Islam

After the death of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), many tribes apostated from Islam. Some stopped paying zakaah (poor-due), and some tribe leaders claimed prophethood. Many of the common people at that time lacked education. The emotional charge of the situation swept up many of the Muslims. Protect yourself. If you allow the river of emotion to sweep you up, in a lot of cases, it will misguide you towards the wrong direction.

One of the fundamental war techniques of Khalid bin Walid (radiallahu ‘anh) is that he never wasted time. He might make mistakes from it, but he moved the entire army at the speed of a single rider. Most armies crawl at a slow pace, but his army moved quickly. The Muslims were all very well disciplined. If you were in his army, you moved fast. He moved so quickly that after one battle took place at one village, before the defenders regrouped, he arrived at the next village and attacked.

If you possess some skill you can utilize to the benefit of the people everywhere, never hold back. Don’t hold it to yourself. Forget about what other people are thinking. Focus on how they can benefit from it. This applies especially if a) you have relatively rare talents, or b) nobody knows about your skills. Wallahu ‘alim.

As Islamic workers, we never lower our standers. Not as volunteers, not as professionals, and not as Muslims. Always strive to the best of your abilities. And inshaAllah this way, your skills and talent grow faster than if you barely use them. Never fall into the trap of so many people who produce second-rate material “just because” it’s for Islamic work, and not for their own (percieved/worldly) benefit. And remember: ihsaan means excellence, not perfection.

Good teachers need good students, and good students need good teachers. When either teachers or students are not up to par, knowledge wastes. Either the teacher fails to teach at their best capability, or the students learn nothing. The same concept can apply to leadership–good leaders require good followers, and good followers require good leaders. Wallahu ‘alim. Are YOU a good teacher and a good student? Something to think about inshaAllah.

A Saudi guy walks into a bar, decked out in his thobe and kufi. (He doesn’t believe in the meat of the People of the Book arguement.) He walks up to the bar and says “Bartender, I want a chicken sandwich.” The bartender looks at him, nods, and turns to fill the order. A desi guy who sits nearby stares. The Saudi guy turns to the desi guy. Black spiked hair, leather jacket, one hand clamps around the handle of a half-filled mug of beer.

Influence leaders, don’t import your own. When you need to influence masses of people towards your ideology (da’wah) or project or cause, don’t bring your speaker in to preach to them. It doesn’t consistantly work–if the people don’t know your leader, they can’t trust him, and most will refuse to follow him. Instead, influence the leader of the people you wish to lead. Once he agrees to your cause, he automatically spreads it to those who follow him.

Good workers are rare. Great workers are more rare. Outstanding workers are still more rare. Instead of investing hundreds of hours in the search for excellent workers, take what you can get–given that they hold some of the attributes you need, and the potential to grow–and increase them in their excellence. This way, not only do you benefit from the work they produce, but they benefit from the training. Think of it as an investment that pays off long-term.

When you choose a leader, someone always disagrees with you. No matter who you are and who your leader is, you cannot please everyone. So get used to it inshaAllah. During the time of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) chose ‘Usama ibn Zayd (son of Zayid ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with them both) as the leader of the army. And they had high-status alumni sahaba in that army, like ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (radiallahu ‘anh), who was in his 40s or so.

Front Leaders: These leaders take charge, set the vision, and lead the way. They take the initiative, and step up to the call when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) calls them. Back Leaders: These leaders encourage, gather everyone’s opinion, call meetings, and encourage mutual agreement and compromise. In Islaimc work, and in any project, you need both types of leadership. Like when a group hikes through a trail. You need someone at the front to pick the path and set the pace.