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Applying Islamic Leadership In Working Environment: A

Bibliometric Study

Penerapan Kepemimpinan Islam Dalam Lingkungan Kerja:

Sebuah Studi Bibliometrik
Akhmad Kusuma Wardhana
(Airlangga University, Indonesia)
akhmadkusumaw@gmail.com

Abstract - Islam emphasizes leadership to empower human resources. This study has a
purpose to observe the relationship of topic research trends between Islamic leadership with
work environment. This study used secondary data gathered from subscribed accounts in
Scopus.The data collected is published data by Indonesian writers during the period 2011-2021.
The data collected relates to Islamic leadership in Indonesia. There were about 169 samples
collected, and after validation, there were about 38 data samples left. The results show thatthe
keyword "Islam" is closely related to "transformational leadership". Islam does not only focus on
Islamic leadership styles, but also contributes to developing other leadership advancements in a
pluralistic society. The results also show thatIslamic leadership has a positive effect on the
motivation of the employees. This shows that the role of leadership, including loving the truth
and only fearing Allah SWT, makes a leader responsible for his responsibilities.

Keywords: Human Resources, Islam, Leadership, Research

Abstrak - Islam menekankan kepemimpinan untuk memberdayakan sumber daya manusia.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat hubungan tren topik penelitian antara kepemimpinan
Islam dengan lingkungan kerja. Penelitian ini menggunakan data sekunder yang dikumpulkan
dari akun-akun yang berlangganan di Scopus. Data yang dikumpulkan adalah data yang
dipublikasikan oleh penulis Indonesia selama periode 2011-2021. Data yang dikumpulkan
berkaitan dengan kepemimpinan Islam di Indonesia. Ada sekitar 169 sampel yang dikumpulkan,
dan setelah dilakukan validasi, ada sekitar 38 sampel data yang tersisa. Hasil penelitian
menunjukkan bahwa kata kunci "Islam" berkaitan erat dengan "kepemimpinan
transformasional". Islam tidak hanya berfokus pada gaya kepemimpinan Islam, tetapi juga
berkontribusi dalam mengembangkan kemajuan kepemimpinan lainnya dalam masyarakat yang
majemuk. Hasil penelitian juga menunjukkan bahwa kepemimpinan Islam berpengaruh positif
terhadap motivasi karyawan. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa peran kepemimpinan, termasuk
mencintai kebenaran dan hanya takut kepada Allah SWT, membuat seorang pemimpin
bertanggung jawab atas tanggung jawabnya.

Kata Kunci: Islam, Kepemimpinan, Penelitian, Sumber Daya Manusia.

Introduction
Leadership is a determinant of the pace of the company, where the leader
determines what the workers will do. Each company uses a different leadership style to
suit the background of the organization as well as the employees. The productivity of a
company's human resources, especially national and international scale companies,
depends on how leaders and top managers can empower their employees.

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Vol. 1, No. 1, Maret 2023
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Chen (2007) in his study suggests that in the current era of digitalization where
change is happening very fast, the top leaders of a multinational company are
emphasized to adjust the team they lead based on the local cultural background.(Chen,
2007). Often the management of a branch company has to adapt its workers to adapt
to the local work culture of the branch company. with this kind of management, workers
will be able to produce productivity based on the market share desired by the
center(Pitchay et al., 2021).
Islam has a leadership style by imitating the Prophet and the caliph as his role
model. The Islamic leadership style underlies humans as caliphs on earth who are fully
responsible for what they do(Davis & Winn, 2017). Therefore, the leader according to
Islam is required to be careful in maintaining the mandate as a leader, so as not to
abuse his power. In the economic sector, Islamic leadership can empower employees
to develop their talents, so that company productivity also increases(Choudhury &
Malik, 2016).
Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
According to a report from the World Population review, Indonesia has a total of 231
million Muslims in 2021 (worldpopulationreview.com). With such a large Muslim
population, of course, Indonesia has a lot of potential to present leaders who are based
on Islamic law. Islamic leadership styles in Indonesia tend to adapt to other leadership
styles to match Indonesia's original identity as a pluralistic country with many ethnic
groups, cultures, and religions.(Paquin-Pelletier, 2019).
This study is different from previous studies such as the study by Chen (2007)
or the study by Paquin-Pelletier (2019), where this study used a bibliometric approach
to observe the relationship between topics. This study as well as review reviews to see
research findings related to Islamic leadership, which the two previous studies did not
have. Based on this background, this study aims to analyze the relationship between
Islamic leadership and the work environment in Indonesia.

Literature review
Islamic Leadership and Work Ethic
Leadership in Islam is a link used by leaders to influence the attitudes and
behavior of their members to achieve the goals of the company and organization.
Leaders must be able to see beyond the limits assumed by many to come up with
solutions that few can implement. Leaders must also be visionary leaders to lead the
organization to success, so that leaders can participate in improving the lives of their
subordinates(Ali, 2009).
Leadership in Islam is similar to conventional leadership, apart from being
guided by Islamic law to uphold its morals and humanity. A study by Davis and Winn
suggests that humanity here is to treat who is led as a human being, not goods that
have use value and can be discarded when the use value is reduced or not in
accordance with the leadership's will. Treating others as human beings is a basic
requirement as a leader, where the leader must be able to provide a middle ground for
all he leads. A good work ethic will also be created in subordinates in an organization if
a leader treats his subordinates like a human being, not just profit generated
good.(Davis & Winn, 2017).

Research methods
This study uses a scoping literature review and bibliometric approach to analyze
the data. The data collected is a type of secondary data that comes from the
Scopus.com website. The data collected is published data by Indonesian writers during
the period 2011-2021. The data collected relates to Islamic leadership in Indonesia.

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e-ISSN: xxxx-xxxx
Vol. 1, No. 1, Maret 2023
Available online at https://jhr247.org/index.php/jurnal/issue/current

There were about 169 samples collected, and after validation, there were about 38
data samples left. Data is collected and stored in the form of a CSV file so that it can be
analyzed by the software(Shi & Li, 2019).
The analysis process is divided into two parts. The first part is through a
bibliometric approach using Vosviewer software to display the relationship between
topics that are trending in research. The data is displayed in the form of images to see
the relationship between topics(Gaitán-Angulo et al., 2018).
The second part of 38 samples, 4 samples were taken to be displayed with a
scoping literature review approach. This literature review model is a new type of
method within the scope of the literature review method. Scoping review is a relatively
new approach to evidence synthesis and there is currently little guidance on the
decision to choose between a systematic review or a scoping review approach when
synthesizing evidence.
In addition, a scoping review is an ideal tool for determining the scope or scope
of a literature collection on a particular topic and providing a clear indication of the
volume of literature and studies available as well as an overview (broad or detailed) of
its focus.(Tricco et al., 2016). Only four papers that met the abstract criteria had
findings related to Islamic leadership and its effects on work and companies. The
sample selection diagram can be seen below:

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Image 1. Literature search strategy flowchart

Results and Discussion

Figure 2. Keywords related to islamic leadership

Figure 2 shows that the keyword “Islam” is closely related to “transformational
leadership”. Islam does not only focus on Islamic leadership styles, but also contributes
to developing other leadership advancements in a pluralistic society. Figure 2 also
shows the key word “empowerment” which means “empowerment”, where Islam itself
requires leaders to empower their subordinates, so that they can improve their
standard of living.
The study by Rahman et al explained that in maqashid sharia, a leader is
required to not only protect his subordinates, but also to develop them. In industry,
protecting and developing subordinates can not only increase company productivity,
but also reduce poverty in the community. In maqashid this is also referred to as the
protection of the soul and the protection of offspring/family(Rahman et al., 2017).
Figure 2 also shows where the keyword “Islam” is related to the keywords
“management”, “practical wisdom”, and “character”. Islam requires its people as
leaders to be fair by imitating the character of the Prophet Muhammad as an Islamic
leader. related to management, Islam forbids its followers to do three things in
economic activities, namely usury/interest on every transaction or finance,
maysir/gambling, gharar or big risks, and dzalim or inhumane actions.(Davis & Winn,
2017).
Spiritual values in leadership can motivate and inspire employees to build the vision
and culture of the organization. In addition, spiritual values in leadership also indirectly
create employee job satisfaction in the organization, which in turn has an impact on the
performance of their employees. This is in accordance with the characteristics of

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Islamic leadership, namely Fathonah, where leaders can intelligently inspire their
subordinates to increase productivity without threats.(Galanou & Farrag, 2015).

Table 1. Summary of papers and their contents

Authors Article Title Finding
(Astuti et al., Islamic Leadership, Islamic Islamic leadership and Islamic
2020) Work Culture, and Employee work culture were found to
Performance: have no direct effect on
The Mediating Role of Work employee performance. In
Motivation and Job Satisfaction addition, work motivation and
job satisfaction are important
factors that mediate Islamic
leadership and Islamic work
culture on employee
performance. Spiritual values
in leadership inspire
employees to build
organizational vision and
create job satisfaction
(MEIYANI & The Relationship Between Islamic leadership can be an
Putra, 2019) Islamic Leadership on alternative solution for
Employee Engagement organizations in today's
Distribution in FMCG Industry: modern business. An important
Anthropology Business Review element in realizing employee
involvement, especially in the
skills, reliability, and level of
trust of a leader in the
organization
(Ismail et al., The influence ofleadership in Organizational justice has a
2019) the relationship of perceived significant influence on
perception of organizational organizational politics, and the
politics in Islamic financial role of leadership as a
organization based at Malaysia mediator in the relationship
between organizational justice
and organizational politics.
(Hamzah & Basri, When ethics create misfit: Despotic leadership and work
2021) Combined effects of despotic ethic in Islam are significantly
leadership and Islamic work related to performance, job
ethic on job performance, job satisfaction and psychological
satisfaction, and psychological well-being. Despotic leadership
well-being with work results is stronger
when work ethics in Islam are
high.
The first paper aims toexamine the influence of Islamic leadership and Islamic
work culture on employee performance through work motivation and job satisfaction.
This paper uses the Islamic work ethic theory, where the work ethic in accordance with
Islamic law is used to create the common good. The results of this study show where
employee performance is most strongly influenced by Islamic work culture. They are

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punctual in doing their work, al-mujahadah (hard work and always optimal), al-ihsan
(doing the best or better), and having the nature of al-itqon.
Second paperaims toanalyze the causal relationship between Islamic
leadership style and employee engagement. This paper uses an economic
anthropological approach to explain the phenomenon of employee engagement which
is influenced by Islamic leadership. The sample used is the companyFMCG (Fast
Moving Consumer Goods) production and distribution company operating in South
Sulawesi Province, Indonesia.The results of the study explain that Islamic leadership
has a positive and significant effect on employee engagement. In addition, to realize
employee involvement, the role of the atmosphere and organizational leadership, as
well as management and team support have a real impact in achieving the goals and
sustainability of the company.
The third paper aims to analyze the effect of fairness in the organization on
employee performance. The role of the leader is important as the creator of justice in
the organization. The fourth paper aims to examine the effect of Islamic leadership and
Islamic work ethic on the performance of Islamic bank employees in Riau province,
where Islamic organizational culture has become a tradition. The results of the study
show that Islamic leadership, Islamic work ethic, and Islamic organizational culture
have a positive and significant effect on the performance of Islamic bank employees in
Riau province. On the other hand, Islamic leadership mediated by Islamic
organizational culture has no significant effect on the performance of Sharia
Commercial Bank employees in Riau(Ismail et al., 2019).
Islamic leadership adheres to the Qur'an and Hadith as guidelines. Islam has
the perspective that human thought is limited, and therefore revelation is needed to
guide human thought on the right path. According to Egel and Fry, a leader must have
four qualities possessed by a leader, namely siddiq, amanah, tabligh, and fathanah.
Siddiq relates to how a leader is able to carry out what is said, and there is a
synchronization between what is said and actions(Egel & Fry, 2017).
Amanah relates to honesty and trust carried by a leader. If a leader is
trustworthy, then he or she is able to carry out work responsibilities properly, without
burdening others. Trust in a leader is also related to whether a leader can be trusted by
subordinates to meet the needs of the lives of subordinates. Then fathonah means
smart, where the leadership's management ability can save the company and the team
they lead. While tabligh, which conveys all messages correctly, in accordance with
Islamic law(Sari, 2019).
In addition, the results of the study also show that Islamic leadership has a
positive effect on employee motivation. This shows that the role of leadership, including
loving the truth and only fearing Allah SWT, makes a leader responsible for his
responsibilities, so that every risk that occurs to subordinates is his duty to overcome
it.(Scott-Baumann et al., 2019). This is in accordance with the Siddiq principle, where
the words and actions of the leader are in sync, including in terms of handling the risks
experienced by subordinates. The results of this study also show that the work culture
according to Islam also increases the work motivation of educational staff. This is in
accordance with Surah Al-Bayyinah verse 7 which reads: "Indeed those who believe
and do good works, they are the best of creatures".
Islamic leadership / Islamic leadership cares about the rights of subordinates, in
accordance with the principle of trust, where the responsibility of a leader really must
be carried out. In addition, leaders who have a trustworthy naturehas an understanding
nature and does not burden organizational members, especially subordinates beyond
their boundaries. Leaders are also able to direct and provide positive support for

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subordinates, if they have problems that can reduce productivity(Hamzah & Basri,
2021).
The second paper is in accordance with the principles of Islamic leadership,
where FMCG companies operating in South Sulawesi have empowered Islamic
leadership through the involvement of their employees. This is in accordance with the
Hadith which reads: “The best leaders are those you love and love you, you pray for
them and they pray for you. The worst leaders are those whom you hate and they hate
you, you curse them and they curse you." (HR Muslim).
This paper tries to explain sustainable Islamic leadership with several western
leadership patterns, such as transformational, ethical, and authentic. This paper tries to
explain that although Islamic leadership is positively proportional to innovation and
leadership effectiveness, the lack of recognition of the nature of Islamic leadership in
Qatari companies makes the baat leadership style more dominant. This is the same as
the banking system in Indonesia, where the Islamic banking system still has to follow
the interest-based capitalist banking pattern(MEIYANI & Putra, 2019)

Conclusions
Based on the above results, it can be concluded that Islamic leadership requires
leaders not only to protect, but also to develop their subordinates. In addition, the
results of the above study also show that Islam is related to transformational leadership
as one of the cornerstones of Islamic leadership. In future research, in-depth
measurements are needed to see the level of commitment to the research subject that
is needed. The author recommends cluster analysis as another measurement tool to
measure comprehensive employee engagement variables of each demographic group
of research subjects. In addition, another alternative that can be used for further
studies is whether the salary is in accordance with the workload and living needs of the
workers. In addition, the ratio between the profits earned by the owners of capital, top-
level executives, and lower-level workers also needs to be investigated to determine
whether or not there is equity in the distribution of income. It is necessary to further
investigate whether the company also has an endowment fund or waqf program to
improve the welfare of its employees, through business financing.

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