Human resource management is a much-studied field in modern administration. An article by Prothom Alo's religion desk shows how the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) put the development of people and character ahead of buildings, and draws four lessons from his life.
The first is to understand that people's skills differ. When Abdullah ibn Zayd learned the words of the adhan in a dream, the Prophet told him to teach them to Bilal, whose voice was louder and sweeter (Sunan Abu Dawud, 499). He also declined to give administrative office to his beloved companion Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, explaining his reasons with kindness (Sahih Muslim, 1825).
The second is to know talent at close quarters. After prayers the Prophet sat facing his companions and listened to them (Sahih Muslim, 670). That closeness let him say that Ali was the most skilled in judgement, Muadh ibn Jabal in what is lawful and unlawful, Zayd ibn Thabit in inheritance and Ubayy ibn Kab in reciting the Quran (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 3791).
The third is the right person in the right place. The Quran names strength and trustworthiness as the two tests for hiring (Surah Al-Qasas, 26). The Prophet named four companions from whom to learn the Quran (Sahih al-Bukhari, 3758), made the young Usama ibn Zayd a commander on merit, and chose Zayd ibn Thabit to learn Hebrew and Syriac.
The fourth is training and quality of work. The article cites a hadith that Allah loves a person who does a job to do it well. The Prophet taught prayer, ablution and Hajj by doing them himself. When a poor man came for help, he auctioned the man's blanket and water pot, bought him an axe and told him to cut and sell wood; fifteen days later the man returned having earned ten dirhams (Sunan Abu Dawud, 1641).
The lesson, the article says, is that training and skills, rather than handouts, make people productive, with justice, compassion and human dignity as the foundation.
Source: Prothom Alo
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