The characteristics of those who lead or become rich

The definition of a jurist, a leader, and a rich man  

ليس الفقيه بنطقه ومقالـه	إن الفقيـه هو الفقيـه بفعلـه
ليس الرئيس بقومه ورجاله	وكذا الرئيس هو الرئيس بخلقه
ليس الغني بملكه وبمالــه	وكذا الغني هو الغني بحالــه

Translation:

Verily the jurist is a jurist by his actions,

and no jurist is he by his words and sayings.

And likewise a leader is a leader by his character,

and no leader is he by his men or his nation.

And likewise the rich man is a rich man by his condition,

And no rich man is he by his wealth and possessions.

Explanation:

The jurist, someone like Imam Shafi’i himself, is not someone who says one thing and does another. Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Do you enjoin the people with piety and forget yourselves while you read the book?” (44:2)

Hypocrisy between sayings and actions is a clear sign that one is not a true jurist and doesn’t have the fruit of knowledge - which is humility in front of Allah and his words. This can be seen from the Qur’anic verse “It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah. Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, Oft-Forgiving.” (35:28)

The ability to derive verdicts from a compilation of all the relevant knowledge is not something just anyone can do, and being a master jurist is truly a gift from Allah and not something one can become simply through hard study. For example, a person could learn many tomes of ahadith but, when asked for a verdict on a matter he knows all the texts for, he is unable to. This can be seen through a story of Imam Abu Hanifah. He was sat in his circle and a scholar from the circle narrated a hadith that the Imam didn’t have knowledge of. Shortly afterwards a person came and asked for a verdict from the scholar who had recited the hadith, but he was unable to answer. Imam Abu Hanifah however answered the man’s question, and when asked by the other scholar how he had derived the verdict, he said he had used the very hadith he had just heard from him! Because of his discernment he was able to use the hadith whereas the scholar who had narrated it wasn’t able to.

This discernment, this ability to summarise an argument, to be able to see the root of the problem, to make sound analogies, to make good decisions, and to keep the context in mind are all things needed to derive a good Islamic verdict, but are also  all characteristics which mark out a person in his everyday life as well. This is what the Imam is getting at. He is once again arguing that the self (and anything that derives from it, such as actions) defines itself much better than what a person says.

The leader likewise is a leader not by the nation behind him or the men he has at his disposal, but by his comportment and his character. These include characteristics such as confidence, stature, strong presence, noble character, and the ability to inspire respect in others. A true leader will retain these characteristics whether he has a group of people behind him or not.

A leader has to earn the loyalty of his followers to be appointed leader in the first place, and this attraction to one’s character is the true essence of leadership, not the leadership per se. It is possible for a person to become a leader if he starts improving his own character and cultivating the characteristics that mankind love. And what are these characteristics? The Qur’an describes the best of leaders:

“ and were you harsh hearted …” (159: 3)

SubhanAllah! The man who’s name is mentioned by 1.5 billion devotees at least five times a day all around the world, won all that adoration just by his character. Indeed Aisha (rah) sums up the character of the Prophet by:

“His character was the Qur’an”. (Muslim)

The security and power felt by a leader with many men behind him, can be felt by anyone who truly espouses a Qur’anic character, for then he has Allah with him - better than any number of men.

Similarly a rich man is rich if he feels the fruits of wealth - contentment, security, tranquillity, and self-respect. This is the real wealth; an unhappy rich man is far poorer than a happy poor man in reality.