The Hidden Treasure of Leadership | Hidden Treasures Episode 01 | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed
By Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed | 2026-07-30T16:32:25.827705+00:00 | Topic: Leadership | Masjid: Miftaah Institute
Summary
The Hidden Treasure of Leadership
- Society often emphasizes becoming a leader.
- Ramadan introduces a more important, hidden quality.
- This quality leads to being the best leaders and entering Jannah.
- It's the profound importance of being a follower.
The Qur'an's Command to Follow
- The entire Qur'an guides us towards following.
- Allah commands the Prophet ﷺ to follow previous Prophets.
- True guidance is found by emulating those who are guided.
Hidayah: The Pathway to Akhirah
- Hidayah (guidance) is achieved by being a follower.
- The pathway to the Akhirah is through following, not solely leading.
- Once we become followers, we naturally become leaders for others.
Proof of Love: Following the Prophet ﷺ
- Allah's direct command: 'If you truly love Allah, then follow me.'
- Following the Prophet ﷺ is the ultimate expression of our love for Allah.
- This act of following earns Allah's love and forgiveness.
The Pitfall of Self-Desire
- Without following the Prophet ﷺ, we risk following our own desires.
- The Qur'an warns against taking one's desires as a god.
- Following desires leads to misguidance, with no other guide after Allah.
Ramadan: A Reminder to Follow
- Ramadan's structure (fasting, prayers) is a powerful reminder.
- It teaches us that success comes from following the Prophet ﷺ.
- This awareness should be instilled in ourselves, our families, and our children.
The Hidden Treasure of Leadership
Often we see videos and reels on Instagram talking about how important it is to become a leader. In this month of Ramadan, I would like to introduce you to something more important than that. A quality that is a hidden treasure.
If we are able to uncover it, not only will we become the best leaders, we would become the best people to enter into Jannah. And that is the quality of how to be a follower. When was the last time we were scrolling through Instagram or YouTube and it said the importance of being a follower — or how to become a follower.
The Qur'an's Command to Follow
The entire Qur'an has been sent to the Prophet ﷺ and he has been told:
"These are the Prophets whom Allah has guided. So find guidance through following them."
Hidayah — the pathway to the Akhirah — is through being a follower, not through being a leader. Yes, once I become a follower, I automatically become a leader for other people. But without being a follower — as Allah says:
"Say: If you truly love Allah, then follow me." Without being a follower of the Prophet ﷺ, then we are simply following our own desires — as Allah says:
"Have you seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god?"
Ramadan as a Reminder
So Ramadan is a reminder. This entire structure of our fasting and praying — praying a certain number of Raka'at, fasting at a certain time, ending at a certain time — is a reminder that our life is more successful when we are a follower of our Prophet ﷺ. It is meant to innately bring that awareness within us, our families, and our children: it's not just important to fast, it's not just important to stand for Tahajjud and for Qiyam al-Layl. All of that is an extension of me recognising that I am a follower of the Prophet ﷺ.
So if this is what I need to do — how about the way I speak? How about the way I walk? How about the way I dress? How about the way I work? How about the way I speak to the people around me? In every aspect of my life, it is better for me to be a follower than to be someone who is trying to figure it out themselves, without the background and the backdrop of the Sunnah and the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ.
The Hidden Gem
So the hidden gem for us in this month of Ramadan is to find that being a follower of the Prophet ﷺ is essentially making us the best leaders.