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Bismihi Ta'ala
50
PRICELESS GEMS
IMAM
ALI (A.S.)'S ADVICE TO LEADERS & ADMINISTRATORS
LEADERSHIP
LESSONS FROM NAHJUL BALAGHA
Compiled by Muslim Bhanji
Following are brief excerpts
from Imam Ali (a.s.)'s famous letter to Malike Ashtar, Governor of
Egypt, in which he advised on leaders' "Code of Conduct". These
are indeed priceless gems for those who are leaders or aspirants.
1.
SCRUTINY - Beware, men will
scrutinise your actions with a searching eye.
2.
GOOD ACTIONS - The fact is
that the public speak well of only those (leaders) who do good.
3.
DESIRES - Keep your desires
under control and deny yourself that which you have been prohibited for.
4.
LOVE - Develop in your heart
the feeling of love for your people.
5.
FORGIVENESS - Forgive them as
you would like God to forgive you.
6.
ANGER - Do not rouse yourself
to anger, for no good will come out of it.
7.
PRIDE - Should you be elated
by power, or feel in your mind the slightest symptoms of pride and
arrogance, then look at the power and majesty of the divine governance
of the Universe over which you have absolutely no control.
8.
JUSTICE - Maintain justice in
administration and impose it on your own self.
9.
CONSENT - Seek consent of the
people, for the discontent of the masses sterilises the contentment of
the privileged few; and the discontent of the few loses itself in the
contentment of the many.
10.
THE PRIVILEGED - Remember,
the privileged few will not rally around you in moments of difficulty -
they will try to side-track justice, they will ask for more than what
they deserve and will show no gratitude for favours done to them.
11.
COMMON MAN - It is the common
man who is the strength of the community and of religion. ……… so live in
close contact with the common man and be mindful of their welfare.
12.
BACKBITER - Keep at a
distance he who exposes the weaknesses of others. After all, the masses
are not free from weaknesses.
13.
DEFAMATION - Do not bring to
light that which is hidden, but try to remove those weaknesses which
have been brought to light.
14.
FAULT FINDING - Cover up the
faults of the public to the best of your ability and God will not
disclose your faults to the public gaze.
15.
TALE-TELLER - Do not make
haste in seeking confirmation of tale-telling, for a tale-teller is a
deceitful person appearing in the garb of a friend.
16.
MISER - Never take a counsel
of a miser, for he will vitiate your magnanimity and frighten you of
poverty.
17.
COWARD - Do not take counsel
of a coward also, for he will weaken your resolutions.
18.
GREEDY - Do not take counsel
of the greedy too, for he will instil greed in you and turn you into a
tyrant.
19.
TAQWA - Keep close to you the
upright and the Muttaqi (God-fearing) people.
20.
FLATTERY - Never allow anyone
to flatter you and to give you credit for any good that you may not have
done; for the tolerance of flattery and unhealthy praise stimulates
pride in man and makes him arrogant.
21.
GOOD & BAD - Do not treat the
good and the bad alike. That will deter the good from doing good, and
encourage the bad in their bad pursuits.
22.
TRADITIONS - Do not regard
the noble traditions set by our forefathers which have promoted harmony
and progress among the people.
23.
EXPERIENCE - Try always to
learn something from the experience of the learned and the wise, and
frequently consult them.
24.
NEGLECT - Do not neglect
anyone. The progress of one is dependent on the progress of every other,
and none can afford to be independent of the other.
25.
POOR - Then there is the
group of the poor and the needy, whose maintenance is an obligation to
all.
26.
ENTIRE COMMUNITY - The
administrator has to meet with an eye to the good of the entire
community, a duty which he can not properly fulfil unless he takes
personal interest in its execution and seeks help from God.
27.
CARE - Care for the people
with the tenderness with which you care for your children.
28.
BOASTING - Do not talk before
the people of any good that you might have done to them, nor disregard
any expression of affection which they show in return.
29.
TIMELY HELP - Attend to every
little want of the people not resting content with what general help
that you might have given to them, for sometimes, timely attention to a
little want of theirs brings them immense relief.
30.
FAVOURITISM - See to it you
do not show favours to one who has achieved nothing but merely counts on
his family position; and do not withhold proper reward from one who has
done great deeds simply because he holds a low position in life.
31.
REFERENCE - "And refer to God
and his prophet whenever there is difference of opinion among you". Holy
Quran.
32.
BEST LEADER - The best leader
among you is that:
-
Who can not be intimidated.
-
Who does not err too often.
-
Who does not turn back from a
right path once he finds it.
-
Who is not self-centred or
avaricious.
-
Who will not decide before
knowing the full facts.
-
Who will weigh with care
every attendant doubt.
-
Who will not grow restive
over the arguments of advocates.
-
Who will examine with
patience every new disclosure of fact.
-
Who will remain strictly
impartial in his decisions.
-
One whom flattery can not
mislead.
-
Who does not exult over his
position.
33.
REVENUE - Great care is to be
exercised in revenue administration.
34.
RESPONSIBILITY - He who does
not realise his own responsibilities can hardly appraise the
responsibility of others.
35.
TRADE - Adopt useful schemes
placed before those engaged in trade and industry, and help them with
wise counsels.
36.
VISIT - Visit every part of
the country and establish personal contact with people, and enquire into
their condition.
37.
PROBLEMS OF THE POOR -
Beware! Fear God when dealing with the problem of the poor who have none
to patronise them, who are forlorn, indigent and helpless and are
greatly torn in mind - victims to the vicissitudes of time. Among them
there are some who do not question their lot in life and who not
withstanding their misery, do not go about seeking alms. For God's sake,
safeguard their rights, for on you rest the responsibility of protecting
their interests.
38.
EQUALITY - The right of the
two - rich and poor - should be equal in your eye. Do not let any
preoccupation slip the poor from your mind; for no excuse whatsoever for
the disregard of their rights will be acceptable to God.
39.
CONDITIONS OF THE POOR - Keep
yourself informed of the condition of the poor.
40.
PROVISION FOR THE POOR - Make
such provision for these poor people as shall not oblige you to offer an
excuse before God on the day of Judgement, for it is this section of the
people more than any other which deserves benevolent treatment.
41.
BIG TRIAL - It is the
discharge of this duty of helping the poor that usually proves very
trying to leaders, but is very welcome to societies which are gifted
with foresight.
42.
OPEN CONFERENCE - Meet the
oppressed and the lowly periodically in an open conference and have a
heart-to-heart talk with them.
43.
DUTY TO THE WEAK - No nation
or society in which the strong do not discharge their duty to the weak
should occupy a high position.
44.
EVERY DAY'S TASK - Dispose
the day's work that very day, for the coming day will bring with it its
own task.
45.
PRAYERS - Do not forget to
set apart the best of your time for communion with God, although every
moment of yours is for Him only, provided it is spent sincerely in the
service of your people.
46.
ALOOFNESS - Never for any
length of time keep yourself aloof from the people, for to do so is to
keep oneself ignorant of their affairs. The fact is that either you are
just or unjust. If you are just, then you will not keep yourself away
from the people. At all events, aloofness is not desirable especially
when it is your duty to attend the needs of the people.
47.
RELATIVES - Deal justice
squarely regardless of the fact whether one is a relation or not.
48.
PROMISE - Do not make any
promise from which you may afterwards offer excuses to retract.
49.
CONSENSUS - When the people
as a whole agree upon a thing, do not impose your own view on them, and
do not neglect to discharge the responsibility that rests on you in
consequence.
50.
MODEL - Give close thought to
the example of our Prophet (s.a.w.w.), his traditions, and the
commandments of the Book of God (Holy Quran) and whatever you might have
assimilated from my (Imam Ali's) own way of dealing with things.
"I
invite you to pray with me that Allah (swt) may enable us to acquit
ourselves well before Him and His creation, so that mankind might
cherish our memory and our work survive". Imam Ali (a.s.). |
