Prophet David's (pbuh) Military Management Approach: A Quranic and Narrative Approach

Research in the field of military management is very scant, possibly due to intensive and secret competitions among the world armies, lack of competent experts and their inappropriate context, resource restrictions. Research on the topic of this study is not an exception to this trend. To this end, this study aimed at offering a comprehensive definition of management and military management, identification of appropriate criteria for it and exploration of its inherited or acquired nature. Following a Quranic approach and narrations from the Holy Prophet of Islam and Shia Imams (pbu), this study quantitatively investigated certain characteristics of the prophets. More specifically, the study tried to address the issues like: the status quo of military management in Quran and the Narrations, position of military commander in relation to Allah and people, military commander's characteristics from divine perspectives, inherited and acquired nature of such a management, and qualified examples of management and command. The study, in fact, deals with military management in divine government and its features from Quranic and Narrative perspectives. It, then, highlights the needs of military organizations for divine commandment and superiority of such a divine and humane management system to conventional and organizational commanders. Contrary to introducing the prophet of Islam as the best and comprehensive example in all areas and eras, Allah introduces David the Prophet as a professional military commander. He is so comprehensively characterized in Quran that application of his characteristics can result in sound functions in the present and future command and management. He is, for example, characterized as an epitome of obedience, decisiveness, indefatigability, resourcefulness, determination, and avoidance of seeking for directorship and consultancy in affairs.