{"id":100211,"date":"2025-09-02T09:39:57","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T07:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=100211"},"modified":"2025-09-02T09:39:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T07:39:57","slug":"gold-or-men-beyond-wealth-and-status-part-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/gold-or-men-beyond-wealth-and-status-part-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold or Men, Beyond Wealth and Status \u2013 Part 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sunnah of Activism<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quick Recap \u2013 Choose Your Battles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Islam views activism as an essential duty, rooted in the command to enjoin good and forbid evil. It is not passive worship but a holistic mission that demands justice, excellence, and the rejection of oppression. However, true activism must be guided by wisdom and strategy, as shown by the Prophet <\/em>\ufdfa after the conquest of Mecca. Though he wished to rebuild the Ka\u2018aba on its original foundations, he refrained for the sake of unity and the faith of new Muslims. His example teaches that effective leadership means choosing battles wisely, prioritizing benefit over division.<\/em><\/p>\n

This balanced approach extends beyond internal matters to engagement with wider communities and the world of ideas. The Prophet <\/em>\ufdfa stood firmly on the side of justice, even aligning with others when truth demanded it, and used media of his time \u2014 poetry \u2014 to counter false narratives. Today, Muslims are called to continue this mission with courage, strategy, and eloquence: defending truth, shaping narratives, and working for a society where all can thrive under divine justice and mercy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prophetic Wisdom on Empowering and Leading a Successful Team<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gold or Men? Beyond Wealth and Status<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the challenging landscape of community service and activism, the most significant asset any organization possesses is not its financial capital, but its human capital. The universal struggles of team dynamics \u2014 recruiting the right people, fostering synergy, and navigating personality clashes \u2014 can drain a group’s spiritual energy and effectiveness, known as Barakah. Prophetic wisdom offers a timeless blueprint for building resilient, impactful teams, urging a shift in focus from material wealth to the invaluable worth of committed individuals.<\/p>\n

The Messenger of Allah \ufdfa once drew a powerful analogy from his environment, stating,<\/p>\n

\u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0645\u064e\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0646\u0651\u064e\u0627\u0633\u064f \u0643\u064e\u0627\u0644\u0625\u0650\u0628\u0650\u0644\u0650 \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0645\u0650\u0627\u0626\u064e\u0629\u064f \u0644\u0627\u064e \u062a\u064e\u0643\u064e\u0627\u062f\u064f \u062a\u064e\u062c\u0650\u062f\u064f \u0641\u0650\u064a\u0647\u064e\u0627 \u0631\u064e\u0627\u062d\u0650\u0644\u064e\u0629\u064b \u200f<\/strong><\/p>\n

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar RA: I heard Allah’s Messenger \ufdfa saying, “People are just like camels, out of one hundred, one can hardly find a single camel suitable to ride.” [Bukhari]<\/p>\n

In the harsh Arabian desert, a traveller\u2019s life depended on selecting the one camel in a hundred that was strong, intelligent, and reliable enough for the long journey. This hadith is a profound commentary on the scarcity of genuine, trustworthy talent. It calls for leadership to invest immense effort into recruiting, training, and retaining the right volunteers \u2014 those who are deeply passionate, believe in the cause, and are willing to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly. This investment in people must be prioritized, often surpassing even the strategic planning devoted to fundraising.<\/p>\n

The mind-set of valuing human resources over material ones was epitomized by the leadership of \u2018Umar ibn al-Khattab RA. When asked what they would wish for, his companions dreamed of rooms filled with gold and jewels to spend in Allah\u2019s path. \u2018Umar RA, however, revealed a deeper wisdom: his wish was for a house filled of men like Abu \u2018Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah, Mu\u2018adh ibn Jabal, and Hudhayfah ibn al-Yam\u0101n RA. He understood that it was such individuals \u2014 scholars, commanders, and teachers of integrity \u2014 who carried the message of Islam to the world. Their value was immeasurable, and following in \u2018Umar RA\u2019s footsteps requires modern leaders to genuinely appreciate and nurture every volunteer who contributes to the community\u2019s cause.<\/p>\n

However, a major obstacle in identifying this rare talent is the prevalence of flawed, materialistic standards. In a telling hadith, the Prophet \ufdfa asked his companions for their opinion on a man who passed by. They judged him based on his elite status: his marriage proposal would be accepted, his intercession granted, and his speech listened to. Yet, when a poor man passed, they dismissed him as insignificant. The Prophet \ufdfa then declared that the poor man, in Allah\u2019s sight, was better than a world full of people like the first. This narrative serves as a critical warning against allowing wealth, social status, academic credentials, or nationalism to blind us to true competence and piety.<\/p>\n

This theme is echoed in the Qur\u2019an, in the story of Talut (Saul). When appointed king by their Prophet AS, the elite of the Israelites protested, asking, \u201cHow can he be king over us when we have a greater right to rule than he? He does not even have great wealth.\u201d Their Prophet AS corrected them, explaining that Allah had chosen Talut for his superior knowledge and physical strength. Here, physical prowess is recognized as a valid qualification when coupled with knowledge and faith, not dismissed as a worldly attribute. Similarly, when the daughters of Prophet Shuaib AS described Musa AS to their father, they highlighted the two qualities that make the ideal candidate:<\/p>\n

\u0625\u0650\u0646\u0651\u064e \u062e\u064e\u064a\u0652\u0631\u064e \u0645\u064e\u0646\u0650 \u0671\u0633\u0652\u062a\u064e\u0640\u0654\u0652\u062c\u064e\u0631\u0652\u062a\u064e \u0671\u0644\u0652\u0642\u064e\u0648\u0650\u0649\u0651\u064f \u0671\u0644\u0652\u0623\u064e\u0645\u0650\u064a\u0646\u064f<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, the best one you can hire is the strong and the trustworthy\u201d (al-Qasas 28: 26).<\/p>\n

This became the golden standard in Islam for recruitment: a combination of capability (strength) and integrity (trustworthiness).<\/p>\n

The journey to building a successful team is therefore a spiritual one. It requires patiently seeking those rare, dependable \u201ccamels\u201d \u2014 individuals of strength and trustworthiness. It demands that leaders look beyond superficial markers of success to appreciate true value. By investing in people, avoiding disputes, and fostering cooperation based on piety, a team can unlock its multiplied spiritual reward and maximize its impact, transforming its service into a legacy of enduring change.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sunnah of Activism Quick Recap \u2013 Choose Your Battles Islam views activism as an essential duty, rooted in the command to enjoin good and forbid evil. It is not passive worship but a holistic mission that demands justice, excellence, and the rejection of oppression. However, true activism must be guided by wisdom and strategy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-feature"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/download-1.jpg?fit=310%2C162&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-q4j","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 11:33:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}