The Leadership of Muhammad (Book Review)
This book is a biographical inquiry about one aspect of Prophet's Muhammad's life: his leadership.
Title: The Leadership of Muhammad
Author: John Adair
Publisher: Kogan Page Limited
Year: 2010
Pages: 96 (e-book version)
Language: English
An interesting, captivating and entertaining page-turner.
Once
you start reading it, you cannot put it down until you read the very
last word; yet you feel that you would like to learn more about the
character of the human being who had more impact on our world than any
other.
Other then the introduction and conclusion, “The Leadership of Muhammad” consists of eight short chapters:
In the Black Tents of Bani Sa’dThe Wise Leader, peace be upon him - Prophet Muhammad: Master of Tolerance
- The Wisdom of God's Messenger
- Muhammad: A 21st. Century Prophet?
- The Prophet's Wisdom in Leading His Companions
- The Prophet's Kindness Towards People of the Book- The Shepherd
- Caravan Leader
- Dwellers of the Desert
- Muhammad ‘The Trustworthy One’
- Sharing in Hardship
- Humility
- From Past to Present
The Author
Adair is a world renowned authority on leadership.
He
has authored over 40 books that were translated into many different
languages. Some of his books are “Not Bosses but Leaders: How to lead
the way to success” and “The Inspirational Leader: How to motivate,
encourage and achieve success” (see his web site for further details and titles).
In 2009, the United Nations System Staff College in Turin appointed him as the United Nations Chair of Strategic Leadership.
The Book in Summary
| The book reflects the tribal tradition of leadership where many qualities are to be learned from such a modest society |
This
book is definitely not a full biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him); however the author provides a summary of his biography at the
end of the book and touches the most important aspect of his character
as a role model and best leader known to mankind due to his significant
influence on our world; having more than 1.8 billion followers to date
worldwide. The book reflects the tribal tradition of leadership where
many qualities are to be learned from such a modest society.
Muhammad and His Religion
The
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is probably the most misunderstood
historical figure in the West. Such a beautiful human being has been
related to violence and bloodshed while the opposite is, without any
shadow of doubt, the absolute truth. The Leadership of Muhammad by John
Adair is a masterpiece in highlighting some aspects of his character
through his leadership that changed the world forever.
There’s
no argument that Muhammad’s religion is the central topic everywhere.
Whether we are talking about the Middle East crisis or the world trade
center, Islam and Muslims are the focus. When reading the book, I
suggest the reader to focus on what made Muhammad an exceptional leader
not what current day media says about him, his religion, or his
followers.
It
is worth mentioning that there is no human being on the face of the
earth who is more loved than Muhammad (peace be upon him). When
addressing Muhammad, Allah the Exalted has mentioned in the Qur’an in
chapter 94, verse 4 what is translated as: “Have we not exalted your fame?”
Indeed, Muhammad’s name echoes through the minarets during the call for
prayer of the five daily prayers in mosques around the world.
The Perfect Leader
Adair
addresses the key points that influenced Muhammad to become a perfect
leader; his childhood, the way he lived, his tribe’s influence upon him
and finally his religion and dedication to God. He transforms this into
anecdotes that allure you to extract a specific nature about Muhammad
by often asking the reader similar questions like: “Did you see any of
those qualities in Muhammad?”
What
is fascinating is that the author uses proverbs throughout the book,
explanation of English words from their Latin or Greek roots,
Shakespearian paraphrases, quotations of famous writers, from the Bible
and from both the Qur’an and the sayings of Muhammad (hadith), as well as key notes at the end of each chapter to summarize the ideas he is trying to convey.
Emphasizing
the importance of history, the author also mentions exemplary stories
from the life of Muhammad’s companions and Muslims throughout history,
who turned to be successful leaders as well; showing that Muhammad’s
legend still lives today and until the end of time. This book is
definitely easy to read and takes only a few hours to complete.
It
is a lesson in leadership through the character of Muhammad; being the
best leader that ever lived on this planet and the most loved human
being on the face of the earth. So this is not merry theories about
leadership, it is a practical example demonstrated through the life of
Muhammad and the different events that shaped his character as a great
leader who also recognized leaders from their youth and raised them as
such. Toward the end, the author nicely summarizes leadership in our
modern context; a true leader has the way to inspire others who will be
behind the success of influential organizations.
Author's Background Demonstrated
| Muhammad was both exalted and humble, capable of vision and inspiration, yet at the same time dedicated to the service of people |
What
gives this book an edge over other books is that its author lived in
the Middle East, in Jordan, and mingled with its tribesmen where he
learned the religion of Islam and about its Prophet from a closer
perspective. So he included Arabic words which he thoroughly explains
giving non Arabs the chance to learn few words from one of the oldest
languages that is still spoken nowadays the same way it was spoken
fourteen hundred years ago. Learn words such as Qa’id (leader) and its different uses.
He
also has described the camel in such a detail that I really would like
to own one, and I would also love to eat a good meal in a desert tent
around the fire. He narrowed the difference gap between us and desert
dwellers; people who have so much to share and who have high moral
values such as their extreme generosity, that only a person who stays
among them would only understand.
The
author also draws you closer to the 7th. century, the time when
Muhammad lived, by his detailed and descriptive aspects of the Bedouin
life making you feel as a member of that society. He also brings you
back and forth from history into the near future to demonstrate Bedouin
values.
In
this book, Adair disconnects the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
from his divine mission: “Muhammad was both exalted and humble, capable
of vision and inspiration, yet at the same time dedicated to the service
of people”.
It
was Muhammad’s leadership which turned few followers in Makkah to
nearly a hundred and twenty five thousands who performed the farewell
pilgrimage (Hajj) with him. In 2007, the estimated world Muslim
population was over 1.8 billion, second to Christianity. Muslims are
expected to become the largest religious community in the world by 2015.
Fifty-seven United Nations members are countries that have a Muslim
majority.
Pros and Cons
The
only critic I have about the book is that Adair assumed that Muhammad
must have been a caravan leader in order to earn some of his leadership
skills; however, he did not have any solid facts.
The
part that I liked the most in this book is when the author speaks about
trust in chapter five. A good leader must be trusted by the people he
serves. This reminds me of the recent revolutions in the Arab world.
For the obvious reasons, people did not trust their leaders. I quote:
“Trust being lost, all the social intercourse of men is brought to naught”.
Livy (Roman Historian).
Conclusion
The
author concludes that leadership is a skill learned and developed in a
person the same way Muhammad developed as a leader: “You are not born a
leader, you become one”.
Unfortunately
not all appointed leaders know how to lead; successful leaders were
among the people, not above them. See Muhammad’s leadership in action;
read this book to learn more about the intelligence, perseverance,
calmness, confidence, integrity, honesty, humility, tolerance, patience,
gentleness, generosity, wisdom, mercy, courage, and even humor of
Muhammad, illiterate Prophet yet a brilliant leader who was once a
shepherd boy from the desert while addressed by his tribesmen as ‘The
Trustworthy’.
See
how Muhammad endured hardship to serve his people and lead by example:
“He served to lead and knew how to do things at the right time in the
right way”. Learn his moderate approach, how he changed the world
forever, and how much we are nowadays in desperate need for someone like
him (may peace and blessings be upon him).
http://www.onislam.net/
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