Leadership Characteristic Features: An Ethical Review from the Perspective of the Qur’an and Sunnah

Abstract

The Qur’an seeks to establish a society, state, and complete human
civilization based on the principles sent down from on high. The Prophet
(PBUH) was the leader of the Islamic society, state, and civilization formed
in the Arabian Peninsula. His personality was representative of the Qur’anic
values. The Qur’an presented a theoretical framework of the attributes of the
leadership, and the Prophet (PBUH) manifested those qualities in a practical
manner. The present paper is a humble attempt to highlight the Qur’anic
principles of leadership from an ethical angle. The discussion also calls for
the mention of negative factors that may lead to the split of the leadership
personality. The methodology applied in the paper is critical analysis. The
conclusion reached at therein is that the real leadership that the Qur’an and
the Sunnah wants to develop is a comprehensive one, with no split between
political leadership and ideal leadership.