Leaders you love vs leaders you hate
عَنْ عَوْفِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” خِيَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمُ الَّذِينَ تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَكُمْ وَيُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَتُصَلُّونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ، وَشِرَارُ أَئِمَّتِكُمُ الَّذِينَ تُبْغِضُونَهُمْ وَيُبْغِضُونَكُمْ وَتَلْعَنُونَهُمْ وَيَلْعَنُونَكُمْ ” . . رواه مسلم.
It has been narrated on the authority of ‘Auf bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
The best of your rulers are those whom you love and who love you, who invoke God’s blessings upon you and you invoke His blessings upon them. And the worst of your rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you and whom you curse and who curse you. (Muslim)
This is a very authentic narration. The Prophet (peace be on him) is addressing the importance of the responsibility of the leader. It’s black and white. There is no grey area. Leaders have to be the best quality. They cannot be less than that.
Who are those leaders who lead the way in the community at any level?
Good leaders have to fulfil the requirements. What are the requirements? They have to genuinely look after those they are responsible for, whether it is their family, their school, their hospital, their company, or the nation.
When they do their job properly they look after the interests of the community. That is why the community prays for them from the bottom of their hearts and ask Allah to bless them.
Otherwise they are hated because they are hypocrites and they only seek our approval at election time and make promises they have no intention of keeping.
The Prophet (peace be on him) warns us not to be the ones whom people curse, because they do not deliver what they promised.
If you are in the first camp Allah will bless you and love you and people will love you. If you are in the second camp, people will curse you and Allah will hate you. The choice is between the best and the worst.
If you do not want to be cursed by the people then do not seek leadership with the wrong intention, for self-aggrandizement, to impress others and for your self-interests. It is an amanah. You are answerable to Allah Almighty for looking after everyone in your care.
This is why the Prophet (peace be on him) showed us the best and worst. May Allah make us from among the best. Ameen.
Shaykh Haytham Tamim Khutbah 11th Feb 2022
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