Mufti Menk – How To Become A Leader
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the importance of developing one's character and leadership in addressing those who oppose their opinions. They argue that strong leaders require a strong person to be prepared to give up their opinions and that strong leaders are the ones who are prepared to give up their opinions when proven wrong. The speaker emphasizes the importance of empowering one's character and learning to sit around and make small small decisions.
AI: Summary ©
When you begin to realize that I must
develop my own character quickly,
you become a leader at a young age
because leadership requires you to develop your character
and conduct to be able to address
those who oppose you strongly with at utmost
respect.
You're a leader. We are proud of you.
If I can stand up in front of
you and say my sister, my child, my
brother, whoever it may be, firstly I did
not call you
bad names, right? I addressed you as a
brother, as a sister, or as
sir or madam or whoever it may be.
I
very strongly
disagree with what you have said because of
a, b, and c.
Wow. Was it wrong to say that? It
wasn't. I disagreed. But was I respectful? And
I can smile with it, and I can
go and greet them later on, or if
I'm talking to them I make them consider
what I'm saying.
Because if I disagreed as an intellectual, surely
there should be reason for my disagreement.
And if I am a strong person,
a powerful person is the one who is
prepared to give up their opinions when they
are proven totally wrong.
When you are proven
totally wrong, someone tells you, listen, it's wrong
because of so, so and so, and you
might want to give back, they will give
back, you give back, they will give back
and at the end of the day you
say, you know what,
I was actually wrong, you were right.
It requires a very strong person, a leader
to actually acknowledge, you know what, what you
said is better. Look at the prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him.
He had
Jibril
come to him
and reveal what Allah had instructed,
so he had the link with Allah,
right? But still Allah told him.
Allah says your companions, those around you,
consult them regarding their opinions
in certain matters,
in certain matters. So
if you take a look at, for example,
the
Battle of the Trench,
Anyone knows whose idea it was to actually
dig the trench? Put up your hand.
Yes.
Salman al Farisi, radiAllahu an. May Allah be
pleased with all of them.
Salman was an outsider. He was a foreigner.
He was not from among the community. He
was not from their lineage either. He was
not from their race
to begin with. But when he came up
with an opinion, did the prophet, peace be
upon him, say, no. We we don't want
to listen to this guy because he's not
from us?
Or did he say, you know what, this
person comes from a different race. He embraced
it completely.
He said, that is what it is, let's
do it. They did it. What did it
result in? That entire war, the
mushrikeen of Makkah or the people of Makkah
were left
surprised
and they had to leave after some time.
And Allah sent help in various ways but
the point is,
here is a leader acknowledging that your opinion,
although I am the leader, but your opinion
was what we actually took.
So with us here,
what we want from you my beloved children
is
to quickly develop yourselves and realize
you must be responsible.
Pull your character.
Look at how you talk. Look at how
you carry yourself.
Be respectful in the way you carry yourself,
the way you communicate
and don't waste your time with that which
is futile.
You're allowed to play games, you're allowed to
participate in sport, you're allowed to be on
your phone, but
there needs to be a limited time on
that because
if you are not doing something constructive and
productive
with your phone,
I'm giving you an example of the phone
but it's anything, then
you would be wasting your time, your life
and these years where you are being moulded,
we don't want the mould to come out
the wrong shape.
Sometimes you make a big mistake when you're
a teenager.
May Allah protect all of us. Our boys
and girls, we pray for you. We want
to see goodness for the nation and for
the ummah and for humanity at large. We
want to see positive growth. I've got children
of my own, I am worried about what
will happen in the next generations if on
the globe there is so much of intolerance,
it's scary.
People are at war for small reasons.
It is avoidable. It is avoidable.
So what do we have to do? We
empower you with
the ability to discuss, the ability to resolve,
the ability to sit around the table and
understand. Let's talk with those we don't even
want to look at because
we will need to do that for the
betterment of humanity at large. There it goes.
So if you're going to take so much
of time
in that which is futile at this age,
you know what? You're being molded, man.
The blunder that is made sometimes is so
enormous it lasts with you for the rest
of your life.
Allah would have forgiven you. That is something
that is a given by the will of
Allah. You seek forgiveness, He forgives. But
the harsh reality,
this is what it is. Sometimes
together with that you have to live for
a long long time with that particular item.
I don't wish to give you examples, but
you can think of a few.
Right? You're intelligent,
perhaps more intelligent than I am. And you're
young, minds are fresh,
use them in something good. I'm not saying
don't play. Enjoy yourself.
We have to also not forget this worldly
life.