Sikander Hashmi – Choosing the Right Leader KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters,
my young friends,
assalamu alaikumuaraha
wa
barakatuh.
We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
the lord of the universe,
our creator,
our sustainer,
our nourisher,
our protector.
And we begin
by sending peace
and salutations
upon his beloved messenger,
Muhammad,
the son of
Abdullah
I hope and pray, my brothers and sisters,
that you and your family
are all doing well on this blessed Friday
by the grace and mercy of Allah
This week, my brothers and sisters,
the world has been closely watching
what is happening south of the border,
the US presidential election,
a type of election that we are not
accustomed
to seeing in the west,
a relatively
new set of circumstances
and behaviors
that have not been seen
in the last half century or so,
perhaps even more.
A set of circumstances and behaviors
that leave much
to be learned
and to reflect upon
regarding
leadership
and the behavior
and attitudes
of citizens.
A test
of the concept of democracy itself
and
raises questions
and opportunities for improvement perhaps as well.
The idea that leaders
could be accountable
for their decisions,
or the idea that leaders should be accountable
for their decisions and their actions
is indeed a very powerful one.
When there are good leaders,
accountability
may be easy
or it may not even be needed because
the leader is so good.
But the position of leadership,
unfortunately,
or ironically, is one that often attracts
those who don't deserve it
or who aren't good at it, or it
attracts those who want to abuse it.
And in that regard, it can be quite
useful
to have the opportunity to get rid of
a leader after 4 or 5 years,
along with having other checks and balances.
However,
the mechanisms that are in place
can also be misused
and their weaknesses
taken advantage of,
as we are seeing in some parts of
the world.
From an Islamic perspective, my brothers and sisters,
leadership is a necessity
and it should be seen as such. It
should not be
a desire. The prophet
said,
that when 3 persons go out on a
journey,
let them appoint one of them as the
Amir.
And there's another hadith related in Muslim Ahmed
that states
that Abdullah ibn Umar
narrated that the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam said
that
That it is not lawful for 3 people
to be in the wilderness
or a deserted land,
except that they select one of them as
a leader. Meaning that when there is no
Amir, when there is no leadership,
it is incumbent upon
the people who are part of,
who are in a place
to choose a leader from amongst themselves.
Now the main qualities of a leader
should be that they
are, knowledgeable
regarding the aspects of the job that they
have to fulfill,
that they have piety and God consciousness,
they're honest, they're trustworthy,
they have ability, and they have experience.
Now one of the key roles of leadership
in Islam, my brothers and sisters,
is to consult seriously with relevant stakeholders
before making a decision.
This is one of the qualities of those
who believe and rely on Allah
as he tells
us in the Quran. There are those whose
affairs are
determined whose affair is determined by consultation among
themselves.
And Allah
commanded the prophet
and consult them, oh, prophet,
in matters, meaning of public concern. And Abu
Huraira, radiya, radiya, radiya, radiya, allahu anhu, said
that I never saw anyone consult his companions
more often
than the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
So consultation
is the prophetic way. It is what Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala
commanded the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, and it
is something that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
took very seriously
to consult with stakeholders
whenever a decision, and especially a serious decision,
has to be made. Now the responsibility
of those who are being asked right? Somebody
may ask you for advice.
Perhaps a person will come and ask you
for your thoughts. So the responsibility
of one who is being asked
is to be fair and sincere in giving
advice.
You know, there are,
a hadith that talk about the number of
rights of a Muslim upon another.
And one of them is
that when he seeks counsel,
then give him advice.
Is this from
Sahlahu. Right? When he seeks counsel, then give
him advice. Meaning, give advice which is proper
and sincere.
And there's another hadith where the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam is reported to have said that
the person whose counsel is sought is a
trustee.
When they counsel, then they must counsel with
what they would propose to themselves.
Right? So the level of sincerity should be
so much that a person should,
put themselves
in the other person's shoes or in the
questioner's
shoes
and give the advice that they would give
to themselves or the course of action that
they would act upon themselves if they were
in that situation.
And the implication is that to do it
otherwise is a breach
of trust. Right? So this is something which
is very serious even being asked about our
opinion or when someone is consulting with us.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us regardless why
the the general command is that whenever you
judge between people, to do so with justice.
And this could apply in numerous situations.
For example, selecting people for
various roles. So for example, the role of,
of, of being a leader,
or, you know, when we are voting as
an example
or deciding a claim
between 2 people,
choosing one person's opinion over another, right, in
all of these circumstances,
the,
the the responsibility
is
to make a fair and informed decision, not
just based on conjecture, not just based on
biases
or or promises even. Right? And when when
we are voting because we are
we are referring to, you know, elections.
The first and foremost,
it is a judgment regarding the person's character
and suitability for office. That is the number
one thing. Right? I mean, a lot of
people are surprised, you know, how could so
many people vote for this candidate or that
candidate when, you know, the candidate appears to
be this way or that way. Right? And
the reality is is that a lot of
people end up voting with their heart. Right?
They end up wanting to believe the things
that they wanna believe in. They want to
get the, you know, the the, the promises
that are being made, for example. And there
could be multitude of reasons why people choose
one candidate over another or one party or
party over another. But at the the the
first primary consideration should be the person's character
and their suitability for office, right, for holding
that position regardless of what promises they're made,
regardless of what other, you know,
what other factors may be in play.
Now regarding consultation, once there has been a
consultation
and a decision has been made that is
in the best interest of the stakeholders
as a whole, then our responsibility is to
place our trust in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Right? Don't revisit the decision. Don't doubt it.
Don't be, you know, unconfident about it or
don't be stuck in confusion. Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala says regarding that verse,
and consult them in the affairs.
Then when you have taken a decision, you
put your trust in Allah.
Certainly,
in Certainly, Allah loves those who put their
trust
in him. So these are the basic principles
of governance in Islam. Now from an Islamic
perspective,
leadership is not something to vie for. Right?
And this is something that we see today
and has been going on for many number
of centuries. That people want to become leaders.
Right? But from an Islamic perspective, always remember
my brothers and sisters that leadership is not
something to desire, it's not something to vie
for. Unless there's a great need and one
is sincere and capable of fulfilling its obligation
and duties. Right? That is the only time.
If there is a true need and if
people who are sincere and honest and who
are qualified for the job do not step
forward, then people who are unqualified, who are
incapable, who do not deserve those positions are
going to end up filling that vacuum. Then
in that situation,
it may even become a responsibility
to step forward and to, and to to
protect
those positions.
Now Abu Dhar
said to the prophet
that will you not appoint me to a
public office? What did he say?
Oh, you Rasulullah, oh messenger of Allah, will
you not appoint me to a public office?
And he says that that the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam stroked my shoulder. He stroked my
shoulder with his hand and he said, You
are weak.
And
the authority is a trust. It is an
And on the day of judgment, it is
a cause
of of humiliation and regret. What is it?
So the public office
is going to be or is a cause
of humiliation and regret regret.
Except
for who?
Except for one who takes it by right,
who takes it by right,
and fulfills
its duties
properly.
So it is a a tremendous responsibility.
It is not something to vie for. Right?
Who wants to sign up for humiliation and
regret on the day of judgement? Right? Who
wants to have that liability? Who wants to
have that responsibility upon their shoulders? That higher
level of accountability,
very high level of accountability depending on the
position. So this is something not to vie
for because it is a trust. It is
something that will increase a person's accountability in
front of Allah
and
it it will be a cause of humiliation
and regret except for the person who takes
it by right, who takes it through the
proper means and fulfills its duties and its
responsibilities.
And remember, the greater the role
and that's always it needs to be reminded
to us because,
you know, in in this dunya, we often
strive.
People want power. We want, you know, positions.
We like to be appointed and nominated and
like to have our name and fame. Right?
All of those things. But remember that the
greater the role, the more the obligations.
The greater the role, the more the obligations,
and then the greater the risk of humiliation
remorse on the day of judgment. This is
why we would see that our our salaf,
you know, our great scholars, his highest predecessors,
they would even be afraid of leading salaf.
Right? Like, they wouldn't put themselves forward. They
wouldn't want to lead salaf because of the
responsibility that comes with it. Right? They would
be hesitant even to put themselves in that
position. They'd much rather have someone else lead.
So this is not something that we should
be desiring or we should be enjoying any
role of leadership, but rather it should be
seen as a necessity
and it should be seen as a source,
of great responsibility or should be seen as
a great responsibility
that could become a liability as well and
thus a person's
actions and attitudes when in that position should
guide,
should be guided by this concern and this
fear
of having that high level of accountability.
Now while we may not be leaders in
official capacities, we must remember my brothers and
sisters that at one point or another,
we all will most likely act as leaders
in some way. And that authority, that responsibility
comes with responsibility as well. The prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam said,
that every one of you is a shepherd
and responsible for his flock.
And is responsible, is accountable, will be asked
about his flock. Right? Whether you are a
father or a husband, a mother, a wife,
an employee, a head of a team, you
know, a leader in a project, whatever it
is, there is always responsibility and accountability that
comes with authority and responsibility.
Yeah, authority and leadership.
So it is a type of trust. Now
being entrusted with something means
greater accountability. So like I said, it's not
something to vie for unless there's a serious
need for it and, or it is for
the greater good. Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, tells
us,
That verily Allah commands you to fulfill your
trust
to those whom it is
due. So being in a position of authority
or leadership, no matter how small, is a
trust upon you. So you deal with it
as such with seriousness
and with diligence. Deal with it with diligence.
Make every effort to be scrupulous and to
give your best to fulfill that trust.
So it is not something to vie for,
but if you're asked or if you're encouraged
by people of knowledge, of wisdom, and you
have the required experience or the knowledge or
the skill, then you step forward to serve
and that is a duty, but it is
a service that you are providing and you
are serving and it's not that others need
to serve you. And this should not, this
should never be for personal gain or for
fame or for
feeling power and or authority, but rather to
serve Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the best
of one's ability. So you deal with that
trust carefully, you know,
be just to the best of your ability,
consult
stakeholders,
have humility,
consider opinions carefully even if it's against your
own.
Even if it's against your own, you have
to consider opinions because perhaps someone who's giving
advice is giving you, that is not your
your opinion, but perhaps someone is giving opinion
that or an advice which is actually in
the, in the best interest of,
of of the community, of society, of the
group that you're leading. And if you fall
short, and we are all human beings and
at some point we are going to make
mistakes, then we admit our mistake, we apologize.
And if it is serious enough, we consider
moving aside. Now when the prophet sallallahu alaihi
wasallam
passed away now, let me backtrack a little
bit. During the life of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam, there was no question about leadership
because, of course, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
was there. When the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
passed away,
of course it came as a tremendous,
shock. It came as a tremendous shock
to the Sahaba radiallahu anhu. It was,
something that, was very difficult for them. It
was something that,
of course, as human beings, you know, everyone
knows that everyone has passed away, but it
was not something that they probably had imagined
or something they had, considered.
So there was, you know, it was a
very difficult time for them. It was a
very it was very challenging for them to
accept what had happened,
and there was quite a bit of discussion
and, you know, negotiation.
Some may describe it as a bit of
chaos as well, perhaps. Allah knows best,
regarding, who is going to lead after the
prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. But eventually, Sayyid
Nabu Bakr radiallahu anhu was chosen as the
first Khalifa. Now his first Khalifa upon being
made the leader is notable.
His first Khalifa
that he delivered,
upon being made the leader is notable and
is filled with many lessons,
for us as leaders,
each in our own capacity and as communities
and as individuals as well. Remember that all
that he is saying is coming straight from
what he has learned during the time of
the prophet
directly from the prophet
So he says, oh, people,
I have been appointed over you,
though I am not the best amongst you.
I have been appointed over you, though I
am not the best amongst you. If I
do well, then help me.
And if I act wrongly,
then
correct me.
Truthfulness is synonymous
with
fulfilling the trust,
and
lying is equivalent to treachery.
The weak among you is deemed strong by
me. The weak among you
are deemed strong by me until I return
to them that which is rightfully theirs, Insha'Allah.
And the strong among you
is deemed or are deemed weak by me
until I take from them what is rightfully
someone else's, Insha'Allah.
No group of people
abandon struggle in the path of Allah
except that Allah makes them suffer humiliation.
And evil and mischief does not become widespread
among the people except that Allah afflicts them
with white step cal calamity.
Obey me so long as I obey Allah
and his messenger,
and if I just disobey Allah and his
messenger,
then I have no right to your obedience.
Now my brothers and sisters, there's a few
important points I'd like to go through very
quickly. So first of
all, he says that I have been appointed
over you. Right? This shows that it is
not his desire,
but he was appointed he was appointed by
the people and was agreeable to most people.
He says, though I am not the best
amongst you. So he has humility. So this
fact that he has been appointed as the
Khalifa,
as the first Khalifa after the prophet
right, does not get to his head. He
does not try to act like he's better
than everyone else. He does not try to
act like, you know, he's superior or that
you deserve this position. He doesn't celebrate.
Rather, he says, I I have been appointed
over you even though I am not the
best amongst you. Secondly, he highlights the right
of the people to scrutinize their leaders and
to correct them. He says that if I
do well, then help me. If I act
wrongly, then correct me. Right? So it affirms
the right of the people
to guide their leaders when they error. Right?
Nowadays, subhanAllah,
what happens
In one
case, a scholar writes a letter,
to the leader,
to the head of state,
and,
Yani, he is not criticizing him publicly. He's
not shaming him. He's not, you know, speaking
against him to others. He simply writes a
letter to give sincere nasiha.
And what happens as a result? He's arrested.
He's arrested. Why? Because he gave sincere nasiha
to
the leader. Right? This is not the way
of the prophet, salallahu alayhi wasalam. This is
not the way of the Sahaba radiAllahu anhu.
So, he says that, you know, if if
I act wrongly then correct me so it
affirms the right of the people to guide
or at least advise the leader when they
And it also makes it clear that the
era of prophetic infallibility
was over.
Right? The prophet was infallible but the leaders
who are gonna come after him are going
to be fallible. They are going to make
mistakes. They are or at least susceptible to
making mistakes.
And in the Khalifa of Abu Bakr,
the citizens are expected to correct the leaders.
It's not just allowed.
It's not something that's just allowed, but rather
they're expected that if there's a mistake that
is made, they are going to come forward
and correct him. And similarly, each one of
us is a leader in our own capacity
and he should be open to being corrected,
but of course that should be done in
a dignified and respectful manner. Thirdly, he talks
about truthfulness.
Right? Saying that it is synonymous with fulfilling
the trust and lying his tantamount to treachery.
Right? So he announces that truthfulness should be
the basis of all dealings between a leader
and their people.
And, this needs to be the case if
the people are to build or develop a
sense of trust in their leader.
It is hard to accept mistakes.
It is indeed hard difficult to accept mistakes
or to tell people about things which don't
look good, but doing so is better than
lying about it. Doing that taking that hit
initially
is much better than lying about it. And
again, this applies to every single one of
us, whether it's leadership in the home, whether
it's leadership at work, whether it's leadership in
any other situation.
Number 4, establishing
justice and equality. Right? He says that the
weak amongst you is deemed strong by me
until I return to them which is rightfully
theirs and the strong among you is deemed
weak by me until I take from them
what is rightfully someone else's.
So, you know, it's important that as, as
leaders, we are, in our own positions, are
aware,
are conscious
of those
who don't have power. We are conscious of
those who are less fortunate. We are conscious
of those who
are not
always visible in front of us. Right? And
this is not easy. Right? This is, much
easier said than done.
But, you know, it's very,
important to be to to try to be
aware as much as possible of one's blind
spots.
Right? Because when a position when a person
is in a certain position, for every single
one of us is the case,
we,
you know, we are not always aware or
becomes,
somewhat,
like, it's almost natural
to to, be focused on
the the things and the people that we
are familiar with
and not be not, so much be in
touch with the people that we don't regularly
see or we're not really aware of or
who we don't really know personally or the
types of people that we don't know personally.
So it's very important
in positions of leadership to think about everyone,
and this is again from the sun of
the to
look out for those who are not misrepresented,
to look out for those who don't have
a voice, to look out for the disadvantaged
and not to be swayed swayed by power,
wealth, and influence.
And, you know, our our highest predecessors,
they would be very, very careful about getting
close to leaders.
And in getting close to political leaders, the
religious scholars will be very very careful
about their interactions and their and their dealings
with political leaders. They would try to stay
away and getting too close would be seen
as a dangerous sign because that would open
the doors of corruption. You know, once you
get close to power, to wealth, it becomes
very difficult
to, to always stand by what is correct.
So that is something, to be very, very
careful about. He talks about the virtue of
struggle as well. He says that no group
of people abandon struggle in the path of
Allah except that Allah makes them suffer humiliation.
SubhanAllah. And this is so important that there
should always be
some form of sacrifice and struggle for Allah
When there is a legitimate reason for a
physical struggle, then it is physical with all
its rules of engagement and all the strict,
you know, regulations surrounding it. Otherwise, it can
be through other means, but the objective is
to struggle and to make sacrifices to please
Allah
whether it's through defending the oppressed or standing
up, for, the right to practice Islam or
for the rights of others and for the
message of Islam.
He also mentions that evil and mischief
becoming widespread
is a cause for calamities. When calamities and
challenges start affecting the ummah, know that these
calamities and challenges have been sent by Allah
in terms of,
in response to some evil or mischief that
has become widespread.
Right? And even, you know, when we look
at the disintegration
of, the and the and the current state
of the that
the is in, it must have
happened for a reason. Right? So when our
disobedience
of Allah
increases
and it becomes widespread
within, you know, Muslim societies, let alone others,
then it will result in calamities
and problems. May Allah forgive us and bring
us close to him and may he, protect
us.
And finally, we learned that the leader is
not above the law, and especially not above
the laws of Allah and his messenger sallallahu
alaihi wasallam. When a leader sins openly and
blatantly,
they are not deserving of obedience
and leadership.
And, of course, like I said, the most
important of, of it all is the the
the guidance and the laws of Allah is
messenger.
So my brothers and sisters, you know, we
hear all of this, and we know that
there may not be very much in our
control in terms of the behaviors of people
who are our leaders.
However, we try to do whatever is possible.
So in terms of
selecting the right leaders, we try our best,
meaning the people who are the most, qualified
and the most deserving for those positions and
for the job. We try our best in
terms of advising
our leaders to the best of our ability.
And when you see, you know, people get
the opportunity sometimes, you don't get to meet
the prime minister, meet the premier, meet the,
you know, the MP, the NPP, the councilor,
whoever.
So, you know, always try to have meaningful
conversations.
Try to have meaningful conversations. It's not an
opportunity just to smile and, you know, take
a picture so we could go and show
it to others. Oh, I was with this
famous person and feel good about ourselves that,
oh, I met such a famous person. This
is not gonna do any good to us.
Use that opportunity
to say something meaningful. Either you thank them
for the good work that they're doing and
you encourage them, or perhaps you give them
some sincere advice, you give them some feedback
in a nice way,
or you raise some concerns. And use those
opportunities in a meaningful manner. Don't just, you
know, be like, oh, I was with the
prime minister, Suhas, Adi.
I don't wanna say these things. But, you
know, you go to a gathering, Muslim community,
the prime minister is there. It's like this
had a last word or something, Annie. Like,
everyone's rushing through the oh my god. The
prime minister is here. I wanna get a
picture. I wanna get close. I wanna take
a picture with him. I wanna make a
video. I wanna post his hung up. Like,
okay. Yes. He may be a nice man.
He may be an honest man. He may
be a good man. Whatever. Okay. You get
excited around his around him. But I mean,
give him you know, he's a human being.
Right? I mean, seriously. I don't mean disrespect
to him. I respect him for his position
and whatever good he may have done. I
mean, let's get our priorities straight, right, in
terms of what are the things that actually
matter. And if you do, you know, get
an opportunity to speak, then you use it
for something something good.
Forgive
forgive me and guide all of us.
So, you know, we try our best. That's
what I'm saying. We try our best, whatever
possible, in terms of
rectifying our own behavior and trying to give
a good advice, trying to do what is
right, continuing to struggle for a lot in
the path of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala with
sincerity in the right way, you know, trying
to, rectify our own affairs, the way we
we run our organizations, the way we treat
one another, all of those things.
And inshallah, if we try our best and
we try it with sincerity, then Allah will
make it easy for us and will will
bless us with good leaders. Will Allah
protect us and continue to guide us.
Let us make du'a. We thank you and
we praise you for all of your blessings.
Oh, Allah, we thank you and praise you
for being our protector and for being our
guider, You Rabbil Alameen. Oh, Allah, please continue
to guide us. Oh, Allah, please grant us
steadfastness and it's upon your deen, You Rabbil
Alameen. Oh, Allah, please protect us from all
types of hardships. Oh Allah, please protect us
from all types of evils. Oh
Allah, we ask you for your protection against
all types of trials and tribulations.
Oh Allah, please protect us from all types
of evils, whether there are visible or hidden.
Oh, Allah, please protect us from all types
of illnesses.
Oh, Allah. Oh, Allah. You are the one
who cures. Oh, Allah. You are the one
who protects. Oh, Allah. Oh, Allah. We just
tried, but, oh, Allah. You are the cure.
Oh, Allah. You are the shafi. Oh, Allah.
Please cure all of our brothers and sisters
who are ill and who are suffering.
Oh, Allah, especially our pioneers, our elders, brother
Mumtaz, brother,
our elder sister was,
living through pain and suffering, our brother and
sister facing and living with long term injuries
and pain, and everyone who is ill, everyone
who has asked for prayers, everyone,
who is currently in hospital, everyone who has
been diagnosed with cancer or any other illness.
Oh, Allah, please cure all of them.
Oh, Allah, please purify
there and our bodies, our hearts, our minds
from all types of illnesses.
May Allah please ease the pain and suffering
of our brothers and sisters all around the
world.
May Allah please bless us with good leaders
in every aspect, You Rabbil Alemen. Oh, Allah,
good leaders in every aspect of our lives.
Oh, Allah, make us good leaders in every
aspect of our lives, You Rabbil Alemen. Oh,
Allah, please protect us from oppressors, You Rabbil
Alemen. Oh Allah, we ask you for your
protection against all types of oppression and from
all types of oppressors,
Oh Allah, please protect us from becoming oppressors
as well,
Oh Allah, oh Allah.
We grant relief to all of our brothers
and sisters around the world who have suffered
or who are suffering through
tragedies and hardships and challenges.
Oh, Allah. Please remove their pain. Oh, Allah.
Please repair their losses. Oh, Allah, we hear
of pain and suffering in this ummah every
single day, you Allah. Oh, Allah, we ask
you sincerely, you Rabbi Halameen, to forgive us
and forgive every member of this ummah, you
Rabbi Halameen. Oh, Allah, please shower your mercy
and your forgiveness upon us.
For those who are at home, please offer
4.
For those who are coming for Friday prayer,
please come at your allotted time, which, of
course, has moved moved back 1 hour due
to the time change. And we see you
again soon.