Thursday, July 8, 2021

The Leaders We Follow


In shaping the destiny of nations and communities, whether in secular matters or in religious affairs, the nature and quality of leadership plays a vital role. Good leadership leads to the progress and wellbeing, whereas arrogant and unscrupulous leaders preside over the gradual destruction of nations. Leaders and scholars, the chiefs and the priests, the caliphs and the Ulema- they are the influential groups in every society as they are the literal embodiment of prudence, wisdom and sagacity, as it were: when they go in the right direction, nations flourish and when they go wrong, communities stare at wholesale decadence and ruin. Indeed, the Holy Qur'an contains profound observations on the fate and fortune of people linking it directly with the choices they/we make in life, in deciding to follow the 'leaders' we encounter and accept. In his Friday Sermon of 11 June 2021 ~29 Shawwal 1442 AH, Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius underscores the need for caution and prudence in following 'leaders'. Drawing on Qur'anic warnings against keeping blind faith in misguiding leaders who will lead their followers to Hell-fire, and also the exemplary sociological insights of the Holy Prophet (sa) and his wise second Caliph Hazrat Umar (ra) on the future of leadership within the community, Hazrat Khalifatullah (aba) recommends Taqwah for everyone in choosing/following leaders and scholars as good leadership is central for social and national progress. Read the Friday Sermon Below:

  

Power & Society 

So, as you all know, in no other reality will we have better dialogues to inspire us than those between leaders and all who follow them [that is, their followers] when they will reunite in the Hereafter, after death and the resurrection. This not only draws attention to the crucial role of leadership in human affairs, but also serves as a warning to followers; they can neither take their faults and put them on the backs of their leaders, nor vice versa. When Judgement Day comes, they will instead renounce all these relationships, and regret, remorse, disillusion and bitterness will touch them: 

Allah (twt) says in the Holy Quran: When those who have been followed disown their followers, when they all see the suffering, when all bonds between them are severed, and the followers will say, ‘If only we had one last chance, we would disown them as they now disown us.’ In this way, God will make them see their deeds as a source of bitter regret: they shall not leave the Fire.” [Al-Baqara 2: 167-168]. 

And likewise, in another verse of the Holy Quran, Allah (twt) says: “…If only you could see how the wrongdoers will be made to stand before their Lord, hurling reproaches at one another. Those who were oppressed will say to the oppressors, ‘If it were not for you, we would have been believers.’ The oppressors will say to them, ‘Was it we who prevented you from following right guidance after it had reached you? No! You yourselves were sinners.’ The oppressed will say to them, ‘No, it was your scheming, night and day, ordering us to disbelieve in God and set up rivals to Him.’ When they see the punishment, they will fall silent with regret...” [Saba 34: 32-34] – 


I have put these three verses in front of you so that you can reflect on the word of Allah and so that it can bring reform in each of us, and that we do not take other deities or others [i.e. human beings, etc.] as gods on earth; reflect on the reality that there is only one God, a sole Creator to all of us, Who created us and gave us all we need, and reflect upon the fact that a day will come when we will have to go back to Him and think about the account that we will have to give Him. At that moment you will say: ‘I was just following that one; the latter misguided me.’ At that point, the other person [the evil leader you were following on earth] will say, But didn’t you then have a conscience [a mind] to reflect? Hasn’t Allah endowed you with a mind so that you can think? Did I tell you to follow me?’ 


You will have to think about all of this. The Holy Quran is a perfect Book, and there is no doubt in it. It is a teaching for all mankind, and especially for those who have had faith in Islam and its prophet and have believed in this Book, that is, the Holy Quran. 


So, human civilization is moving in the direction that is determined by the people who control the centres of power. Let’s see what the Quran says in this regard. 

In the Holy Quran, Allah (twt) says: “On the Day when their faces are being turned about in the Fire, they will say, ‘If only we had obeyed Allah and the Messenger!’ And they will say, Our Lord, we obeyed our chiefs and our elders, and they made us to go astray from the path. Our Lord, give them a double punishment and curse them with a mighty curse.’” [Al-Ahzab 33: 67-69]. 

And in another verse of the Holy Quran, Allah (twt) says: And, when they will dispute in the Fire, the weak will say to those who were arrogant: ‘Verily, we followed you: can you then take from us some portion of the Fire?’” [Al-Mumin 40: 48]. 


So, consider the example of a train. It goes in the direction that the driver directs it. The passengers are at the mercy of the driver and they go in the direction the train is going. If they want to take another direction, they will either have to change trains or change the driver. Likewise, human civilization moves in the direction that is determined by the people who control the centres of power. 

It is very clear that humanity is barely able to resist [all of this] and people are walking the path that is determined by these rulers. The leaders control all the resources, they hold the reins of power and have the means to train and confuse and “mould” the minds and actions of the people. They have the power to influence individuals as well as social systems and moral values. The idea here is not to disavow the role of individuals in their initiatives and personal efforts, but to demonstrate that individuals and communities operate within a socio-political framework, and the role of leadership deeply influences the actions of the individual. In order to ensure the well-being of human society, leadership must return to the hands of those who fear Allah (twt) - the One God. And when it does, society will move in the right direction, and even people of bad faith will be forced to abide by certain rules. Good will flourish and evil will be fought, even eradicated.

 

In another verse of the Holy Quran that I will recite before you, the reason for being and the consequence of good leadership is demonstrated: the regimes that have come to rule us [that is to say, us, the peoples], have succeeded in transforming the individual as well as the society, according to their desires and their agendas [which are obviously according to the commandments of Allah and His Messengers]. This Quranic verse is as follows: “… Allah will definitely help those who help Him. Surely Allah is Powerful, Mighty. Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish worship [Salat] and pay the Zakat and enjoin kindness and forbid iniquity…” [Al-Hajj, 22: 41-42].

 

On the other hand, if leadership is in the hand of those who have turned their backs on Allah (twt), then the lifestyle that such a society will follow is a tendency of rebellion against Allah (twt), towards the exploitation of man by man and towards moral decadence as well as the pollution of his culture. All of this causes massive corruption of ideas and affects the arts and sciences, politics and social economy, culture, ethics and behaviour as well as law and justice. In such circumstances, it is evil that grows when there will not be the necessary conditions for good to take root and flourish. 

Righteous / upright [pious] people then find themselves swimming against the tide in a social system that is infested with evil. All their energy is mobilized to resist rather than, as they would have liked, to be used to create a new social order.

 

Imagine someone who is in a crowd; he does not need to make any effort to go in the opposite direction, as it will be difficult for him to take even a step or two. It is more likely that the crowd will drag that person further away in the opposite direction of the one he would have liked to have taken. These are not just theories because history has testified to this thing. In our own country and for decades there have been radical changes in attitudes, values ​​and behaviour as well. Everything is constantly changing and the question that arises is: What is the cause of such a transformation? There is no doubt that the answer is leadership. We all have to recognize after studying our entire history that everything has started to change since leadership changed. The regimes that came to rule the peoples, succeeded in transforming the individual as well as the society, and transformed these peoples into their image, according to their [bad] desires and their agendas. 

Is it not true that even the descendants of those who, until yesterday, were at the head of the ‘Resistance against Evil’ have drifted [lost their way] with time and that the change that affected society, has entered their own home? Is it not true that among the descendants of the most pious and religious leaders, we find some who even doubt the existence of Allah (twt), as well as in revelation and prophecy?

 

So, as I told you, human civilization is moving in the direction that is determined by the people who control the centres of power.  

In truth, changes in leadership and society have completely upset and transformed the way of life of a people [nation]. So, it is obvious and indisputable that the decisive factor in human affairs is governance; those who control the sources and organs of power in society. This is not just a reflection and an observation of the situation today because it has always been so. And how we see from this anecdote that I will mention, the responsibility for the progress or decline of a people rests with its scholars and leaders / leadership: -

 

Ziyad ibn Hudair reported: Umar ibn Al-Khattab said to me, “Do you know what will ruin Islam?” 

I said no. Umar said, “Islam will be ruined by the faults of scholars, the arguments of hypocrites over the Book, and the judgement of misguided leaders.” [Darimi] 

It has been reported that [the Holy Prophet] Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “There are two categories [of people] in my Ummah - if they are righteous the Ummah will orient towards righteousness; if they are wrong, the Ummah will fall into error: they are the rulers and the scholars.” [Ibn Abd’al Barr in Kitab Al-Ilm] - So these are the words [Hadiths] of our beloved Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).

 

The Holy Quran [also] places major responsibility for the degradation of Israel on its rabbis and leaders. And in the Holy Quran, Allah (twt) says: You see many of them racing towards sin, transgression, and consumption of forbidden gain. Evil indeed are their actions! Why do not the rabbis and the religious learned men forbid them from uttering sinful words and from eating illegal things. Evil indeed is that which they have been performing. [Al-Maida, 5: 63-64]. 

And I end my sermon with this verse from the Quran where Allah (twt) says: O you who believe, many of the rabbis and the monks do eat up the wealth of the people by false means and prevent (them) from the way of Allah. And those who hoard up gold and silver and do not spend them in the Way of Allah, announce unto them a painful torment.” [At-Tawba, 9: 34].

 

So, I hope that with this Friday sermon, each of you thinks and pays careful attention to these verses of the Quran - and these are not my words but those of Allah - and ponder well [over them]. May Allah help each of us - and find good leaderships [leaders] that will lead you to the right path - not crooked paths where everything can turn upside down and even go awry. As this saying goes, just as a plant begins to grow, we must straighten it so that it can grow straight, into a straight tree. But if that tree / plant grows crooked, it will take the wrong direction [it will grow crooked, and it will become very difficult, after it [i.e. the tree] has grown, to straighten it. 

So we too must stand up, straighten our faith, and not blindly follow leaders - such leaders who will lead you astray. May Allah help each of us and bless us. Ameen Summa Ameen, Ya Rabbul Aalameen.