Factors in Leadership: The Social and the Individual

Factors in Leadership: The Social and the Individual community. During the first phase, one group of the Prophet’s Companions engaged in activities such as defence. While the other group, for instance, Abdullah ibn Masud Abdullah ibn Umar, devoted themselves to academic and dawah (conveying God’s message to people) fields. In life, people’s mental fabric in terms of thought, attitude and behaviour is far more important than societal or political leadership. The former’s position is of base or foundation, while the latter’s is of superstructure resting on this base. Those who judge by appearance often mistakenly perceive this upper structure as more important than the base. In reality, however, the base is much more important. That is why the position or status of the religious leaders is loftier than that of the political leaders. Consequences of Breaching This Precedent The tradition of maintaining a clear distinction between the spheres of activity of the Ulama and the political class was first breached in India in a significant way at the time of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1618-1707). Although Aurangzeb was born in a royal family, he was a religious scholar in the complete sense. His circumstances led him to become a religious