Khalil Adam – Be The Leader You Were Destined To Be
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Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminds us in the
Quran when he says, oh, you who believe,
fear Allah as he deserves to be feared,
and do not leave this world except that
you are a Muslim.
And he also reminds us when he says,
all you who believe, fear Allah and speak
the truth. Stand up for what is just
and what is right. Perhaps if you do
so, Allah will direct you to do good
deeds, and he will take care of your
affairs. And whomsoever obeys Allah and his messenger,
then indeed they have gained the greatest of
all achievements.
My dear brothers and sisters, today's is about
leadership in Islam,
being the leader you're destined to be.
You know, oftentimes, we talk about leadership
in a way that we're supposed to shy
away from,
and that may be true to an extent
as when Abu Dhar al Zafari, the famous
Sahabi, who came to the prophet
and he says to him, make me in
charge of something. He said, senior Sahabi,
and he wants some responsibility.
But the prophet recognizes
that Abu Dhar is not the right person
for the job.
You have weakness, and he was referred to
as emotional weakness.
Meaning, he would get angry really quick or
he would act out of emotion.
So he says he gave some profound advice.
He says leadership,
he says, this is
an
It's a trust.
And it's also going to be on the
day of judgment,
regret.
Because you'll be questioned. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
in the Quran, he says,
stop them. They have to be asked. About
what? About everything.
Whoever was under their leadership,
they will be asked about how they fulfill
that position of leadership.
So it's scary when you look at it
from that end. But then the other perspective
is Yusuf alaihis salaam.
When he comes out of jail after
having all that experience and Allah preparing him
for such a a big role,
he looks and he sees the demise of
Egypt.
No one knows what they're doing.
He sees the dream. He interprets the dream,
and he says, I know what to do.
He has that experience. So for him, it
was an obligation to step up before the
whole country was in ruins and essentially all
of the surrounding areas.
So he tells
the
king, put me in charge over the agriculture
of the land. I am not only trustworthy,
but I also am competent.
I know I've studied this. He'd lived under
the house of the Aziz. He saw how
the politics runs. He studied it in jail.
He knows these things. He's the person for
the job, so he steps up as he
should.
So what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tell
us about where we stand?
Allah encourages us to make
a
dua
in
the
famous
dua.
That dua that we recite in
where Allah is encouraging us to ask, oh,
Allah, make from our spouses and our offsprings
coolness of the eye
and make us leaders for the pious. Make
us role models
for the believing people.
So we are not to shy away from
being role models, especially in a world where
there is no moral compass.
And we, as Muslims, have been given that
knowledge. We've been enlightened.
We should be leading.
Because if we don't,
there's going to be much corruption in the
land. And that's the exact hadith of the
prophet when
he says Islam began strange
and will return like it began strange.
Then he says,
glad tidings for the strangers.
When the Sahaba asked who were these strangers,
is there any trait that we know about
them?
He says,
those who reform
what the people have made corrupt.
So there's an obligation for us not to
shy away,
but to step up and offer the people
what they don't have
of Islam and so forth. But in order
for you to be a good leader, and
all of us may some of you may
say, well, this doesn't apply to me because
I'm not really a leader of anything.
I don't have a masjid that I'm a
leader of or a country,
but Allah
has made all of us leaders in one
capacity or another.
The famous hadith I ask you to recall
of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
And
then
he says, The emir, the leader of a
country over the people is a shepherd,
and he
is
He will be questioned about his flock.
He says, then the man,
He is a shepherd over
the household.
Right? The family.
That's his constituents.
And then he says,
And the woman is in charge of her
husband's home
and the children, the upbringing of the children.
So in essence, everyone is a leader whether
you like it or not.
And Allah
has given us an incentive. He says
7 will be shaded. 7 prototypes of people
that will receive the shade of Allah on
the day of judgment where there will be
no shade except Allah's shade.
We can't get into all of them right
now, but we all know the first one
on that list
is Imam al Aylin, a righteous leader.
So that's an incentive right there to not
only embrace that position that Allah has put
you in, but to embrace it and to
fulfill
the conditions of it.
There's many things that you need, and we
could go for hours about what you need
to be a good leader. We're gonna touch
over a few things.
The first thing, my dear brothers and sisters,
is you must know, in order for you
to be a good leader, you must embrace
the hardships that Allah has put in your
way. Don't be someone who complains about the
hardships, but rather uses them as opportunities to
be better, to be stronger, so he can
carry out those responsibilities.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, what does he say
about Ibrahim for example? He says
Ibrahim
was tested with several things. Right? We all
know the test of Ibrahim. And Allah says
he passed all of them. He embraced them
and stepped up to the challenge.
Then what does Allah say? He says,
Ibrahim, now I have made you a leader
over the people.
You're worthy to be a leader when you're
able to embrace the hardships that are on
your way.
Right? Same thing with Musa alaihis salaam. Musa
being 10 years away from his home country
as a fugitive
living in the land of Madyan with hard
work. He had to work really hard out
there after growing up in the palace of
the pharaoh.
You know, after all these hardships, he sees
the fire in the bush. He meets Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. He he speaks to Allah.
And what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in
the series of things that he says to
him? I was with you when your mother
threw you in the basket. I'm the one
who inspired her. I was with you when
your sister was able to get you back
to your mother. I was with you when
you killed that man and you ran away.
I was with you throughout the whole ordeal.
He says at the end,
I have manufactured
you for me.
The word manufacturer, when you hear that word,
you think of a product and a company.
And anytime a company is ready to display
a product to the people, it has to
go through a series of internal tests, audits,
make sure there's no defects, make sure it's
ready to go. And once it's gone through
this rigorous testing within the company, it's now
ready to be displayed to the world or
to the customers.
And so Allah
essentially is telling Musa,
all of what you went through in the
past,
it was by design
so that I get a product
that I can use for a mission that's
great to save the people.
Same thing with Yusuf alaihi salaam.
All what he went through was so that
Allah can get a product at the end,
and that's what's happening with us. You know,
when we receive hardships
even small or big,
we look at them as opportunities to elevate
ourselves because we are going to be needing
those skills
to be able to lead a family, to
be able to lead a a Masjidah community,
whatever capacity that you have leadership in.
And what's beautiful, my dear brothers and sisters,
is that we'll never be able to lead
unless we're connected with Allah.
You wanna improve yourself?
Go in the and
ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala like the prophet
did. Because at the end of the day,
you may think you're making a good decision
for the family or for whoever's under your
leadership, but you may very well be making
a wrong decision.
So what is the key Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, he
says,
We made them leaders
that they guide with our command.
So it's it's the inspiration from Allah.
And we inspire them to do good deeds.
You know, every good that comes is from
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Every decision that you
say you would look back and you say,
wow. This was a good decision for my
family that I moved here, or did I
put my son in this school, or did
I did this and that. All of it
came from Allah All credit, all good needs
to be brought back to Allah
because at the end of the day, you'll
have never been able to do anything on
your own. You must first acknowledge that.
Look at the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. The prophet
was faced with a tough decision. All the
Sahaba are pressuring him not to take the
deal.
But it wasn't his decision. Allah already says,
We have declared a
tremendous victory for you. And then Sahaba were
questioning. He says,
Is this a victory? All the deal
points to one side is favoring the non
Muslim, nothing on our side. But it was
something they couldn't see at that moment. It
that came from inspiration from Allah. Trusting Allah,
being connected with Allah, and later on, they
found out that was the best decision they
could have made.
It's from Allah
One thing we fall victim to, my dear
brothers and sisters, is that when we have
people under us, like your children, for example,
you sometimes get disappointed.
You say, this is not who I wanted
him to be or who I expected him
to be.
And you look and you focus on the
defects, even with your wife.
You know, at the first glance, it's love
at first sight. The honeymoon's amazing.
And And then what happens? All of a
sudden, shaitan has trapped you into looking at
what she doesn't have.
And the prophet
he alluded to not doing this. He said,
He doesn't wrong A believer doesn't wrong a
believing woman.
And then what does he say? He says,
If he dislikes some
flaw of hers,
let him look for the one that he
loves. There's gonna be something that's equal, maybe
more.
You know, a professor did an, a
a a a study for some children in
the in the school and basically handed him
a a piece of white paper with a
black dot in the middle.
And then he asked them to tell him
what they saw.
They all said, we see a black dot.
The whole example of the exercise was to
show them they're focusing on the smallest thing
in the paper. They didn't see all the
white around it.
That's what we do. So what was once
a blessing, children, wives, and all the blessing
the law has given us, all of a
sudden because we are not in the habit
of being grateful,
we look at the things that we don't
have.
We look at the small little defects,
and we let that ruin our relationship.
Look at the insight. Let's do a case
study. In Surat Al Kaf, Allah talks about
as an example of a good leader.
Now many of you may have read his
passage and as we're encouraged to every Friday,
let us take a look at some of
the things I wanna highlight for you to
display what a good leader looks like.
We don't know Dhul Qurnayn's name. Many people
have thrown some names in history. That's not
the point. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
Yes.
They ask you about this great man. They
call him the King of the 2 horns
because he ruled from east to west.
I'm gonna make mention some things that are
important for you to know about him.
One thing you should know is that Zulqarnain
was given resources and the means, but he
didn't stop there.
He says, he took those means and utilized
them for
the greater good.
Propagating justice all over the world. Propagating Islam
as they knew at that time. So he
didn't sit on the talents and things he
was given because all of us have been
given one thing or another. Some talents, some
expertise, some knowledge, some energy, whatever. Allah has
blessed us all.
We should look into what Allah has given
us and use them, and let don't let
it just sit there,
but utilize them and activate them. And so
what Allah
says, he passes by, he traverses the world
until he meets a people.
Between the two passageways.
They've he found the people what we consider
to be uncivilized.
No knowledge. They don't know how to read.
They don't know how to write. You know,
they don't have any abilities. Some may look
down upon such a people.
But he didn't look down upon them.
He looked at what they had to offer.
They asked him,
You, Jujimatjuj
are a people who have caused corruption in
the land. They're causing havoc.
Said that. Shall we not pay you a
tribute? We'll compensate you to help us erect
a barrier between us and them.
Now somebody might say, you know what? These
people have no hope. I'm just gonna build
the gate and make my way. I have
the resources.
Right? He could have just done that and
made on his way. But what did was
he says,
What Allah has given me is enough. Allah
has blessed me with much good.
But what I do need from you
is manpower.
He wanted them to help themselves.
He wanted to improve them. He didn't focus
on their defects and say to them, you
know what? I'm just gonna do it for
you and and you guys will be alright.
First thing he did, he says, I'm gonna
need you to help yourselves. I'm gonna help
you and I don't need no money from
you, but I need you to work.
So he gives him instruction. And he says,
I'm not gonna build for you a sedah.
You wanted a sedah, which is a barrier.
I'm gonna build for you a radma.
He responded by saying something that's even better.
A more fortified
wall that could withstand earthquakes, something that's going
to last
for a long, long time. So a good
leader doesn't just hear what his,
constituents or his family or whoever he's leader
over. He didn't just, you know, hear their
requests and give them exactly what they want.
Sometimes
he looks out for the vision of the
future. He looks out for their true betterment,
and he says, you know what? I'm gonna
give you something better than what you asked
for
Because I know what's good. I'm a leader.
I've been given the hikma, knowledge and wisdom
from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then at
the end, when he finally erected this great
structure
with the people who had no knowledge of
engineering or architecture,
He built something magnificent. He didn't let his
ego inflate and say, look what I've done
for you.
At the end he says,
This is a mercy from my lord. He
attributed
this back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to
help them be people who believe in who?
Not him, in Allah. Anytime you give something
good, you make sure people remind remind them
that it came from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And that you have done a great job.
You've done dawah by helping them and you've
led them to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Praise be to Allah
who has guided us this way of life.
And had it not been for Allah's guidance,
we would not have been guided. And praise
be to Allah
who was sent upon his messenger, Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wasalam, the final book in which there
is no crookedness in it.
My dear brothers and sisters,
saw the defects,
and he turned them into greatness. There's an
African proverb that says, if you wanna go
fast, go by yourself.
But if you wanna go far, go together.
And that's what Allah tries to instill in
us in the Quran. It's not just about
you. You may be
you know, you may have the talents and
you may have the skills, but it shouldn't
stop there. You should try to bring everybody
with you. And that's why whenever we say
in the in the Quran,
we always speak in the plural form.
Right?
There's always a plurality that Allah wants us
to understand.
And at the end, a a leader should
know he is the servant of the people.
Because it's through that good heart
of Muhammad
that he was selected for the mission. Ibn
Mas'ud says a statement. He says,
He says, Allah, when he was creating
the creation, he looked at the hearts of
every man and he saw that the best
heart was the heart of Muhammad salallahu alaihi
wa sallam. He cared the most.
So it was befitting that he be receiving
that mission of delivering Islam to the people
as he was
a mercy to the worlds.
And if you look at his look at
his example, undoubtedly, he is our greatest role
model.
You look at the battle of Badr for
instance. He was a general, a commander,
yet he, because of the limited resources,
had to share in a riding animal. Ibn
Mas'ud says in
the, all of us had to share 1
riding animal.
3 people riding 1 camel.
So ibn Mas'ud says it was the prophet
and Abu Lu Baba.
And he says when it was time for
the prophet's turn to walk, they said to
him, oh, messenger of Allah, you remain there.
We're gonna continue walking.
And he said to them, no. I'm gonna
walk just like you. I'm not free
of need from the reward of Allah.
I need the reward just as much as
you. In any civilization, any general walking with
the soldier,
suffering and going through the same ordeals, it's
unheard of. But the prophet said, he wanted
to make an example. I'm not different than
you. He had mercy for this the the
the most vulnerable
member of his congregation.
One day in the fajr prayer, as they're
praying fajr, and it was the habit of
Rasulullah to make the fajr prayer longer than
the rest of the prayers. But this time
he made it short. He cut it short.
So they asked him, oh messenger of Allah,
why have you made Fajr short today? He
says,
He says, I heard the crying of a
infant who was seemed like he was talking
to his mother.
As if he was asking his mother something,
so I wanted to,
have mercy on him. So I cut the
prayer short. You know, he's thinking about a
baby among all the senior Sahabas, all the
men here, but he's thinking about that baby
who may be suffering, so he cuts the
prayers short. This was the prophet Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam. And Abu Bakr learned from
him. You know? When Abu Bakr,
when the prophet passed away,
he took the position of leadership, Khalifa to
Rasulillah.
And his in his inauguration speech, what does
he say? He says,
I've been made in charge of you, but
but
I'm not the best of you. He
says, If I do good, help me. I
need your support.
And if I do if I do wrong,
then I need you to correct me. A
leader is not afraid to be criticized
for the good. Right? If someone is advising
him, he takes an advice and he uses
it to,
improve the situation of his people. We close
off with this. At the end, the final
product of a good leader should be that
he's loved by his people and his people
love him. Hadith
is Muslim in which he says,
I heard the messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam say,
The best of your leaders
are those who you love and they love
you. It's out of love. Right? There's love
there.
And they pray for you and you pray
for them. There's genuine care for one another.
This is with the product of a good
leader. He says,
and the worst of your leaders are
Those whom you hate and they hate you.
And you curse them and they curse you.
It's about force and hard hardness in my
way or the highway.
They asked the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam, if we get such leaders that
we hate and we despise,
he says, what should we do? Should we
not remove them? Should we not rebel?
Don't as long as they establish salah so
that there is order maintained.
If they're establishing salah, let it pass. They
will be asked, and Allah will deal with
them. But he says the best of your
leaders are those who do it out of
love. This is a reciprocation. When you care
for your children, when you care for the
people,
do it out of genuine concern, and Allah
will help you. And he will help you
to to lead the people and to be
example for the righteous.