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“Do not ask for authority. If you are given it because you asked for it, you will be left to it; but if you are given it without asking for it, you will be helped in it.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 7146
Sahih al-Bukhari 7146“Do not ask for authority. If you are given it because you asked for it, you will be left to it; but if you are given it without asking for it, you will be helped in it.”
“Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge.”
Qur’an 12:55
Qur’an 12:55“Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge.”
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Leadership Requires Trust and Competence
Ibn Kathir رحمه الله explains that Yusuf عليه السلام asked because he knew he was capable of carrying the responsibility and because doing so would benefit the people.
He also explains that when there is a genuine need, a person may mention his own abilities when others do not know them.
Yusuf عليه السلام identified two qualities that made him suitable for the role.
Ḥafīẓ: trustworthy and capable of protecting what had been entrusted to him.
Alīm: knowledgeable and capable of performing the responsibility.
These two qualities reveal an important standard for leadership.
Neither Character nor Skill Is Enough Alone
Knowledge and skill are not enough if a person cannot be trusted.
A brilliant leader without integrity can use his competence to cause enormous harm. But good character without the necessary knowledge and ability can also leave a person unable to fulfill the responsibility entrusted to him.
Leadership requires both.
Trustworthiness without competence can fail. Competence without trustworthiness can destroy.
The Qur’anic standard is not simply to find people who are talented, nor simply people who are sincere.
It is to develop and appoint people who are both trustworthy and capable.
Before asking who should lead, perhaps we should ask:
Are we developing people who possess both?
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