251008P - MEN REMAINED TRUE TO THEIR COVENANT TILL THE END: MUS’AB IBN OMAIR

Presented at the function to release the book titled ‘Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam: Empowering the marginalized’ at the Constitution Club of India, New Delhi. By Professor Omar Hasan Kasule MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard), Chairman of the Medical and Research Ethics Committees at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

1.0 MEN WHO DID NOT CHANGE THEIR CONVENANT: AL AHZAAB:23

• ﴿مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَى نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا﴾

2.0 THEY FACED CHALLENGES; NEVER LOST VIEW OF FUTURE VISION 

• روى البخاري في صحيحه مِن حديث خباب بن الأرت رضي الله عنه، قال: شكونا إلى رسول الله ﷺ وهو متوسِّد بُردة له في ظلِّ الكعبة، قلنا له: ألا تستنصر لنا؟ ألا تدعو الله لنا؟ قال: “كان الرجُل فيمَن قبلكم يُحفر له في الأرض فيُجعل فيه، فيجاءُ بالمنشار فيوضع على رأسه، فيشق باثنتين، وما يصُدُّه ذلك عن دِينه، ويمشط بأمشاط الحديد ما دون لحمه مِن عظم أو عصب، وما يصُدُّه ذلك عن دِينه، واللهِ ليتمنَّ هذا الأمْر حتى يسير الراكب مِن صنعاء إلى حضرموت، لا يخاف إلا الله أو الذئبَ على غنمه، ولكنكم تستعجلون

• I will talk to you today about two Muslim leaders who fit the description of this verse

3.0 MUS’AB BIN OMAIR WAS BORN IN LUXURY

• Muṣʿab ibn ʿUmayr, also known as Muṣʿab al-Khayr, was Banū ʿAbd al-Dār branch of the Quraysh. He embraced Islam in 614 CE and was the first ambassador of Islam
• He was born in a rich family. He left the wealth behind and faced torture for his deen.
• His mother was among the richest in Makkah. She gave him a life of luxury. She got him the best clothes and the best perfumes.
• He left all the luxury of accepting Islam. He faced torture and trials until the color of his skin changed and his body was emaciated.

4.0 MUSA’AB SUFFERED FOR HIS DEEN

• His mother was a very strong woman, and Musab feared her. He went to Dar Al Arqam secretly and studied Islam under the Prophet. He hid his Islam until he was denounced to his mother by Othman bin Talhah, who saw him making salat. 

• But when his mother found out about his Islam, she locked him up and forced him to turn away from his religion. Musab was firm, and she decided to expel him from her house and deny him any wealth. 

• The mother told him to go away and that she was no longer his mother.

• :”اذهب لشأنك, لم أعد لك أمّا“.

• He replied politely, advising her to take the shahadat.

• ”يا أمّاه أني لك ناصح، وعليك شفوق، فاشهدي بأنه لا اله إلا الله، وأن محمدا عبده ورسوله“

• She responded in anger I will never enter your religion.

• قسما بالثواقب، لا أدخل في دينك، فيزرى برأيي، ويضعف عقلي.

• His mother eventually accepted Islam before the Hudaybiyyat.

5.0 MUS’AB’s LEADERSHIP

• Mus’ab made the hijra to Abyssinia and later returned to Makka
• He was nicknamed the ambassador of Islam. He was sent to Madina to undertake dawa and prepare the ground for the great hijra. He found 12 Muslims but in the next hajj he came with 70 to Makkah for the bai’at

6.0 DAWA IN MADINAH

• His soft and effective dawa methods won over many to Islam
• Asyad bin Khudhayr the leader of the Bani Abd Alash’hal, came to challenge Mus’ab for bringing divisions; Mus’ab convinced him  to sit and listen eventually accepting Islam
• Sa’ad bin Mu’adh listened to Mus’an and accepted Islam
• Sa’ad bin Ubadat then came and also accepted Islam
• Many Madanese came to him and accepted Islam
• He was the first to lead Jumu’ah in Madina
• He was also nicknamed the ‘teacher because he taught Madanese reading Qur’an.

• وأُطلق عليه أيضاً لقب “المقرِئ”، لتعليمه سكان المدينة المنورة قراءة القرآن الكريم
• ”سفير الإسلام“ لقب حظي به الصحابي الجليل مصعب بن عمير،  أحد السابقين إلى الإسلام والمثابرين لنشره بين الناس.

7.0 DEFENDING ISLAM

• After the Prophet’s hijra Mus’ab was at Badr. 
• At Uhud, he carried the flag. He defended the prophet and because of the physical resemblance between them, the Quraysh mistakenly thought they had killed the Prophet when Mus’ab was martyred
• He was accepted as a martyr at Uhud in the third year of hijra at the age of 40
• The Prophet shed a lot of tears for him.

• In his poverty, he did not have enough clothes on him. The Prophet ordered them to cover his head, but his feet were not, so they put tree leaves instead

8.0 FACING POVERTY: 

•  يَروي التابعيُّ إبراهيمُ بنُ عبدِ الرَّحمنِ بنِ عَوفٍ أنَّ أباهُ الصحابيَّ الجليلَ عبْدَ الرَّحمنِ بنَ عَوفٍ رَضيَ اللهُ عنه رَوى له ما كان عليه أصحابُ النبيِّ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّمَ مِن ضِيقِ الحالِ والتَّقلُّلِ مِنَ الدُّنيا، وكان قد أُتِيَ بِطعامٍ وهو صائمٌ، فقال: قُتلَ مُصْعَبُ بنُ عُمَيرٍ وهو خيرٌ مِنِّي؛ كُفِّنَ في ثَوبٍ لم يكُنْ يَكفِيه، فكانوا إذا وضَعوه على رأسِه ظهرَتْ رِجْلاه، وإنْ وضَعوه على رِجلَيْه ظهَرَ رأسُه،.
• قال النبي محمد عن مصعب بن عمير رضي الله عنه: "ما رأيت بمكة أحداً أحسن لمّة ولا أرق حلة ولا أنعم نعمة من مصعب بن عمير" 

•  ثم تفقّد الرسول جثمانه بعد استشهاده في غزوة أحد وقال: "لقد رأيتك بمكة، وما بها أرق حلة ولا أحسن لمة منك. لقد رأيتك بين أبوين يغدوانك بأطيب الطعام والشراب، فدعاه حب الله ورسوله إلى ما ترون". 
• وعن عمر بن الخطاب قال: نظر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى مصعب بن عمير مقبلا وعليه اهاب كبش قد تنطق به، فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: انظروا إلى هذا الرجل الذي قد نور الله قلبه لقد رأيته بين أبوين يغدوان بأطيب الطعام والشراب فدعاه حب الله ورسوله إلى ما ترون

9.0 HIS CHARACTER

• Responding to the truth was among the first Muslims.

• قبول الحق والاستجابة له: 

• Patience and persistence: He left wealth and luxury and lived in poverty and zuhud until his skin pealed off like that of a snake.

• ترك النعمة والثراء والمظهر الحسن بعد إسلامه، وتحمّل ضيق العيش والشدائد بصبر وإصرار، حتى رؤيت جلده يتقبض كما يتقبض جلد الحية من شدة الجهد في الإسلام. 

• Bravery: protected the Prophet at Uhud and lost both arms, but still carried the flag.

• Leadership in peaceful dawa and bringing people together.

• Ability to convince by his soft character.

10.0 LIFE OF ACHIEVEMENT

• Short life
• Productive life
• Model for others

250909P - LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT BETWEEN 'AQL AND 'NAQL

Presented at the first international conference organized on September 9, 2025 by Bayero University Kano under the theme ‘transforming public policy, public finance and governance for sustainable development in Africa: issues, challenges and the way forward’ by By Dr Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard) 

1.0 LEADERSHIP/FOLLOWERSHIP IS THE ESSENCE OF EVERYTHING

• When 3 on a journey they choose one leader.

• إذا خرجَ ثلاثةٌ في سفَرٍ فليؤمِّروا أحدَهُم. أبو داود
• Islam is a practical religion and requires skill training in all fields of endeavor, from toilet etiquette to international leadership. Leadership is a skill requiring training.
• Leadership after training and testing.

• وَإِذِ ٱبْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَاماً قَالَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي قَالَ لاَ يَنَالُ عَهْدِي ٱلظَّالِمِينَ. البقرة ١٢٤ 

2.0 FOLLOWERS ARE PART OF LEADERSHIP

• Good leader depends on good followers.

• والَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا الفرقان 74

• The way you are the way are your leaders.

• كما تكونوا يولى عليكم

3.0 SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE ON LEADERSHIP

• 'AQL: empirical experience and research
• 'NAQL: leadership models in the Qur’an: Good leaders (Musa, Sulaiman), Bad leaders (Firaun). We learn a lot from our heritage  (turaath)

4.0 THE ERA OF THE RISAALAT

• The Makkan period of the Prophet’s mission was training in personal discipline.
• When enough muhajiriin were trained, it was time to migrate to Madinah, where they would be both leaders and followers.

5.0 ERA OF KHILAFAT RASHIDAH

• The leaders were well-trained, knowledgeable, and tested.
• Abubakar and Omar were model leaders who still inspire us today.
• The leaders (khulafah) were strong.
• The followers were a well-trained political base of a strong state.
• Strong leaders + strong followers = strong state.

6.0 FALL OF THE KHILAFAT and the RISE OF DYNASTIES

• The fall of the Khalifat Rashidat was directly related to a lack of education because the Islamic state expanded in 40 years to reach China in the east and Africa in the west, absorbing so many new converts who did not get the opportunity to be well educated as the first companion.
• The result was that they did not have a strong political base for the state, and the khilafat had to collapse, and in its place came dynastic rule that was more attuned to the level of the new citizens. 

7.0 THE ERA OF REFORMS - 1

• In the centuries of decline since the fall of the khilafat, reforming scholars, mujaddiddin, arose in every century and led movements of renewal and reform, islah & tajdid. 
• One uniform characteristic of all these movements was that they started by educating and training a broad mass of people before undertaking their reform mission. The Sokoto movement was basically for mass education
• The biggest number of reform movements arose in the 13th and 14th centuries of hijra when the ummat came under colonial rule. 

8.0 THE ERA OF REFORMS - 2

• The extensions of these movements are still found all over the Muslim world as the ummat struggles to rebuild its civilization. 
• These movements in West Africa, North Africa, West Asia, and South Asia were all characterized by rigorous individual training programs, and some of them did not admit people to membership until they went through a specified training program. 
• Formal leadership training structures were most active in the period between the fall of the Othmani state in 1926 M until the ‘democratic’ opening of the 1980s. 
• Almost all these movements moved into the political arena of trying to win elections and left few or no human or material resources for training and tarbiyat. 

9.0 DECLINE DUE TO LACK OF TRAINING

• The leaders who had been trained before became retired but they had no replacements because the training structures had been allowed to decay. 
• The inability to bring in new blood eventually led to organizational weaknesses that were recognized in the early 1990s M. 
• As a consequence, leadership and management training programs worldwide.
• These programs were beginning to bear fruit when they had to be curtailed or terminated by 2000 because of a lack of resources. 

10.0 THE LESSON WE LEARN FROM OUR HISTORY

• The first lesson we learn throughout Muslim history, from the fall of the Khalifat Rashidat to our times, is that without continuing leadership training, we become weak. 
• The second lesson we learn is that training and social activism are of equal importance, and neither should be neglected at the expense of the other.  
• Resources should always be available for dawa, leadership training, and tarbiyat. 
• Those who undergo training can then be deployed in different fields of endeavor: business and finance, education, mass media, social reform and development, and academia.  

11.0 A NEW BEGINNING IN EASTERN AFRICA (COVER PAGE)