On Thursday, October 27, 2022, the 3rd session of the series of ethic courses entitled “Administrative Ethics” was held with the speech of the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in the conference hall of Assembly in Qom, with the presence of the managers and the staff of this international organization.
At the beginning of the session, Ayatollah Ramazani thanked all the members of the Department of Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly who did their best in holding the 7th General Assembly.
The 7th General Assembly was held in the best way
“Despite all the obstacles and shortcomings, the 7th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly was held in the best way. The holding of this conference was due to the solidarity and cooperation of all sections and departments of the assembly,” he added.
Emphasizing that the more important work of the Assembly will begin after the General Assembly, the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly continued, “Departments should discuss and write down their priority actions, so that they can be discussed and summarized in the council of deputies so that the transformation in different departments can emerge.”
Referring to the demands of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution from the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, he said, “The Supreme Leader considered the Assembly as a center for the enlightening the teachings. Therefore, it is necessary for us to convey the teachings of AhlulBayt (a.s.) to the elite and all people. The Supreme Leader of the Revolution also mentioned the motto of the 7th General Assembly, that is, “AhlulBayt (a.s.), the axis of Rationality, Justice and Dignity”. When you raise the justice, the world and civilization based on domination and arrogance will definitely oppose you.”
“Today, Islamic Republic has enormous power in different layers. We should not harm the country with mismanagement and give excuses to the enemy. Recognizing social harms is essential. Great figures like Imam Khomeini, Martyr Beheshti, Martyr Motahari, Martyr Bahonar, Martyr Mofatteh, etc. were the intellectual background and roots of the Islamic Revolution. Therefore, our duty is to work with complete and comprehensive rationality,” he added, referring to the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“We have many enemies, and they are not satisfied with anything less than overthrowing (the Islamic Republic). We must consider this point. We must deliver the flag of the Islamic Revolution to Imam Mahdi (a.s.), that is, the main owner of the Islamic government. Our Islamic Revolution should be the prelude to the Reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.). Therefore, we all must work more diligently. Without Jihadi (volunteer) vision and management, actions will not bear fruit. It is necessary to look for transformation, and this transformation must occur in our thoughts,” emphasized the professor of higher levels of seminary.
“We must do things on time and correctly. If we do our tasks on time and correctly, we will achieve the desired results. It is important to move correctly in the path that we have identified as correct,” he added.
For coexistence, we must be familiar with its literature
In the continuation of his speech, the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “For coexistence, we must be familiar with its literature. It is necessary to experience and learn coexistence in the office environment, which is a collective environment. In collective work, it is not possible for people to do their own work without paying attention to the work of others. Of course, prying, interfering in other people’s work and damaging colleagues’ image is not acceptable. But the central and crucial point is that the work should be performed in a network and with cooperation.”
“In administrative work, there should be common goals, and commonalities should be persisted on. In this way, success will be achieved. Commonalities should also be increased in the family and there should be understanding and interaction in works. There should be mutual understanding in family (marriage) life. When children are added to life, the commonalities increase. It is in this way that peace and tranquility prevail in life and love becomes the axis,” he added, emphasizing the importance of collective work.
“In office life, we must work collectively, and all employees must be master of their field of activity and have knowledge and expertise in it, otherwise the work will be undermined. If a person knows his own and other people’s field of work well, the power, merit, competence and creativity will be achieved. Also, if cooperation is not accompanied by mutual understanding, the whole organization will suffer. On the other hand, if there is no general agreement, the work of the organization will not move forward, and progress will not be achieved. If there is a common understanding, people will not seek making lobbies and teams. Therefore, we conclude that the organization should seek to achieve micro, medium and macro objectives,” Ayatollah Ramazani continued.
“Companionship, cooperation and empathy are necessary to achieve the goals of the organization,” he added, “One of the problems in organizations is that, for example, two people work together, but the distance between them in terms of understanding, objectives and commonalities is far, and this issue undermines the work. Therefore, a successful organization is one that has many commonalities and less differences.”
On the principles and foundations of Islamic management, the professor of higher levels of the seminary stated, “Serving and trustworthiness are examples of the principles and foundations of Islamic administrative ethics. According to Islamic management, worldview has a profound effect on the work environment, and individual behaviors can have a profound effect on the work environment. Our view is neither secular nor Machiavellian. Rather, according to Islamic management, our intellectual foundations and worldview should play a role in the Islamic environment. In every situation, we should look for mental and spiritual evolution. With such a point of view, the work environment also becomes an environment for training the soul and spirituality. As belief in God has requirements for a believer, in the same way, the work environment has collective requirements. For this reason, we must be familiar with jurisprudence in the workplace.”
Management characteristics
On the management characteristics, he said, “The management should be knowledge-based as the first characteristic. Management requires skill and knowledge. In this regard, the good and successful works of others should be modeled. For example, we should study what made Japan to progress.”
“For the second characteristic of management, it should be based on Fiqh. It is necessary to observe Fiqh requirements in the administrative organization. For example, lies and betrayal should be avoided, and one must be trustworthy and help solve problems. If we observe these characteristics and spirits in a collective workplace, we will be victorious,” added the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“The third characteristic of management is compliance with ethics. In the holy Quran, God praises the gentleness and beautiful morals of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and says, “فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ” (It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; had you been harsh and hardhearted, they would have surely scattered from around you.) (Holy Quran, 3:159). In his 23 years of prophethood, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) could attract people by his morals, and therefore became a conqueror. The Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to greet even children, and wanted to establish a moral system in the society,” he added.
“Some do not observe ethics comprehensively; they are good in the society, but they are bad-tempered in their home. While others behave well inside and outside their home. Some do not have political, social, and cultural ethics, while there is a close relationship between these matters. A person’s Salah (prayer) should have an effect on his workplace, and individual moral requirements should have an effect on the society,” added the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“The fourth characteristic of management is kindness. The work environment should be full of kindness and affection. Imam Ali (a.s.) ordered Malik Ashtar to “love people wholeheartedly”. That means we have to serve the people with all our heart. God considers humans as his family, and if everyone is God’s family, the type of encounters is determined. Therefore, we should give the most kindness and love to people. The workplace should be influenced by the monotheistic worldview. Compliance with these points shows the superiority of Islamic management over non-Islamic management, and Islamic management is superior to non-Islamic management. According to Islamic management, belief in the Origin [Tawhid] and Resurrection [Ma’ad], and not giving priority to anything over the commands of God and the Prophet, should be observed,” he added.
Regarding the importance of human dignity and respect in Islamic management, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “The Holy Quran has expressed the best kind of dignity about human beings, which should be observed in the workplace. Organizationally, people include hierarchies, but in terms of human status, there is no hierarchy. According to the Quran, we should avoid making fun of each other, hide each other’s faults, and avoid finding faults of each other. These Quranic instructions indicate that God has bestowed man the inherent dignity. The mentioned items must be fully observed in the workplace.”
“By observing ethics and respecting human dignity, many problems will be solved,” he said in the end.