Leadership in Adversity: Lessons That Endure (Part 2)
– Continuing reflections on prophetic resilience and modern leadership through hardship
..CONTINUED
In Part 1 we looked at the first three of the seven lessons extracted from Chapter 12 on adversity from the book Prophet Muhammad ﷺ – The Hallmark of Leadership by Dr. Azman Hussin, Dr. Rozhan Othman and Dr. Tareq Al-Suwaidan.
These were just the seven lessons I saw from the chapter. For more lessons from the rest of the book, I recommend you read the whole book to get an even wider perspective.
For now, we finish with remaining lessons ⓸ to ⓻.
⓸ KEEPING THE BIG PICTURE
In adversity, details can drown us. We fixate on what went wrong instead of remembering why we began.
When the Prophet ﷺ faced loss at the Battle of Uhud, a painful reversal after the victory of the Battle of Badr, he didn’t blame his archers or wallow in defeat. He reminded them of the bigger purpose: steadfastness in upholding truth, not the day’s scoreline.
“Do not lose heart nor fall into despair. You shall triumph if you are believers.” – Qur’an 3:139
That verse re-anchors every leader: faith defines success, not immediate outcomes.
In my early months of recovery after surgery, I, too, had to hold on to the big picture to keep coaching, contributing and creating meaning, even when my physical energy lagged behind my spirit. The “big picture” gives endurance its compass.
⓹ LEADING FROM THE FRONT
The Prophet ﷺ never asked from others what he would not do himself. In battle, he stood in the front line. In service, he mended his own clothes and joined in household chores.
Leadership includes delegating but primarily it is demonstrating and exemplifying.
In corporate life, I’ve seen executives give orders from behind glass walls and I’ve seen those who walk the production floor, listen and learn. The latter are remembered; the former are obeyed but may not be loved.
True leadership presence radiates when we step forward in times of discomfort. After my surgery, I was urged to slow down, but my instinct was to show up, first tentatively, then steadily, for coaching sessions, mastermind groups and even video reflections. That was my way of saying: “We lead by example, not exemption.”
⓺ LEARNING FROM OTHERS
Even the best leaders remain students.
When revelation delayed guidance, the Prophet ﷺ sought counsel from his companions at Badr, Uhud and Khandaq. He listened to Salman al-Farisi’s idea of digging a trench, and it changed the outcome of an entire war.
Humility to learn is prophetic.
In our time, this means welcoming feedback, reverse mentoring and peer reflection. During the Faith-Conscious Professionals sessions, I’m often reminded that wisdom flows both ways — from those younger in age but richer in new perspectives.
No leader owns wisdom. We only curate it.
“Others” become one of multiple knowledge resources we can learn from. On the matter of learning from who better than me, I can go to great lengths to find them (mentors or experts), as illustrated in the video* below:
(If you can’t view the video above, click here.)
* The above video excerpt is from a 1.2-hour online course on self-learning (or self-directed learning) that I recorded in 2020.
⓻ COURAGE WITH COMPASSION
Adversity tempts us toward hardness: defend, react, assert. But the Prophet’s ﷺ courage was always wrapped in compassion.
At Ta’if, he could have summoned vengeance. Instead, he prayed for his attackers’ guidance. At Hudaybiyyah, when companions questioned a peace treaty they saw as humiliating, he upheld restraint, not pride.
That kind of courage (the calm, principled one) is rarer than any battlefield heroism.
For leaders, it means confronting issues without cruelty, making hard decisions with a soft heart. It’s courage rooted in rahmah (mercy), a divine attribute that we’re meant to mirror in our leadership.
LEADERSHIP AS SERVICE, SERVICE AS WORSHIP
When we combine these four lessons with the first three from Part 1 (⓵ Resilience with Faith, ⓶ Realism and Planning, ⓷ Depersonalizing Leadership) a full picture emerges:
Faith-anchored leadership transforms adversity into worship.
Each difficulty becomes an ibadah (worship) moment:
• Planning becomes tawakkul (trust in Allah) in action
• Learning becomes humility in practice
• Compassion becomes mercy in motion
Adversity, then, is actually a blessing. It’s instruction.
