We have become accustomed to thinking a leader is one who possesses authority and power. Many modern Muslims look at one who is inferior to them morally and spiritually, but happens to hold the reins of power, and are consumed with envy. ‘If only,’ they think to themselves, ‘we could command the respect and attention that this President or that King have, then all would be right with the world.’ Few things in this life are normally as irreconcilable as worldly power and spiritual purity, yet we think it our duty to combine the two in the grasp of a single individual, and are constantly confronted with the contradictions that arise from such a two-headed approach. Again and again, we are defeated and humiliated, for either our spirituality holds us back from doing what we must to capture power, or our lust for power overcomes our spirituality and we are corrupted on our way to worldly heights. Either way, we can never compete, on their terms at least, with those lowly creatures who are purely for this world, and will do anything to gain and maintain their grip on power.
In the Qur’an (4:139) God says, Do they desire the power which is with them? (“them” here meaning the infidels). Truly all the power belongs to God. The response of our modern Muslims to such verses is ‘Yes, but . . .’ In other words, ‘Yes, we believe in the Word of God; yes, we know that all affairs are in God’s Hands, and that He gives dominion (mulk) to whomever He wills; but we are also told to struggle for the predominance of faith in the land, and to prepare all necessary means for that end. AL-LAH is the Provider of sustenance, but surely we have to go out in search of it. The same is true with power; if we don’t struggle for it, we’ll never get it.’
My answer is simple. You say you believe, but anyone can say that. You say you know, but how do you know you know? Do you not fear the verse from the Qur’an (29:2) which says, Do people think that they will be left to say, “We believe,” while they have not been tested? The answer, of course, is that they will never be left alone; they will be constantly tested, and those who entered carelessly into contests for power without checking their faith will find themselves failing miserably.
You know as well as I do what the life of ‘We believe’ entails. It is a ceaseless self-scrutiny, a relentless inner struggle for which there is no let-up until the very moment of death. In only the most exceptional of cases does a believer consider himself worthy of power. Does not God say in the Qur’an (33:72), Verily We offered the responsibility to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and shunned it, and man accepted it. Truly he is tyrannical and ignorant. Now were the heavens, the earth, and the mountains not believers? Certainly they were, and still are! And so, knowing his weakness and limitations, and the heavy, heart-rending, earth-shattering sense of responsibility that accompanies real power, the human believer also avoids it. He does NOT desire the power that is with them, our so-called leaders of today. He remembers the instructions of Prophet Muhammad (may AL-LAH bless him and give him peace), who said, Do not seek to rule, for if you are given it on your request, it will be a trust for you, but if you are given it without asking for it, you will be assisted in it;’and You will covet leadership, and it will be cause for remorse on the Day of Judgement. How sweet it is to get it; how bitter it is to give it up! And so our conscientious believer keeps his head down, restrains his ambitions, and shuns the hallways and ladders of power.
But that is not the end of our story. The beautiful thing about faith is that it flourishes in groups, and dies when left alone, untended. You have heard, of course, the hadith which says that The Hand of God is with the group. The believer tries it, tastes it, and finds it to be true. Yes! If he loves his faith, and values it more than all else in this world, he will cling for dear life to his group. But what kind of group? A group of believers, naturally – people like himself. Now what do believers do to make their group cohesive, and not just a collection of individuals who happen to profess the same faith? Well, they meet one another regularly, they visit one another, they study together, they help one another, they advise one another, they uplift one another, and they strengthen one another. And they do all this li wajhil-Lah, for the sake of God and His Good Pleasure, and they derive from this activity, this mutual concern and support, a sense of . . . dare I say it? . . . a sense of power. Their power? No. God’s power. Truly all the power belongs to God.
That is what they’ve always believed, but now, in a group, they get to feel it, too. The power of God. Now, because of it, they have the courage and the conviction to do things they should have done long ago, but could never have done alone. They conduct study programs for their neighbours, or their neighbours’ children. They establish schools. They set up a charity fund, and it becomes a baitul-mal. They take care of the sick, and before you know it they’re running a hospital. The duties that must be done in a Muslim society are numerous and diverse; but by working as a group, these responsibilities are distributed evenly and performed joyfully, for the sheer love of seeing good deeds done.
Notice how good deeds follow naturally from faith, as a means of keeping a group together, committed, focused, and active. And so, while all these good deeds are getting done, we can imagine this group coming together and glorifying God for all the wondrous works that He has performed on their hands. They do not take credit for what they have accomplished, for that would lead to pride and rivalry – the downfall of their group. Rather they acknowledge, fervently and sincerely, that there is no power nor strength but with AL-LAH. And so they thrive, and grow, and become strong in friendship and in faith.
The GOD You Already Know 