When Power Becomes an Amanah

Leadership, Justice & the Islamic Way

Yesterday, we began our discussion by looking at leadership through an Islamic lens. We asked whether leadership is simply about power and authority, or whether it is something much deeper — an amanah, a trust for which a person will ultimately be accountable.

Today, we take that conversation one step further.

Because if leadership is an amanah, then another important question follows:

Should a leader simply make decisions, or should they listen to the people they lead?

Islam gives us a very important principle here: Shura — consultation.

Allah describes the believers in the Qur’an by saying:

وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَىٰ بَيْنَهُمْ

“And whose affair is determined by consultation among themselves.” (Surah Ash-Shura, 42:38)

Consultation means seeking the views, advice and perspectives of others before making decisions.

And this is particularly significant because of who Muhammad ﷺ was.

He ﷺ was the Messenger of Allah. He ﷺ received revelation. Yet there were occasions when he ﷺ consulted his Companions and considered their opinions.

Think about the Battle of Uhud.

The Prophet ﷺ initially had a different view about how the Muslims should respond to the approaching Quraysh army. Some of the Companions, however, strongly preferred to go out of Madinah and confront the enemy outside the city. Muhammad ﷺ listened to them and ultimately proceeded with their preferred course of action.

That example teaches us something profound about leadership.

Consultation does not mean that a leader has no opinion. It means that a leader is humble enough to listen.

And listening is not weakness.

Sometimes we associate strong leadership with having all the answers, speaking the loudest and making the final decision. But Islamic leadership gives us another picture: a leader can be decisive while still being willing to hear others.

Shura also teaches us something about the people being consulted.

Your voice matters.

You may not always get your way. Consultation doesn’t mean that every opinion will become the final decision. But it means that people are given an opportunity to contribute, to advise and to be heard.

And that principle is incredibly relevant to our world today.

We live in societies where people regularly debate questions about representation, participation and whether ordinary citizens are genuinely being heard.

But perhaps Islam encourages us to look beyond elections and political systems and ask a broader question:

Do we have a culture of listening?

• Do leaders listen to ordinary people?
• Do parents listen to their children?
• Do employers listen to their employees?
• Do community leaders listen to the communities they serve?
• And perhaps most importantly, do we listen to people when we disagree with them?

Because it’s easy to listen to someone who agrees with us.

The real test of consultation comes when someone presents an opinion that challenges us.

Muhammad ﷺ demonstrated that leadership does not require surrounding yourself only with people who tell you what you want to hear.

And there is another lesson here.

Shura isn’t only something leaders should practise. It is something we should practise in our own lives.

Before making an important decision, do we seek advice from people who are knowledgeable and trustworthy? Are we willing to admit that somebody else may see something that we don’t?

The Qur’an presents consultation as a quality of the believers. That means it isn’t merely a political principle. It is part of a healthy Muslim society.