Creative Political Leadership [Translated]

Political selections (Creative political leadership):

1) The political thought: It is absolutely the highest kind of thought and it means the thought related to the Ri’aayah (caretaking) of the affairs of the Ummah. And it represents the highest of its types is the thinking related to the human being and related to the world from a specific angle.

2) Politics requires and demands a concern with the reality in a precise manner.

3) The following is necessary:

a) Keeping distant from making generalisations in politics.

b) Keeping distant from stripping (isolating) it from its (surrounding) circumstances and conditions.

c) Paying consideration to the specific circumstances related to the reality. Therefore analogy is not made in anything between the conditions of a matter with another merely due to some similarity. This is because it is possible for there to be similarity in a matter whilst difference occurs in a number of matters. One of the most dangerous matters related to politics is the use of general analogising.

4) That which relates to the human being in politics applies upon every human irrespective of the circumstances, environments or any other consideration because these do not possess the capability to change or alter anything about his humanity.
That which relates to the realities or conditions does not apply except to the reality or condition in each of their circumstances and in this case analogy is absolutely abstained from.

5) The political thought necessarily needs a political leadership to bring it into existence because its existence in books and the minds of scholars holds no value and is not considered to represent a real existence.

6) The political leadership is that which has awareness of the political thought with something of innovativeness (creativity) and practises its usage in a place that is distant from unnaturalness (or constraint). The political innovativeness represents one of its qualities and characteristics and the one who is characterised by this attribute is called a statesman.

7) The innovative politician is the one who leads the state or society and he is not led by them.

8) The political leadership or the statesman does not disregard the reality but he does not submit to it. Rather he attempts to utilise it in order to make the society and state towards the situation that he has laid forth in his vision and plan which emanated from a full comprehension and reflection.

9) The innovative political leader is the one who imposes himself upon the Jamaa’ah and then the Mujtama’ (society). He is not elected in election but rather the process of election manifests who has imposed himself upon (or over) others and has provided him with the legitimacy of leadership.

10) The political leader must rely when dealing with those he is leading upon convincing them and he does not lead by way of compulsion or coercion however he uses firmness and so in the end he uses compulsion in that which is the truth.

11) The most important of what the leader is distinguished by is his ability to spread the high values amongst the people and especially his Jamaa’ah that he leads that enjoining the qualities of dedication and sacrifice from those who have embraced them. If these values represented eternal truths then the leadership of the group that embraces them will be long lasting as long as these values are believed in.

12) The innovative (creative) leadership is that which makes that which it possesses in terms of the ability to comprehend and to be creative meet with what lies latent within the people. This means that it causes its ability to comprehend the reality to meet with the reality as it is and with the truths that apply upon this reality.

13) The innovative (creative) political leadership is not represented by an individual but rather many individuals. This means that the creative political leadership is represented in leaders and not a (single) leader. These creative leaders radiate in themselves the values (Qiyam) which they believe in a manner in which heat and power stands out. If anyone of them was to lose anything from this heat then he must return to the values to depend upon and if he was to lose all of the heat then it is necessary to treat the area of Imaan within him otherwise he would fall and possibly perish.

14) The creative leadership represents no more than a leadership of an idea so that the people or peoples embrace it. This is because the reality of the creative leadership is that it leads the thought so that the people are led towards it and thereafter led by it. They then lead it so that in reality its leadership would be a leadership for the thought. If it was to manifest in its actions and behaviours it would represent a leadership for the Ummah.

15) The innovativeness (creativity) of the leadership means the application of the thought upon the newly occurring realities in a precise manner and to be restrict to them regardless of how much the realities differed and varied. If the application was unsettled or Ta’weel (interpretation) occurred then the creativity would have weakened whilst the leadership would be heading towards collapse and deviation.

16) The creative leadership is not manifested in the individual who makes history or individuals who make history. Rather it represents a thought that shines in the mind of the people or Ummah or which attempts to be an expression of her. However some of its individuals are more capable of expressing the thought whilst an individual from amongst these individuals may be more precise in this expression. As such the innovative political leadership arises from this thought manifested in the expression of all of these individuals together (or as a whole) and it does not emanate from an individual or from history.

17) The thought from which the creative political leadership is constituted does not necessarily have to be (Already) present within the Ummah. However it must be compatible with the Ummah... The thought could come from Allah, it could come from books, it could be transferred from another Ummah, it could be taken from the Ummah’s own reality or from its intellectual, legislative or historical heritage... Whatever its origin however it will hold no value or worth if it is not compatible with her (the Ummah).

18) The creative leadership must be committed (bound) to the reality and completely restricted to it. This is like the Qiyaadah Al-Islaahiyah (leadership for reform) or the normal (regular) personality. However the difference between them is that the creative leadership restricts itself to the reality in order to take control of (master) it and then change it which is different to the other types because the reality dominates them and they change in accordance to it.

19) The creative leadership is more capable of envisioning the current situation and in envisioning that which it is heading to and it is more capable of keeping up with it in every situation or condition. This is because it is alive (i.e. has vitality) and proceeds along with the life (as it happens). For that reason this leadership is the closest to the people, to pursuance and to being successful.

20) The creative leadership is that in which the time and the place do not dominate over it but rather it is what chooses the time and the place. However the reality of the people determines the kind of action and so it revolves around this reality and it cannot go beyond that. So it makes its treatment for the present reality and not for what might be or become the reality. Despite this it does not restrict itself to any place or any time at all.

21) It is inevitable and absolutely necessary for the creative leadership to be a political leadership and to engage really in politics and for that reason it is necessary to fully understand the art of politics in accordance to its linguistic and Shar’iy meanings which is: ‘Ri’aayat Shu’oon Al-Ummah’ (Caretaking the affairs of the Ummah).

22) Politics is what leads the State or the society practically and in actuality or it is represented by undertaking sensed actions which by their nature affect the relationships (in the society) which lead to reaching the leadership of the State or the society.

23) Politics requires an awareness of the thoughts and Ahkaam (rulings) that are intended to be applied upon the reality. It requires a special concern with this reality in a continuous uninterrupted manner in addition to a full alertness to what is happening to it in terms of transformation and change. However above all it requires thinking about the actions that lead to conducting this application in reality and actuality in practise.

24) The political actions must be undertaken with means and styles that lead to sensed results whilst making sure that the thoughts and Ahkaam remain dominating over them by which the caretaking of the affairs of the Ummah are intended to be undertaken.

25) Politics is Sidq (truthfulness) and it is not Kadhib (lies/deceit) whilst the crack from which that which appears to be a lie enters and does not take it away from its high level is: A cleverness in expressing objectives or in concealing them behind the truth and the action of truth and skilfulness in forming this expression. If the political lying or deception enters then it represents a fall from the level of politics in accordance to its original conception and understanding.

26) Politics are thoughts that express purely practical realities whilst actions are realities which express thoughts. In view of the difference in the circumstances of realities and their conditions it is inevitable for the presence of the contradiction or what is dubious in them to be apparent to the ordinary man. However before passing making judgment upon the contradiction he must examine the circumstances of every thought and every action whilst examining the basis that it is established upon. If it (the thought or action) was not built upon an Aqeedah contradiction would occur whilst it would not occur if it was built upon an intellectual belief (Aqeedah ‘Aqliyyah) unless Ijtihaad took place within the same Aqeedah or doubt occurred in respect to some of its thoughts or deviation happened. However if the Aqeedah remained in the state where it was taken in a decisive manner in respect to all of its certain thoughts then contradiction would not occur in politics. Rather they (thoughts) would be in harmony with each other and with the basis upon which they are established upon whether they emanate from this basis like the Ahkaam or they are built upon it like the thoughts.

27) Politics is not the art of possibilities and it is not choosing the best of possibilities. Rather politics means effective activity in respect to the possibilities in order to transform them to the situation that we want without paying attention to how the people view it and without paying any regard to whether it is the easiest or most burdensome and hardest.

28) The creative politician within the intellectually declined societies would take a long time to arrive at an influential or effecting level however if he was to arrive to that he would gain mastery in the society and it would become hard for others to catch up with him.

29) The creative politician: Irrespective of his complete certainty in his thought and his method he must search out for the causes of success through continuous thought, by undertaking actions and benefiting from the experiences they provide, and by undertaking attempts that he believes will bring something productive. This is because the thought and the method are bases which require styles and means. When utilising these repeated attempts and many experiences are necessary to made whilst making mistakes in this are unavoidable.

30) The creative politician whilst being able to look behind the wall he however does not close his eyes from the wall itself. Although he is leading the people to a situation that he desires for them he must nevertheless lead them by way of seeing the situation that they are currently in. For that reason adopting the current partialities represents a method to achieve the changing of the society.

31) The following matters must be present within the creative politician:

Firstly: That he has a deep comprehension of the society in terms of its thoughts, sentiments, customs (norms) and its public opinion. This comprehension in respect to its preciseness (accuracy) and quickness must reach the level of distinction that occurs from the Ihsaas (sensation). This is so that he possesses a heightened or sharp societal sensation where he is able to sense what exists in the society in terms of decline and elevation, what happens or overtakes it (in terms of events and realities), what is hidden within it in terms of thoughts, sentiments and norms, and what happens in relation to changes in the public opinion. He sees what lies between him and the people in terms of division or a rift in respect to what he sees and understands and then what happens in regards to this rift in respect to it widening or becoming narrower. He would sense all of this and what is similar to this in the same way that he senses any material item or thing that can be sensed.

Secondly: The ability to assess the disputes that exist amongst the intellectual and political Jamaa’aat (groupings) whether this is between the individuals of one single Jamaa’ah or between one Jamaa’ah and another.

Thirdly: That he has a fair portion of intelligence and boldness as he is from amongst the men who lead the State and the Ummah across a dangerous path.

Fourthly: That he combines the attributes of Fadl (amiability) and ‘Aql (rationality) and so he would make the statement of ‘Umar a part of his attributes and what he is characterised by: ‘I am not a swindler and no swindler will deceive me’.

Fifthly: That he is precise in his expressions in a manner that makes them not open to be understood in a contrary way whilst making them at the same time effective and stirring.

Sixthly: To be inclined to mix and make contact with the masses, long to address the masses and talk to them and for most of his living to be within the collective atmosphere and the collective environments.

Seventhly: To tirelessly persist in making contact with the people irrespective of the difficulties that he meets whilst engaging in that. He repeats his attempts to make contact time and time again and he must be creative in the style and means that enable him to make the contact until it becomes easy for him because the contact with the Ummah is the only method to achieve success.