Mustafa Mawjee
(United Kingdom)
14 Centuries ago, Imam Ali a.s. wrote to his governor in Egypt,
Maalik-e-Ashtar
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QUALITIES OF A TRUE LEADER
Maalik, do not feel ashamed to forgive and forget.
Do not hurry over punishments and do not be pleased and do not be proud of
your power to punish.
Do not get angry and lose your temper quickly over the mistakes and failures
of those over whom you rule.
On the contrary, be patient and sympathetic with them.
Anger and desire of vengeance are not going to be of much help to you in
your administration.
Never say to yourself,
“I am their Lord, their ruler and all in all over them and that I must be
obeyed submissively and humbly”
because such a thought
will unbalance your mind
will make you vain and arrogant,
will weaken your faith in religion and
will make you seek support of any power other than that of Allah.
If you ever feel any pride or vanity on account of your sway and rule over
your subjects then think of the supreme sway and rule of the Lord over the
Universe, the extent of His creations, the supremacy of His Might and Glory,
His Power to do things which you cannot even dream of doing and His control
over you which is more dominating than that which you can ever achieve over
anything around you.
Such thoughts
Will cure your mental weakness,
Will keep you away from vanity and rebellion (against Allah),
Will reduce your arrogance and haughtiness and
Will take you back to the sanity which you had foolishly deserted.
[Abridged version from The Charter of Human Rights /Part 2}
