Leadership Lessons from the Life of Rasoolullah

by Mirza Yawar Baig

There is a distinct difference between how one whose core faith is that Muhammad(Peace be upon him) was the Messenger of Allah and how someone who does not hold this belief, writes about him. This book, however, is not simply an analysis of history. It is a labor of love and reverence while being analytical and objective. It is an attempt by one who not only believes that Muhammad(Peace be upon him) was the best leader that ever existed but who believes in him and his message and wants to share it. The life of Muhammad(Peace be upon him) the Messenger of Allah is rich and full of lessons. It has been so well documented and so much has been written about his life over the centuries that another attempt is almost unnecessary. However, I decided to write this for two to make the lessons from the life of Rasoolullah(Peace be upon him) relating specifically to leadership easily accessible to the seeker, whether Muslim or not; and to make an attempt to see how these lessons are applicable today in a world that is in principle, very similar to the world he lived in. My premise is Since he was able to change his world and take his people from being the most insignificant, oppressed and weakest to becoming the predominant, admired and strongest in just one generation; if we learn how he was able to do it, we will be able to learn how to succeed in our world today.

Genres: Islam, Management, Leadership

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Kauthar · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are numerous books out there on the life of the final Messenger, peace be upon him. However, the author of this book gives you a glimpse of Prophet Muhammad in a completely different light. It's like you're meeting him for the very first time again. And the incidents of his life that you've read and heard countless of times all seem so familiar, and yet so foreign becuase of the unique perspective the author presents it in. If you're one who wants to make a positive difference in your own life and eventually the rest of the world, then this book is for you. Learn from the best of the best, and gather the tools you need to succeed. A must for all!

[Husam Alshloul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a A very wonderful book on both leadership and Seerah, as the author has much knowledge in both subjects and was able to connect the modern leadership terms with the Seerah of the Prophet Mohammed PBUH.
I read this book as I was taking a course on Islamic Online University by the same author and under the same title.
I recommend whoever wants to read this book to also take the two courses provided for free on Islamic Online University simultaneously as Inshallah they will get the maximum benefit from this book and in the topic.

[Nimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My teacher keeps mentioning this regularly, that we have taken the outward actions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as the Sunnah, like keeping a beard, the garments we wear, and it is a good thing. However, we have completely left the inward actions like reflection, holding a smile, leadership qualities, his behavior with children, with his opponents, that we have completely forgotten as muslims. This book deals with one of those inward qualities that we have lost in our actions of 'leadership'.

[Ansari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book accessible to everyone. The author uses his extensive experience in the leadership world to digest and distill lessons from the seerah in a clear and relatable way. Must-read book for anyone who wants to know the Prophet Muhammad (saws).

[Krishna Ahir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing interpretation of spiritual and religious beliefs to daily corporate world.... I never realised that corporate world problems could be dealt and resolved using personal beliefs and that too so effectively!!!
Truly a masterpiece!!!

[Mohammed Jawad Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of many good qualities of Shayk Yawar is his ability to write in simple words that reaches the heart of a reader. It doesn’t matter from where the reader comes from or what his reading capacity is, whoever reads his book, Allah makes it enter their hearts smoothly. This is the fourth book that I happened to read of Shayk Yawar and by the end of the book, I am in awe of him and my heart keeps sending prayers for his wellbeing and hope that more and more people acknowledge his vision and his efforts in the path of Allah s.w.t. In my opinion, I would place this book immediately after the books written on the Seerah of Prophet (Pbuh), for what this book does beautifully is explain in detail, the life and journey of the Last Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammed (Pbuh) and the best leader that ever existed. The life he has lived, the message he carried, the struggles he faced and the success which was granted to him by Allah for his efforts. This book focuses in detail about the journey of Prophet Muhammed (Pbuh) towards inviting people of ignorance, towards the light which is, Islam. It shows that how Prophet Muhammed (Pbuh) was certain of his message and he never compromised on the quality and the preaching of his message. His resilient nature, his truthfulness and his absolute faith in success of his message which was under the guidance of Allah s.w.t. He lived the message, took all the risks, put himself on the line, sacrificed everything dear to him and forgave anyone and everyone who caused him harm or hurt. Through out it all, he lived and trained the best of people in the world, to carry on message even after his time and taught them to be leaders of a just world and whoever wants to be a good leader today, must read this book. There are so many elements from the life of Rasool Allah saw, that are not often described in the seerah and I got to know our Prophet better after reading this book. It made me love him more and connect to his message even though we are 1400+ years apart. It made me thankful to Allah s.w.t for sending His Final Messenger Prophet Muhammed (Pbuh), to guide us toward his religion. It is by his efforts with the help of Allah s.w.t, that I am today, born into the religion of Islam, the one true religion which is benefitting me and had benefitted billions of others after his time. Today, this book stands as a solution to the on going muslim problem in the world. I feel it is necessary for every muslim to read this book and follow the footsteps of Prophet Muhammed (Pbuh). As how Hamza Andreas Tzortzis wrote in Afterword for the book,



“For me, this is what the book achieves, empowering us to realise who we really are and how we can transform our situation.”

Assalamualaikum.

[Kanis Murshida · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, the writer wrote about the life of the last prophet Muhammad SA in a new perspective - the qualities of leader or leadership lessons.
I will just quote some lines from this book which left a mark in my mind.

He had an extraordinary goal. His major achievement was in building a generation which shared his commitment and prove it to the final extent by giving their lives for the causes.

People are loyal to other people not the titles are ranks. People follow Leaders because the leader is walking ahead of them. Sometimes , we forget about this.

The Stupor of death is true.

In Islam and in the teachings of rasulullah Sallallahu alaihissalam all important things were mentioned in terms of religion but their implication was not restricted to prayer but was extended to every aspect of life.

He did what he told others to do and was the living, walking talking standard bearer of Islam in his life Islam was not a Theory on edulji or a philosophy button actual leaving practical methodology of action.


The leadership lessons from the life of Rasool Sallallahu alaihissalam are-
1. complete certainity.
2. no compromise
3 Putting himself on the line
4. resilience- face the facts plus absolute faith in success
5 gold comes first before personal preferences
6 living his message
7 risk taking
8 sacrificing short term for long term
9 magnanimity and forgiveness
10 transiting from person led to process driven
11 succession planning and leadership development

[Safia Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Shaykh Yawar Baig approaches the #seerah, the #biography of Prophet Muhammad from a fresh #perspective, centering on the #leadership traits of the #compassionate and #resilient Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, may #peace be upon him. Throughout the #book, he explains what is so #extraordinary about a life that seems simple on the outside. By using a rich vocabulary and resounding words such as "cadence", he sets a tone to engross the reader into #stories, one unfolding into another. Towards the end, one can definitely understand how and why, under his #leadership, it was easy for the people around him to accomplish seemingly impossible #goals."

[Almeer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an amazing book. Learned lots of valuable lessons from our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

[Abid Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Very well written and explained. Book has really inspired me and i am practicing what i read. seeing some good results.

[Nita Diswanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read so far. Now I'm convinced I become a fan of prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

[emes3ye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story telling was engaging to me. I didn’t feel like I was just reading what happened in the history. It was more like why it happened and what was the wisdom behind it that.

[Taskin Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mirza Yawar Baig is an extraordinary writer, advisor, Life Coach, corporate consultant and wears many other hats, simultaneously and elegantly. He is blessed with Islamic knowledge and efficiently amalgamates the same with his corporate knowledge to bring about the solutions to problems faced by leaders in the multiple roles today.

I met him first, then googled him and read about his books after five years. I don’t know how to categorise the feeling as when I met him it was under a formal structure where I didn’t know him and took that instance very lightly. Rather if I could, I would sit as if a draught-stricken land and absorb all the knowledge that he has to shower and be grateful to attend any further seminars or training programs he conducts.

This book. Leadership Lessons from the Life of Rasoolullah (p.b.u.h) talks about leadership lessons which we can learn from the life of the Rasoolullah (p.b.u.h) in a simple, lucid way where the learnings are transcribed with stories, incidents, happenings and situations which till date are relevant. Perfect quotations from The Quran are used where the interpretations bring out the solutions of today’s problems.

With advent of social media and reels it seems everyone has become an expert in Islamic knowledge, while that’s not the reality. What this book brings on the table, is facts and solutions using the seerat of the Rasoolullah which is the right way to live life.
The situations are explained in a manner that a person reading the book for the first time would still be able to connect the incidents, references, and inferences. For a Muslim, it would be an added advantage, as he would be able to connect the dots faster and understand the contexts, as he draws closer to lessons on leadership from The Prophet’s life.

It took me more than three months to complete this book, as I have this habit of underlining important aspects that I needed to change basis the lessons being provided. I am still taking time to read and re read the same texts again and again so that it gets inculcated within me.
The preface talks about the authors intent where he wants readers to approach his work from the perspective of exploring how to apply these lessons in our public and private life. You need to read the book with same intent and actually assess what lessons you integrated in your life. Definitely we cannot reach the zenith which belongs to the Rasoolullah (p.b.u.h) but am sure with such type of content and its application we are cleaning and creating our space in this life with the baby steps we can take.

This books makes for a very good gift that you can give to your children, friends, and family.

[Salahuddin Ayubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

(NO SPOILER)I would like to thank the author Sheikh Yawar for shedding light on such a rare discussed topic. Alhumdulillah this is a must read book for whoever is willing to assume a responsibility of leadership. It brings out a sense of responsibility in us. This book emphasizes on how to establish a goal and strive towards it. The book clearly explains that every role we play in our life, We are supposed to take wise decisions either as a leader or under the command of a leader. Excellent work focusing on the leadership skills of Muhammad Peace be upon him and how Islam spread under his leadership, What Islam teaches and what has corrupted Islam.

[nisnaan Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the beginning of this book strengthen my Aqidah much better than other Aqidah book. The author impressed me in the way he arranged the Story by story, This book is an example where psychology and being skilful in writing came together.

His writing convinced the readers to gradually realise that the message of Islam is truly a DIVINE guidance.

You have got to READ this.

[Abdul Matin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece. You will have chance to think lots of occasion of prophet's biography from the real perspective that we always miss.