Prophet Muhammed’s (ﷺ) Exceptional Leadership Qualities
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Beloved Prophet Muhammed’s (PBUH) Exceptional Leadership Qualities
A person’s leadership skills are gauged in the way how effectively he can mitigate loss during difficult times, and how well he facilitates proceedings.
Sometime before the sahaba were on the verge of migration to Madinah, Prophet Muhammed ﷺ was in a need of a solution to an immense pressure which was put on his financially weaker followers. The possibility of a negotiation with the Makkan leaders was zero. Hence, Prophet Muhammed ﷺ sent his first followers to Abyssinia, yet there were many Muslims who were tortured in Makkah; his followers were growing. Our beloved Prophet ﷺ had to do something.
During the Hajj season which followed the Abyssinian migration, the Prophet of peace ﷺ began to see tribal chiefs who might accept his followers and give them refuge. Some refused right away for their commitment to idolatry, others had fallen prey to the anti-Islamic propagandas by the Makkans.
During his search, the Prophet of mercy ﷺ came across six men of Khazraj from Yathrib (Madinah was called Yathrib becore Prophet Muhammed ﷺ migrated there), and kept his proposal before them. They were surprised to hear it. They said to each other: “So this is the prophet about whom the scholars of our Jewish community kept us telling about?” They thought that since their land is facing social troubles, the presence of the Prophet ﷺ would bring peace to their lands. They put forth their terms.
What were their terms? Did Prophet Muhammed ﷺ agree to their terms and conditions?
When the six men from Khazraj tribe heard Prophet Muhammed’s ﷺ request for his followers’ refuge, their eyes shone brightly. There was a lot of friction going on between the major tribes in Yathrib, so they thought the presence of the Prophet ﷺ would help install peace in their region. So they said to Prophet Muhammed ﷺ: “If you can, you and your followers are most welcome.”
This being the only positive response from people, Prophet Muhammed ﷺ agreed to their terms. The men promised to speak to their tribesmen about the Muslims’ migration to their city. The next year they came in more numbers, also from the Aws tribe now, apart from Khazraj. They were interested in Islam and had accepted it. Prophet Muhammed ﷺ sent Sayyiduna Mus’ab bin Umair (ra) to their place, and Islam started spreading in Yathrib. There was no family in that entire city where at least one person from each family had accepted Islam. This laid a groundwork for reception of the Makkan muhajiroon. _(Ref: Ibn Hisham)_
Finally, we all know that when Muslims and Prophet Muhammed ﷺ himself migrated to Yathrib, which then became Madinah Munawarh, the entire city became desperate to meet them. Muhajiroon were supported in every ways possible. The Ansaar (helpers) of Madinah and the Muhajiroon (immigrants) of Makkah became more than relatives: the former shared their wealth & riches, their houses, their businesses, their merchandise, their properties, in fact everything with the latter.
All of this inspiration and motivation was fueled beautifully by none other than the intensely impressive leadership skills of Prophet Muhammed ﷺ. He initiated the migration and led from the front, migrated to Madinah alt ast, established peace in Madinah - between Muslims and non-Muslims, all of this by risking his own life in every stage of the process to protect his followers. That’s leadership!
*Leadership doesn’t mean showcasing power:* Prophet Muhammed ﷺ had by then, quite enthusiastically strong followers in the likes of Sayyiduna Hamzah (ra), Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (ra) etc., but he chose his soft, mild-mannered best friend Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (ra), and yet took the perilous trip to Madinah in great spirits – in the name of Allah, only to teach us how not to forget friends during testing times.
*Being calm during troubles:* Later on in his life, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (ra) recounted about his migration with the Prophet ﷺ and said: “The ones who were after us to catch us were right above us. If one of them had only seen down below at his own shoes, he would have spotted us.” _(Ref: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)_
Hence, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (ra) became anxious at this situation, but the Prophet of Allah ﷺ calmed him down even at this critical point and said: “Allah is with us”, and Allah testifies this in the Quran, in Surah Tawbah, verse 40.
You might know that the seafaring ship captains, at the time of emergencies, first let their passengers and crew members evacuate the vessel safely. If time runs out, they even themselves go down with the ship. Prophet Muhammed ﷺ risked his life all through. He ﷺ is the captain of the ship of Islam. When he saw that Madinah is a safer place, he ordered his followers to safely move toward the region, and as per few Islamic scholars, he did so in the month of July. And by September, almost everyone had left Makkah. Only three types of Muslims remained back: those who were ill, those who were detained, and those Muslims whose social status protected them from Makkan oppression.
*Trustworthy leader:* This leadership quality was shown by Prophet Muhammed ﷺ when he, before his migration, gave all the articles of the non-Muslims’ property, which they had kept with him ﷺ for safekeeping, to their owners. As far as few of those who had not taken it back, he asked Sayyiduna Ali (ra to return to their owners. Despite being called by the Makkans as a madman, a magician, a deceiver and what not, the Prophet ﷺ remained the same “al-Ameen” – the trustworthy, despite the false allegations.
Ya RasoolAllah ﷺ! May we be ransomed for you for all that you did for us, aameen!
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*Seerah of Rasoolullah ﷺ*
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