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Specialised leadership and training in it

القيادة التخصصية والتدريب عليها

Tareq al-Suwaidan's distinction between general leadership and specialised leadership in thought, politics, media and other fields, with examples from the Companions, and his method of preparing specialised leaders through the Mufakkir institute.

Depth

At a glance

Region
Global / Diaspora
Review

Politics, governance and authorityEthics and character

Summary

Tareq al-Suwaidan distinguishes general leadership, such as heading a state or a company, from specialised leadership in a particular field such as thought, politics, media or marketing. The general leader takes only a light share of specialised subjects; each specialism has its own list of skills, and so it needs specialised centres offering professional training. 1 2 3 He devoted episode 28 of his programme "Secrets of Prophetic Leadership" to it, after completing the training in general leadership. 4 1

Examples from the Sira

The Prophet, he says, raised specialised leaders, and he gives examples:

  • Military: Khalid ibn al-Walid, in his view the foremost military commander, with Ali second. He cites Khalid's taking up the banner at Mu'ta after the three commanders named by the Prophet ﷺ had fallen, only months after his conversion, so leadership for him is tied neither to age nor to seniority. 5 6 7 8 He says the Muslims at Mu'ta were three thousand against two hundred thousand, and that Khalid swapped the right and left wings and the van and rear by night and made the enemy think reinforcements had come, then withdrew the army. 9 10
  • Political: Amr ibn al-As in his mission to the people of Oman, where he began with the younger, gentler brother, Abd ibn al-Julanda, before the king his brother, until both brothers accepted Islam. 11 12 13
  • Diplomatic: Dihya al-Kalbi, the first to carry the Prophet's letter to Heraclius. 14 15
  • Religious knowledge: Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who, he says, took seventy suras from the Prophet's own mouth and was the first to recite the Qur'an aloud at the Ka'ba. 16 17
  • Economic: Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, who declined his Ansari brother's offer and asked to be shown the way to the market. 18 19

The "Mufakkir" institute as an example

Al-Suwaidan shows how specialised leaders are prepared through one of his own institutions: the "Mufakkir" (Thinker) institute for preparing leaders of thought, one of a series of online centres he says were under construction, including the "I'lami" academy for preparing media leaders. 20 21 He describes it as non-profit, with all study done at a distance, 42 compulsory courses, an overall grade of at least "very good" required to pass, and about two years to complete; its director is Abdulaziz al-Awadi, and he says building its competencies and curriculum took more than three years. 22 23 24 25 Its method has three steps:

  1. Defining the competencies: aware thinking, discernment, self-learning, intellectual method, broad culture, tools for spreading ideas, and intellectual relationships. A cultured person, he says, reads two books a month; a thinker at least seven, and better ten. 26 27 28 29
  2. The curriculum: methodical thinking, ideologies and religions, the humanities, history and civilisation, philosophy and logic, political thought, and the tools of public speaking, dialogue, writing and programme-making. 30 31
  3. The means: courses, workshops, readings, assignments, research, interviews with thinkers, projects, debates and simulation, all online; he says its students come from more than 47 countries. 31 32

In his view leadership training in the Arab world happens in isolation, and trainees must meet other thinkers, including those who disagree with them. 33 34

Connections

Explore the connections

Subject of
Asrar al-Qiyada al-Nabawiyya, Secrets of Prophetic Leadership (television programme)

People and things also explored

The leader's eight roles and training in general leadership· The environment that fosters leadership· Bad leadership and its seven types· The model of leadership upbringing· Followership and the eight kinds of follower· The model for discovering leaders· Leadership and the leader's six roles· Situational leadership

Sources

  1. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:02:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  2. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:03:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  3. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:04:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  4. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:02:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  5. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:05:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  6. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:05:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  7. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:06:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  8. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:07:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  9. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:08:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  10. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:08:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  11. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:10:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  12. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:11:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  13. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:13:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  14. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:15:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  15. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:18:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  16. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:19:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  17. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:19:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  18. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:21:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  19. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:22:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  20. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:23:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  21. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:24:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  22. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:25:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  23. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:27:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  24. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:28:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  25. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:28:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  26. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:29:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  27. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:29:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  28. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:30:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  29. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:41:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  30. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:43:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  31. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:50:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  32. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:51:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  33. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:42:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  34. Assabile archive of Tareq al-Suwaidan's lectures (video) , Asrar Al Qyada Al Nbawya, episode 28, at 00:43:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Specialised leadership and training in it”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-qiyada-al-takhassusiyya/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-02.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

The leader's eight roles and training in general leadership

Tareq al-Suwaidan's model of training in general leadership: eight roles, direction, example, change, motivation, training, relations, intervention and empowerment, each with two elements, two competencies and a training skill for each; everything else is management, to be delegated.