Developing Skills from Islamic Perspective PDF

Chapter 5 Developing Skills from Islamic Perspective Creative thinking: Many individual and social issues are resolved through human’s intellectual innovation. At the very beginning, the Quran declared a paradigm shift in the pre-Islamic Arabs mind about how to understand t...

Chapter 5 Developing Skills from Islamic Perspective Creative thinking: Many individual and social issues are resolved through human’s intellectual innovation. At the very beginning, the Quran declared a paradigm shift in the pre-Islamic Arabs mind about how to understand the world and establish God-human, human-human, and human-universe relations. Thus, it has been coined on people's minds that God, as the Sustainer and Creator, gives existence and meaning to everything else. Hence, all reality should be seen and read with this perception in mind. It is difficult for any reader of the Qur'an, to discover how it denounces those who do not use their critical faculties in strongest terms (8:22). The Holy Qur'an even reminds the Prophet to seek more knowledge, "And say, O my Lord! increase me in knowledge" (20:114). It is, in fact, full of praise for knowledge: the words ya'lamûn (they ponder), yatafakkarûn (they reflect), yatadhakkarûn (they meditate), and other similar expressions occur on almost every page of the Holy Qur'an. When we look at the Prophet Muhammad's life and practice (PBUH) as he embodied the Qur’an's spirit in his personality, there are many creative thinking examples. However, it would suffice for our purpose here two give two examples. First, the Prophet’s unique and creative thinking for resolving the tribal issue regarding who would lay down Hajar al-Aswad (the Black Stone) to its place as it would be an honor for that clan forever. According to historians: He resolved this dispute with great wisdom in an amicable way. He spread his cloak on the ground and placed the Stone upon it. He then asked the representatives of each tribe to lift the cloak together. When the Black Stone reached the required height from the ground, he went forward and set it in its place, thus sharing equally in the glory and privilege of replacing it. The second example of innovative thinking in the Prophet's life is "digging a trench" to defend Madinah. Leadership and Positive Impact: Leadership means “the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives.” Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had all the qualities which if implemented in our real life whether it’s personal, practical or corporate, it can be made successful. There are some universal attributes /characteristics such as self-reliance, trustworthiness, communication skills, compassion, positivity, inspiring, awareness and far sightedness which can be helpful in order to become a successful Leader. Allah SWT has considered Him (pbuh) in the Quran in these verses: “There has undoubtedly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an exceptional arrangement for any person whose faith is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] evokes Allah frequently.” If we summarize the Qualities of Leadership as observed the life of our beloved Holy Prophet and his companions, we may include the followings;  Motivate people  Affectionate and sympathy to devotees  Sincerity  Firmness  Open to recommendations  Aware of accountabilities  Unbiased  Empathize with people undergoing hardships  Effective Communicators  Reliability  Executing the strategy  Self-motivated  A man of principles  Could plan with long term goals in mind. Flexibility in Islam: Through its nature of flexibility, Islam has been able to meet the needs of the dynamics of the times and cultural transformation, especially in aspects of law, economic systems and international relations. Many benefits radiate from flexibility. Flexibility facilitates the performance of obligations, bending without abandoning. The fruits of flexibility are attained through the following tips:  Identify your goals  Be positive  Attain perfection  Self-confidence  Be optimistic and draw a smile  Manage your time and priorities Islam guides Muslim to manage his stresses by instructing him full trust in Allah, teaching him the nature of this life and its tribulations, and praising his strong determination.