‘Leading The Way’, as beautiful as its name

By Nurul Saadah

Let˜s lead the way
Enlighten the future
Share the wisdom
Through the spirit of Islam
Revelation and Reason
We shall excel, we shall prevail
Merging faith and knowledge
Were the KhalÄ«fah
Well fulfil the amānah

Chorus:
Together,
We make the world a better place
Forever,
Expand the culture of Iqra
IIUM,
Is to realise, the meaning of…
Raḥmatan lil-ʿālamīn

Together,
We make the world a better place
Forever,
Expand the culture of Iqra
IIUM,
Is to realise, the meaning of…
(Mercy to all the worlds)
For all mankind

“Leading The Way” is the official song of IIUM. This song was composed by the late Johan Nawawi back in 2007. At first glance, it might appear merely a song that IIUM community sing as part of a ceremony. However, it is beyond that. Each word, line and verse has its own significant meaning and message. There is always a reason behind the selection of certain phrases.

One of the most popular and influential figures in IIUM, Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Kamal Hassan believes that the meaning of the song should be understood and internalised by all because it is loaded with messages.

The song highlights the vision, mission and principles of IIUM. IIUM aspires to restore the dynamic and progressive roles of Muslims in all branches of knowledge and intellectual discourse. Hence, students are emphasised not only on their academic excellence, but also in developing high moral values, good ethics as well as lifelong learning and skills.

Most importantly, always be in line with Islamic teaching by pursuing the knowledge as an ibadah (continuous worship) and amanah (a trust) which Allah SWT has placed upon mankind. Thus, it leads students to have the right intention throughout the learning process. Insha Allah, it will make a better Muslim, who contributes to the improvement of quality of life of all mankind.

Leading the way as a Khalifah

The song begins with the phrase, ˜lets lead the way. It indicates the implied objective of khalifah, which is to lead humankind to the right path of God.

Every single of us is a khalifah. Thus, we are responsible to each one of us. One of the responsibilities is to remind others regarding the dos and donts, commandments and prohibitions of Allah, in order to tread back to God and not leading away from Him.

That is why knowledge is truly important in this context. By acquiring diverse of knowledge, students are able to implement, show and spread the right information and teaching of Islam to the whole world. The knowledge helps us in leading ourselves and others to the right path.

Fulfilling the Amanah

The world and its contents are the amanah given to us by Allah to be fulfilled. It is an obligation to play our role in bringing peace and harmony to the world. We need to fulfil our obligation not just to Allah, but even to human beings and other creatures.

This element teaches the students to become trustworthy and responsible people. As we know, the study journey is not solely about an individual, but also involve quite a number of people. There are a lot of assessment and activities that need to be done with the contribution of others.

Therefore, we must know our responsibilities which are to actively participate in the group works (not being a free rider) and every single task we received, we must do it as best as we can.

All in all, the meaning of the song is more than what we ever think before. Every word is teaching us something valuable and important, as a human, as a Muslim, and especially as a student.

This song has been in the generation for many years. It can be said that it lifts up every student’s spirit from the beginning of their study until they successfully graduate. ***