Islamic Leadership Principles in Organizational Contexts: Ethics, Participation, and Accountability

Abstract

Islamic leadership presents a distinctive model grounded in ethical monotheism, communal responsibility, and divine accountability. As organizations increasingly face ethical dilemmas and cross-cultural challenges, leadership frameworks rooted in tawḥīd, amānah, shūrā, and ‘adālah offer a viable alternative to conventional models. This conceptual study examines the principles of Islamic leadership and explores their organizational applications. Drawing on classical Islamic sources and scholarly literature, the paper constructs a theoretical framework for ethical and participatory leadership. The findings indicate that Islamic leadership promotes moral integrity, inclusive decision-making, and equitable governance. It contributes a culturally embedded and theologically informed leadership model, applicable to diverse organizational settings. This study fills theoretical gaps by integrating religious ethics with modern organizational theory and provides a foundation for future empirical exploration of Islamic leadership practices. The implications extend to leadership development, human resource ethics, and institutional governance in Muslim and multicultural contexts.