COMMUNICATION AND ITS ROLE IN ISLAMIC ADMINISTRATION

Karima Hafizullah¹

¹ Postgraduate Student, Kulliyyah (Faculty) of Education (KOED), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

ABSTRACT

Keywords: Communication; Islam; Islamic Communication; Communication process; Administration;

Communication is an important approach among people. It helps transfer and exchange information from one person to another and establishes relationship in organizations. This article deals with Communication and its Role in Islamic Administration. It defines communication, and its process and seeks to spread the idea that Islam is a communicative religion which has an inclusive framework about communication and its role in administration. In addion, this article focuses on how Islam deals with every element of the communication process. Thus, the paper suggests that it is important for Muslim scholars and writers to investigate more about the role of communication in Islamic administration. Publisher All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

Communication is an important approach among people. It helps transfer and exchange information from one person to another and establishes relationship in organizations .In Islam, the purpose of communication is to strengthen relationships between Muslims and between Muslims and non-Muslims. On the other hand, strong and clear communication allows people to learn from each other and solve problems easily .In addition, if there is no communication among people there is no improvement or new discoveries .Within organizations, managers use communication in order to implement their plans, thoughts and ideas .In fact, managers do not care about choosing the most effective way of communication such as verbal communication which is the most dominant form of communication due to the fact that when people communicate face to face, misuderstanding will be avoided and they can easily get the message of each other .Without good communication and understanding each other, the community becomes weak and powerless .

The problem which Muslims are facing today everywhere is the poor communication among them .Islam encourages people to without thinking about difference in race ,color, language ,religion, culture ,or nationality .As Allah the Almighty mentioned in the Holy Qur’an :

“O Mankind! We created you from a single (pairs) of male and female and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted”

Through effective communication people are able to learn from many tribes and they can move from one place to another to develop themselves in different aspects, such as social sciences ,economics, science and technology. All of the points mentioned are the result of good communication, for instance backward societies can use the experiences of developed ones by communicating and sharing their problems related to education, economics or any other different field. Thus, this method helps many societies that do not have equal opportunities to share knowledge and experience with each other. Also, it encourages Muslim people to implement brotherhood by communication effectively with others.

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

In communication processes, there are some elements which people can improve their communication skills by becoming aware of them and their important roles. Below are the six elements:

v The sender (encoder)

v The message

v The channel (medium)

v The receiver (decoder)

v Noise, and

v The feedback.

Whoever wants to have good communication skills in any organization can succeed if he applies any of the six elements mentioned above. Sometimes the sender of the message is very skillful and knowledgeable about the message, but his message may creat problems in the organization and it can be misunderstood .In this case the sender should not be blamed before checking the channel to see if something happened in processing of the message from line departments or passing the message. In the nature of communication there are the specific roles which distinguish the formal from informal communication. Nowadays people are trying to be more precise and send very concise message but we cannot follow the roles using the shortcuts in formal communications .For instance when we send a letter to an organization in and out of our country we need to use the standard form of letter with more explanation to clarify our message to the receiver .If it is verbal communication the receiver can ask questions to the sender to make the message clear .In exchanging Ideas during communication there is no exact position that one person if always the sender and other one is receiver because when decoder and encoder communicate they give feedback and ask questions .In the loop of feedback ,the receiver takes the position of the sender and the sender takes the position of the receiver.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Communication is a process, and may often involve aspects such as conflict and Compromise. However, people cannot stop the process when there is a conflict as they should try to resolve the problem by effective ways of communication based on Quran Al-karim and Sunnah of our prophet Muhammad (SAW). By solving problem through manageable ways ,like brainstorming the solutions from all line staff ,prioritizing and choosing the best solution among coming Ideas .In a work place, effective communication is the key of success and way to reach the goals and objectives of any plan in an organization. Listening to each other and giving feedback is very essential among staff members and manager .This means we need to be ready to listen whatever others say, it is not what we want to hear .If manger creates an environment to give chance for every individual in the workplace to share their Ideas and discuss the current situation of the organization, everything will be clear and staff members will not be stressed at work. It is mentioned that the effectiveness of communication of the rules depends on the “employees mix”.In other words, the disparity in educational level, knowledge and mix in background .Any employee can effectively work when the given work is related to his /her background knowledge and skills otherwise the result of their work will not satisfy the manager and cannot reach the goal and objectives. Moreover, according to Mahmoud Bah (2005) “Muslim communication has its own identity”.

The root for Muslim communication is Qur’an and Sunna. Muslim people are different but the truth which they follow is the same .A Muslim manager is responsible to know that his first communication is with Allah and then with people, he /she is responsible for whatever is going on in his plan and the way of communication with people ,behaving in good way and understanding the problem of each individual in the work place to ensure that effective communication is going on with people in his organization and everyone is satisfied with given tasks and cooperate each other when one need assistance from other .Because Muslims are brothers to one another and no one want the bad things happen to his/her brother and every one want to help his /her brothers and sisters. Besides all mentioned above there are some principles for communicating effectively. Khaliq Ahmad (2007) noted the following systematic account of principles in the light of Qur’an and Sunnah.

Aspects to be practiced in communication	Aspects to be avoided in communication
Kindness and Affection toward others	Backbiting
Politeness in communication	Avoid Suspicion and Spying
Speak the truth and be Straightforward	Being Two-faced
Clarity and Brevity	Action Speak louder than words
Report important points	Abuse or Ridicule
Two-way communication	Vain Discussion
Investigate Rumors	Anger and emotions
Mutual trust and confidence	Sever Relations
Be wise in communication	Secret talks in small groups
Greet and Thank people	Fast talking and frequent interruption
	Manipulate.

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNICATION

Islam provides specific ways for human to interact with each other .For Muslims the nature of their communication to Allah (SAW) and their responsibilities toward their mission as well as toward fellow human being , demands them to be ready to offer sacrifices in terms of their time ,wealth ,and other possession. A true understanding of the sender, message, channel receiver and effect of communication in Islam makes it quite clear .The Islamic perspective of interpersonal communication and social relationship is based on the fact that the individual human being cannot cope all the things necessary for livelihood without cooperation with others. For example, Allah (SWT) says:

And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.

From the above mentioned verse, it is clear that, if there was no communication among Muslims, it would not be possible for Muslims to know and care for one another. It should be noted that Muslims are responsible to help each other and cooperate with each other because to implement the, real brotherhood in Islamic societies and they can use the best ways of communication to interact with each other and love each other as brothers and sisters under the roof of Islam. For instance, in one of the hadith reported in Sahih Al Bukhari he is reported that Al -Nu’man Ibn Bashir said that the messenger of Allah (SWT) said:

"You see the believers showing mercy to each other and showing love to each other and being kind to each other as if they are one body so, that if any part of the body suffers malaise, then the whole body shares in the malaise and fever ,”

Moreover, through good communication strong Muslim can assist the weak one and they all become strong if they follow whatever holy Qur’an says and whatever our prophet (SAW) said in his hadith:

“It is the duty of every individual Muslim to follow and practice the way of communication which is based on truth.”

In Islamic administration, communication is asocial and emphasized in any administration book which is written by Muslim authors. “Manager should communicate the standards (expectations) to the performer”.

It must be noted that it is the responsibility of every manager to communicate with staff before performing any duty .The process become tween manager and worker by good communication, because both parties have their own expectations .If the expectations and responsibilities clarified in the first step then there will not be any misunderstanding among them when performing the tasks and both sides will satisfied from the result of the work and performing the duty in best way of communication.

Islam does not allow its followers to communicate in bad way and every Muslim is dictated to avoid any ill communication among Muslims. “It is better not to speak up if ones speaks up the bad and useless”. In addition, any communication among Muslim if it is at work place or personal, Muslim have the duty to be careful about their speech and using the best words which are meaningful and effective. In one of the hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah that the messenger of Allah (SWT) said:

“ Those who believe in Allah and the last day should not harm their neighbor ,and those who believe in Allah and the last day should be generous to their guest and those who believe in Allah and the last day should speak on what is good or remain silent ,”

From the above mentioned hadith it is clear that Muslims should use the meaningful words with those who is the receiver of the message, even it is emphasized that being silent is better that using useless word . That the communication to speak good words includes in commanding the good and prohibiting the evil .Our families, our colleagues and all our Muslims are very honorable for us and it is our obligation to communicate with them in best way with using the most meaningful and useful words .Besides being nice with having good communication with Muslims, even Muslims are demanded to speak good to their enemies.

As Almighty Allah said:

“Go, both of you, to Pharaoh for he has indeed transgressed all bounds, but speak to him mildly, perchance he may take warning of fear.”

It must be noted that In Islamic administration people who have the higher authority should never be proud of the authority but they have the responsibility to be a good symbol of Islamic Akhlaq and amana to guide people through his speech and what he is really doing. Because, when the leader lead the followers to do good work and he himself do not do whatever in his message , he cannot succeed in his plan .this is so, because people never trust for such people that he is not doing whatever he is guiding others to do .Furthermore, It is a sign of good Muslim to speak nicely. To illustrate, in one of the hadith reported by Abu Musa that:

“Some people asked Allah’s messenger Muhammad (SAW), ‘Whose Islam is best? ’He replied: ‘The one who avoids harming other Muslim with his hands or his tongue,”

According to above mentioned hadith it is clear that As a Muslim and followers of prophet (SAW) and as a human we should love each other and respect each other regardless of age ,languages tribes or alike and it is commendable for us to guard our words and actions from hurting and harming Muslims .In addition ,Islam allow Muslims in sharing and helping each other whenever there is condition to help each other but avoid the misuse of sharing .we are allow to share our happiness with Muslims of life when we lough .But Muslims should never laugh at people in contempt or ridicule.

The best communication skills and improved knowledge of communication can solve misunderstanding among people and people will follow the ways which do not hurt anyone by tongue. Any good word which people use in communication is showing his personality and define his characteristics .So, if people use bad word to others it means he is showing for them his level of knowledge and type of personality which he choose to be in society and .as well as following the way which is expected from him as a Muslim and effective people in his society.

For Muslims the most important thing in their life and hereafter is Allah (SAW)’s pleasure and any action which Muslim do Allah will record if it is positive or negative action. So, why should not people choose the ways which Allah emphasized to do to increase our positive action in Allah’s judgment? Hadith of prophet Muhammad (SAW) which is related to mentioned issues is mentioned bellow: Narrated by Abu Huraira : The prophet (SAW) said:

“A good pleasant, friendly word is a sadaqah.”

From this hadith it is clear for all that people should behave in good manner and use nice and friendly words in their communication to make people happy and to perform Sadaqah .If people are not able to help others by giving them money or helping in any other way but they can help people by easy and costless way which is good behavior and good manner, as well as using good words to make them happy and satisfied. Similarly, Muslim should use good word even to those who do not do as such. If someone tells us the bad word we should be patient and avoided our tongue to use the same word as he said to us.

Narrated by Aisha, the wife of our prophet Muhammad (SAW):

“A group of Jews entered upon the Prophet (SWA)” and said “As-SamuAlaum.”(i.e., death is upon you. Aisha replied, “Wa-Alikum As-Samu wal-lana (death and curse of Allah be upon you). Prophet (SAW) said, “Be calm, O Aisha! Allah loves one who should be kind and lenient in all matters. ” Aisha said. “O Allah’s Apostle! Haven’t you heard what they have said? ”Muhammad (SAW) said, “I have (Already) said to them and upon you.”

Muhammad (SAW) the messenger of Allah and his hadith show the best ways to Muslims, if Muslims implement his speech in reality there will not be any problem among Muslims and all of us will be united. We live in a society and human being cannot live without interacting with each other. So good communication, interaction, good relationship and cooperation are essential elements to implement at any workplace, organization or society. Different organizations have their own rules and regulations in communication, the system and the way how they interact with each other is different but dealing in good behavior never can be different, we cannot say that our organization need to have bad communication with staff .Sometimes it happened that ,in sending one message there are many people to received that message one after another and the last one will be the person who have the high position in the organization .Everyone is responsible to read the content of the message carefully and give the feedback if required because they are responsible whatever give their ides to have better understanding from message and good result for their work. Today people prefer to communicate orally to share their opinions face to face to discuss easily .That is the better way to communicate orally but one good thing about written communication is that there is a written document with us and people cannot deny what they have said.

CONCLUSION

Based on the discussion above, we can come to the conclusion that, Islam has the best ways of communication and encourage people to communicate with each other in fair way and avoid accruing misunderstanding. In addition,Islam values cooperation and understanding each other .The manager cannot force his expectations to his staffs because in an effective communication both parties have the right to express their expectations and ideas. The best communication skills can improve by knowledge of communication.

As communication is a process, the manager should use different ways of communication based on situations .For instance, in all processes, the manager cannot use only verbal communication but he need to change it in non-verbal as required by circumstances. If we look at all aspects which are to be practiced in an effective communication, sometimes we cannot see all of them are implemented in an Islamic organization by a Muslim manager or other staff today . The truth which mentioned in Holy Qur’an and Sunnah must be followed in Muslim’s action, not just accept the truth and not implement them in reality. Furthermore, Islam emphasizes brotherhood relationship. So, Muslims should show the brotherhood solidarity in their actions by assisting each other in action through effective communication.

REFERENCES

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