realized brothers and sisters, that these lessons and the principles that you can derive from these lessons are timeless and much needed. So brothers and sisters, in this series, we're going to be unpacking 10 timeless leadership lessons. And let me summarize them for you now. Number one, lofty goals lead to success. In other words, be visionary. Number two, necessity achieves. In other words, be strategic. Number three, a leader loved is a leader followed. In other words, be empathic, be compassionate. Number four, the servant to leads the master concedes. In other words, be a servant. Number five, when you become you overcome, in other words, be courageous. Number six,

relevance is excellence. In other words, be wise. Number seven, the enemy is that enemy. In other words, be egoless or as egoless as you can be. Number eight, enroll, don't control. In other words, be an example. Number nine, how you relate is what you create. In other words, be a mentor. Number 10 achievements are divine gifts. In other words, be grateful

By now, yes, some of these statements are ambiguous, you may not know what they mean. But this is the whole point of the series to unpack them, and to give you these Timeless Lessons. Now the whole basis of this series is based on a Hadith from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when he said, every one of you is a shepherd, and is responsible for his flock. So these timeless leadership lessons, yes, they can be applied, and they should be applied in a dour context when we're sharing Islam, academically, and intellectually, but they can also be applied in every aspect of your life, including your personal life. So the first lesson brothers and sisters is lofty goals lead to

success. What does this mean? This means be visionary have a vision. Now, what is the vision now Professor Stanley rigidly defines a vision as an articulation of a powerful, achievable and motivating stretch goal. Now, I don't want to unpack all the nuances behind this definition. But I think in our context, it's more appropriate to define a vision as where you want to see the world, and where you see yourself in where you want to see the world. So those two things are going to be connected. Let me give an example. Here's where I want to see the world, a world led by Islam. Okay, that's the global vision. What about my individual personal vision that connects to that? Well, in

that context,

my personal vision would be that I am led by Islam, and can lead with Islamic principles. So as you can see, the vision for the world, the global vision, and my personal individual vision are connected. Now from an Islamic perspective, brothers and sisters, a vision should be based on three main things, the love of Allah, certainty and Islamic values. Okay, what does this mean? When we say the love of Allah, it means it should be done for his sake, and that you should seek the best in this life and the best in the life to come. When we say it must be based on certainty, it should be based on core Islamic principles. And in that unwavering belief in Allah and His Messenger

SallAllahu ala he was salam. And that would mean that we affirm to heed the Oneness of Allah and in this context that we rely on him, because everything that happens in this cosmos, happens because of the irata the will and kodra Power of Allah subhanho wa taala. So our vision brothers and sisters must be based on Islamic values. This means it should please Allah. Let's unpack this a little bit.

It means brothers and sisters, that we should ask the following profound question. What is most pleasing to Allah? In this context, I repeat what is most pleasing to Allah? In this context, this is extremely significant brothers and sisters, because it would elevate our game we'll have more Baraka in our work in our private life and our public life. Because we're not just gonna say what is permissible and what is impermissible. It's not just the halal and haram don't get me wrong, the halal is pleasing to Allah. But in Islamic ethics, there is a hierarchy of values, there is a hierarchy of what is permissible, meaning some things that are permissible or less pleasing than

others, we should seek the higher value and we will have Baraka in our private and public lives, brothers and sisters.

Now, there are various benefits of having a vision number one, it provides focus and direction. Why? Because you know where you're going. Number two, it gives you clarity, because you know how to get there. And that's going to make more sense, when we address the second lesson, which is necessity achieves, in other words, have a strategy be strategic. Number three, it gives you life, especially if we connect our vision to the pleasure of Allah subhanho wa Taala as Allah says in the Quran, all you who have believed, respond to the call of Allah, His Messenger to that which gives you life. Number four, it removes doubt. Why? Because your vision is based on certainty. And interestingly,

the 14th century theologian had been a young as Josie has said regarding the fitna of Shubo hearts regarding the trial or tribulation of destructive doubts. This is due to having a weak vision and a lack of knowledge. So he linked having a weak vision to Shewhart destructive doubts. Number five, it saves time.

Time, because you know what needs to be done. Number six, it helps shape your environment and your social circles because your vision defines you. Therefore, the way you relate to other people will be based in that context. Number seven, it provides motivation and keeps you going. Why? Because you have a vision now you see the end goal number eight. It helps you transcend petty issues and life's obstacles, because your vision is the bigger picture and it's linked to Allah's pleasure. Therefore, you will always ask what is most pleasing to Allah, it won't be just about yourself. Number nine, it gives you a framework for decision making. Why? Because your life will be aligned to your vision. So

here are some key questions to help build your World Vision, your global vision, and your personal individual vision that would link to your world vision. The first question is, where do you want to see the world? The second question is, where do you see yourself in where you want to see the world? So here are some further questions to help you develop your world and personal vision. What are you passionate about? What are you competent in? What drives you? What do you desire? What do you think and talk about the most? What is important to you? How do your close friends and family describe you? Now brothers and sisters, before you even answer these questions is very important to think

big.

Thinking big means think aka think the hereafter link your vision to the hereafter. The hereafter is eternal, this dunya this world is finite. And Allah tells us to think big, and thinking big means you want the best in this world, and the best in the hereafter. But if you just want a portion of this world, then you will not be successful. What does Allah say in the second chapter, verses 202 101. There are those among mankind who say our Lord, give us good of this world, and they have no portion of the Hereafter. And there are those who say our Lord give us good of this world and the hereafter. So Allah is indicating that our success lies in thinking big which means wanting the best

in this life and the hereafter. If you just want the best in this life, you will get no portion in the Hereafter. And thinking big is part of the son of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam for example, in hadith is narrated by Ibn manager and you could find it in Muslim Achmed. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, if you ask Allah for Jana for Paradise, specifically asking for alpha dose, the highest level of paradise, for it is the highest level of Jannah and think big brothers and sisters because Allahu Akbar, Allah is greater. Allah is greater than any of our perceived limitations, or limited experiences and what we consider to be obstacles. Remember,

everything happens because of the will and power of Allah subhanho wa Taala Nothing escapes his Iraida Nothing escapes his Qudra Do not be bounded by our negative self talk and negative, limited experiences and perceptions rely on Allah, who is boundless, free of limitation. Now brothers and sisters to help us think big. We should look into the Sunnah of the Prophet salallahu ad who have sent them. Look at the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to see how to think big.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, and this is narrated by Imam Muhammad, and it's an authentic hadith. He said, this matter. In other words, Islam will certainly reach every place, touch by the night and day, Allah will not leave a house or residence, but that Allah will cause his religion to enter it, by which the honorable will be honored, and the disgraceful will be disgraced. Allah will honor the honorable with Islam, and he will disgrace the disgraceful with unbelief. Look at the vision of the Prophet sallallahu ala he was salam. Basically, his vision was Islam will enter every home in the world. So to conclude, brothers and sisters, our first episode of our little

hedgerow series. Remember that lofty goals lead to success and think big because Allahu Akbar, Allah is greater, and make sure your vision is linked to the love of Allah, certainty in Allah and His Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa salam and it's based on the timeless Islamic values. Now to end brothers and sisters. I like to remind you that we are experiencing the very special days of Bucha

hijet and remember, and as you know, the deeds performed during these days are more rewardable than the deeds performed during the days of Ramadan. So we ask you brothers and sisters, for you to support our vision, the vision of Sapiens Institute, which is a world that receives the message of Islam. So please support us brothers and sisters. Click the button or the link below and donate now