Mufti Menk – How To Become A Leader

Mufti Menk
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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 ©

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