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Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 2

2.1 Responsibility ......................................................................................................... 2

2.2 Strength and trust .................................................................................................. 3

2.3 Role Model .............................................................................................................. 4

2.4 Consultation............................................................................................................ 4

2.5 Humility .................................................................................................................. 5

2.6 Empathy .................................................................................................................. 5

2.7 Committed/Passion ................................................................................................ 6

2.8 Ensuring Unity ....................................................................................................... 6

2.9 Jihad ........................................................................................................................ 7

3.0 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 8

References ..................................................................................................................... 9

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1.0 Introduction

Throughout history, people have always been searching for the ideal leader in

each community to bring them to success and harmony. However, the ideal leader is

like the phoenixs feathers and unicorn's horn, very hard to be found; and the below

ideal leader which could include ordinary leader or even bad leader is innumerable,

can be found easily, anywhere, anytime. In my opinion, this is probably due to the

person is unable to control and master his/her nafs, in other words, his/her psyche.

Therefore, I will try to list down and briefly describe the ten personality traits and

characteristics of my desired leader, in my order of preference, from a perspective of a

Muslim, mostly pictured with the example of the second Caliph for the Muslim

community (ummah), Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (R.A.).

2.1 Responsibility

Leaders should possess a greater sense of responsibility than others; they should

feel deeply responsible for whatever is under their authority. Responsibility entails

accountability in this world and in the hereafter. For example, Umar (R.A.), once said

that he was afraid that a mule might fall on the mountain roads of Iraq and break its

legs, and Allah (S.W.T.) might question him why he had not paved the roads in that

area on the Day of Judgement. Umar (R.A.) was also very careful in appointing his

leaders, and the leaders he chose were highly scrutinised by testing the performance of

his governors by appointing them on an ad hoc basis for two to three months, prior to

regular appointments (Jabnoun, 2012, pp. 332,333). This example showed us the extent

to which Umar (R.A.) felt his responsibility, which in return allowed him to reach a

historically recognized leadership and managerial excellence (Jabnoun, 2012, p. 230).

The reason I put responsibility as the first desired characteristics of a leader is that, in

my opinion, having high sense of responsibility alone can lead to many other beloved

characteristics such as being just and equal, being honest, being conscientious, etc.

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2.2 Strength and trust

Leaders must both be skilful and trustworthy; in other words, they must be

strong and faithful. The absence of one of these two characteristics in a leader can

seriously undermine organizations or nations. Even it is mentioned in the Quran:

Indeed, the best one you can hire is the strong and the trustworthy.

(Al-Qur'an 28:26)

It is indeed not on easy task to find someone who is highly skilled and highly

faithful. On many occasions, we find people who can score very high on one quality

but moderately on the other. Often, one needs to choose which quality is more important.

Following the example of Prophet (S.A.W.), we can conclude that the needed skills

come first, while faith is also required (Jabnoun, 2012, p. 225).

Other than that, trust is essential for quality performance. Trust implies

accountability, predictability, and reliability. Without trust, there will be no

commitment and no motivation. Trust is considered to be the foundation of teamwork,

subordinates involvement and empowerment. Indeed, if leaders do not trust people,

their subordinates will not be open with them, impeding thereby the leaders continuous

improvement capabilities. Furthermore, if leaders do not trust people, leaders will

neither empower subordinates not believe that the customers or citizens are right.

People with a high level of responsibility are more likely to create an environment of

trust because of their dependability (Jabnoun, 2012, pp. 363,364).

Just as trust being considered to be the foundation of a team, in my opinion,

strength or skill can also be considered as the thrust for progression of a certain

organization or nation. It is impossible for members trusts each other fully in a team,

organization or nation but lacks of required strength and skills to develop the team,

organization or nation; or having specialized skills and strength in certain fields but

does not trust among themselves. Both will lead to disastrous outcome for a team,

organization or nation. Therefore, in my opinion, the elements of strength and trust

should exist in every team, organization or nation.

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2.3 Role Model

Leading by example is often necessary during the implementation of tough

decisions. Leaders must be role models, letting their actions speak louder than words.

Leaders have a responsibility to create and maintain the culture of the organization or

nation (Jabnoun, 2012, p. 229). One does not enjoin the truth without starting with his

own actions, not does he prohibit bad without first abstaining himself. One cannot

blame others and not blame oneself, just as some leaders have said: Better yourself for

yourself and others will follow (Yusef, 2011, p. 135). And leaders whose speech

contradicts their deeds will sooner or later lose the ability to influence their followers.

Islam strongly deplores those who do not practice what they say. For example, during

the treaty of Hudaybiyah, the Companions (may Allah be please with them) resisted the

decision of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) to shave, sacrifice and return to Medina

without entering Mecca. Umm Salamah (R.A.) recommended that he lead by example.

She said: O Messenger of Allah! It is too hard for them to accept the settlement since

they desired victory. You should stand up and go out without uttering a word, then

sacrifice and shave your own head, and then they will obey! He did so, and the

Companions immediately followed. (Jabnoun, 2012, p. 229). However, in my opinion,

leaders should not just stop to be a role model, leaders should help his/her subordinates

to reach his/her own standards, so that the overall standards of the community can be

elevated.

2.4 Consultation

In the process of decision-making, leaders should turn to the opinions of others

to take advice with them. This allows leaders to engage with the understanding and

forbiddances of his subordinates so that their subordinates might share their experiences

to him (Yusef, 2011, p. 134). Consultation will lead an organization or nation to adopt

participative style of management and leadership, where people are continuously

involved in decision-making. Umar (R.A.) did not take any major decision such as

appointments of governors and army commanders without consulting the people.

Umar (R.A.) also kept people of the highest talent among his companions with him in

Medina so that he could benefit from their opinions. However, consultation did not stop

at the level of the highly experienced and qualifies Companions of the Prophet (S.A.W.);

it was so abroad that it included everybody in the society, regardless of age, race or

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gender. When the council of advisors failed to reach a decision on the issue of sharing

the land of Iraq and Syria, Umar (R.A.) requested a general public meeting in Medina

to help him come to a decision. Moreover, Umar (R.A.) organized an annual

conference during or after Hajj (the Pilgrimage) for Muslims so that they could give

their opinions about public matters and so that their complaints about the way the

government is run could be addressed (Jabnoun, 2012, p. 330). We can see from this

example the importance of consulting others in leadership, especially Islamic

Leadership, this is basically what is being promoted nowadays, it is just being renamed

as Democracy and Referendum. However, in my opinion, not only the Democracy

nowadays have not reach the standards set by Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (R.A.)

about 1400 years ago, but the definition of Democracy itself is becoming different

day by day.

2.5 Humility

Leaders should also have the self-confidence and self-awareness to recognise

the value of others by being humble. Leaders should also be willing to admit they could

be wrong and they are willing to correct their mistakes (Abdullah Abdul Rahman,

Transformational Leadership: 8 Steps to Effective Transformational Leadership in

Malaysia, 2015, pp. 23,24). Being humble will also produce the habit of continuous

learning, willingness to listen and be corrected, willingness to cooperate, respecting

others, etc. Even Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) has mentioned: Charity never

decreases wealth. Allah only increases a forgiving person in honour, and whoever is

humbled for Allah is elevated (by Him). (Muslim) The Prophet also said that: The

one who has (in his heart) even an atoms weight of arrogance, shall not enter paradise.

(Muslim) Umar (R.A.) also stated that: The one I loved most is the one who tell me

my faults. (Agha, 1999, p. 62) Besides that, Umar (R.A.) put his words as actions.

2.6 Empathy

Leaders should also be empathic towards others, they are more capable of

checking the appropriateness of their decisions. Furthermore, empathy promotes trust

among subordinates, who are likely to reciprocate the empathy of leaders by giving

more. This is also a vital element of Servant Leadership, and the best example of

Servant Leadership is Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) (Jabnoun, 2012, p. 231).

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2.7 Committed/Passion

Leaders should exhibit an obsession to achieve the goals of the organization or

nation. Leaders should be willing to work for long-hours and devote their attention and

energy to attend to the affairs of the organizations. Leaders tend to be enthusiastic about

the organization or nation, and in doing so they inspire and motivate others for getting

things done (Abdullah Abdul Rahman, 2015, p. 10).

In my opinion, leaders should also be committed to the quality of the tasks that

are going to be done as quality is very much emphasised in the teachings of Islam. Just

as the Prophet (S.A.W.) said: Allah, the Almighty, wants that when one of you does a

job, you do it well. (al-Bayhaqi; a reliable hadith according to al-Albani) This is

similar to Total Quality Management (TQM) which I preferred to be adopted by leaders

and myself. TQM can be defined as the strategic commitment to improve quality by

combining programs and methods with a cultural commitment to searching for

incremental improvements that increase productivity and lower costs (Jabnoun, 2012,

p. 331). Umar (R.A.) was also very committed to high quality, if not the perfect

performance, in every aspect of life. Umar (R.A.) would not rush if it meant

performing a task with a low level of quality. If he noticed that a certain process was

not going as it should, he would take immediate corrective actions. The attitude of

Umar (R.A.) is similar to the management philosophy of continuous improvement that

is adopted in TQM and Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing (Jabnoun, 2012, p. 333).

2.8 Ensuring Unity

In my opinion, ensuring an organization or nations unity is also an important

characteristic of a leader. Leaders should prevent his organization or community from

being separated into different divisions. This is warned by Umar (R.A.) when a man

rejects a marriage proposal for the mans daughter giving the reason of having a high

social position: I have learnt that you have your groups, with people sticking to their

own friends and relatives. People now say: this one belongs to the group of so and so

and this one is a friend of such and such. Everyone remains close to his own group. I

fear that this would lead to people splitting into groups and divisions, each of which are

content with what they have. Should the Muslim community face a serious or

emergency situation, people will go to their own group to agree a plan. By God, this

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will quickly undermine your faith, honour and unity. I can see people in future

generations saying: this is the view of so and so, splitting Islam into divisions and

sections. It will not take long before an elite comes to be distinguished from the rest of

society. People will thus go back to their old ways to jahiliyyah. (Ali, 2012) In short,

Umar (R.A.) is trying to prevent the Muslim community from splitting into groups and

divisions by discouraging people from being only in their own groups or tribes.

2.9 Jihad

First of all, I need to clarify that putting Jihad as last in this list does not meant

that Jihad is not the most preferred. In fact, it is the opposite, in my opinion, Jihad

should be the most preferred after having responsibility and strength and trust. The

reason I place Jihad as the last in the list is that a leader might not necessarily be a

Muslim. Hence, it is better to begin with the traits and characteristics that could be

adopted by all leaders, Muslim or non-Muslim. However, it is strongly encouraged for

Muslim who is a leader, or who want to be a leader, or ready to be a leader, to place

Jihad as the most important trait or characteristic after responsibility and strength and

trust.

Unfortunately, Jihad is often translated into English as holy war, perhaps by

the groups that have control over information and news. In fact, it must be noted that

was has never been described as holy in any of Islams primary texts or even Islamic

literature. Linguistically speaking, Jihad is an Islamic term that applies to a broad

spectrum of activities, ranging from daily striving to meet the days challenges, to the

striving against ones desires and self, to the struggle to provide for ones family, to

sacrifice for seeking knowledge. In short, Jihad is the act of striving or struggling in

the way of Allah (S.W.T.). Therefore, Jihad is not limited to war; it includes struggling

with ones soul, speech, body and wealth so that the message of Allah (S.W.T.) reaches

all human willing to receive it.

Islamic scholars have referred to different types of Jihad, such as Jihad against

the self (to understand Islam, act upon it, call others to it and be patient with the

difficulties of making this call), Jihad against the Devil/Shaytan (repelling Satanic

whispers, doubts and lusts). Jihad against the tongue (controlling it, using it to enjoin

what is good, forbid what is wrong, spread the correct teachings of Islam and answer

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false ideologies), Jihad against aggression (with the purpose of protecting Islam and

the lives, honour and property of Muslims) and other types of Jihad like Jihad against

the hypocrites, Jihad against oppressors and Jihad against mischief makers (Jabnoun,

2012, p. 394).

As you can see, from Jihad alone, many other quality characteristics such as

being honest, self-restricting from errors, persevere and patience grew. This is also one

of the reason I place Jihad just after being responsible or accountable and having

strength and trust as a trait or characteristic that should be adopted by leaders, especially

Muslim leaders.

3.0 Conclusion

To conclude, the ten personality traits and characteristics of my desired leader,

as a Muslim are:

1. Responsibility;

2. Strength and,

3. Trust;

4. Role Model;

5. Consultation;

6. Humility;

7. Empathy;

8. Committed/Passion;

9. Ensuring Unity;

10. Jihad

However, in my opinion, other than some vital traits and characteristics such as

responsibility, strength and trust, role model and consultation, some other traits and

characteristics which are not as important as these such as empathy, humility, passion,

etc. should be adopted by a leader as equal as possible, which means it is hard to arrange

or prioritise them based on their level of importance unless the leader is in a situation

that requires him/her to play a certain role. Otherwise, I believe and hope it is better for

a leader to agree on the arrangement in regards to his/her personality traits and

characteristics above.

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References

Abdullah Abdul Rahman, D. (2015). Note 1: The Meaning of Leadership.

Abdullah Abdul Rahman, D. (2015). Transformational Leadership: 8 Steps to

Effective Transformational Leadership in Malaysia. Petaling Jaya: MPH

Publishing.

Agha, M. (1999). Al-Farouk: Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. Beirut: Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyah.

Ali, H. (Director). (2012). OmarSeries [Motion Picture].

Al-Qur'an

Jabnoun, N. (2012). Islam and Management. Riyadh: International Islamic Publishing

House.

Yusef, '. a.-H. (2011). The Principles of Leadership in the Light of Islamic Heritage

and the American Experience. Riyadh: Maktaba Darussalam.