THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUE LEADERSHIP
Important and Sensitive
IN Sahih al-Bukhari (a compilation of the sayings and the deeds of the Prophet Muhammad), a chapter is devoted to the description of the merits of the people of Madinah who helped the Prophet Muhammad when he migrated there. A part of a long Hadith is as follows: A woman asked the second Caliph Abu Bakr, “How long the matter of religion will stay on the right path?” Abu Bakr replied, “You will continue to follow the true religion so long as your leaders remain true and sincere.”
A movement, whether good or bad, is always run by the leader. The leadership of a nation is the opinion-maker class. A leader is the one who mobilizes the people on an issue, he motivates people and puts them on a front. A movement that appears to have arisen in the name of the people (mass movement) is actually started and run by some leaders.
The true nature of any issue cannot be understood by the public. Only the select few are capable to understand its true nature and guide the public. This guidance is decisive for the future of a nation. If the leader has raised and mobilized the nation on true principles, only then it is possible to reach its destination. And if the leader mobilizes the nation for wrong goals and he does not follow the principles that govern a movement, then despite all the sacrifices, the nation will find itself in the pit of destruction. Instead of gaining anything, it will lose something of great value.
To swim in the river, only that person will venture who knows the art of swimming. Similarly, only a person who has fulfilled essential conditions of leadership should come into the field of leadership
The role of a leader in the life of a nation is very sensitive and important. Therefore, it is necessary that the leader is serious to the last extent, because if he mobilizes the nation in the wrong direction, then the responsibility for the destruction that will follow will be on the leader the most.
To swim in the river, only that person will venture who knows the art of swimming. Similarly, only a person who has fulfilled essential conditions of leadership should come into the field of leadership. These essential conditions are, a thorough knowledge of religion, a deep study of the present era, a correct estimate of the religious and moral standing of the nation, a commanding knowledge of the external forces at play. Only those people should try their hands at leadership who have a commanding grasp of these aspects. It is a crime to enter the field of leadership without having these prerequisites.