In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Religious Authority, Grand Ayatullah H.E. Sayyed M. H. Fadlullah delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque on Muharram 14, 1420 AH/ April 30, 1999, AD. Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries, officials, and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer. (Edited version of the Sermons)
The First Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Ashoura: A Path to Unity and Husseini Reform
The season of Ashoura daily remembrance meetings has ended, although it extends in some countries to the end of the month of Safar.
On this occasion, in which we have shed many tears and listened to several speeches, we ought to come up with a new outcome that enhances our sources of strength, lest our work would be fruitless.
The Message of Reform
We would like, on this occasion, to discuss two points.
Firstly, we should not restrict our relationship with the Imam to the emotional side only. Our relationship with him is not personal. It is linked with his position as an Imam, the master of the youth of Heaven, and as a revolutionary for the cause of right. We could not but love him, for he embodies all the characteristics and elements that induce our love. But we should also be his followers, being an Imam who engaged in a movement to reform his grandfather’s nation: to enjoin good and forbid evil.
Therefore, guided by what we learned during Ashoura, each of us should carry and uphold the message of reform, whether in his house, his work, or any other place he finds himself. Thus, if we wish to follow his leadership, we ought to stand against any corruption, deviation, wrong, and evil. We should urge, or even impel, the wrongdoers to return to the straight path, but through leniency and not violence. For the Imam himself has taught us that this is the method we as Muslims are expected to embrace. He himself used to cry in Karbala out of fear that those who were fighting him were destined to end up in Hell.
What an all-encompassing love that includes even one's enemies, and that is reminiscent of the Messenger's response when his people fought him: "My Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing."
Let each and every one of us carry the slogan of reforming the Messenger's nation, knowing that Allah has not assigned any of us any task that is beyond the scope of his capacities.
The Line of Hussein: A Basis for Unity
The second point involves the Ashoura meetings that were held this year in the various Lebanese regions.
We have noticed that those meetings were attended by all sorts of people belonging to a wide political and social spectrum. Indeed, it was attended by virtually everyone, implying that we all believe in the Imam's line and in his leadership or Imamate. If we were unified in attending the commemoration ceremonies, why do we not make every public meeting we attend a unifying Husseini one that strengthens our Islamic beliefs and values, the values the Imam upheld and sacrificed for, instead of their current confined outlook? Let us not turn the Ashoura ceremonies into partisan meetings or limit them to one group or another. The Imam belongs to all Muslims, and he sought to serve Islam in its entirety. Let us follow his example and seek to turn those meetings into a basis for a unified challenge to the critical threats that face us.
The enemy is but the same (Israel and the International Arrogance), and the problems and sufferings we face are also the same, whether backwardness, ignorance, or even hunger. Trivial differences regarding social and political details should not be allowed to divide us. Rather, we should freeze these differences, or forgo them, so as to confront the challenges that are really important. Why is all this backwardness? Why do we differ over a picture or a poster? Do we not have enough problems as it is? We are not saying that everybody is engaged in such behavior, but we ought to deal with such manifestations and ensure that they do not pop out every now and then to hinder our march.
Let Us Present the Ashoura Commemoration in the Best Possible Way
It is obviously quite natural to weep, wail, or even to hit ourselves when we lose someone close, but in a sober and controlled manner that prevails all over the world, and not in the way that is practiced in some Islamic countries that involves striking one's face with swords and chains.
This is quite odd, to say the least. Have you ever seen anybody strike his face with a sword to mourn a beloved who was killed, whether he was a martyr or not? What we are practicing is not a human way to express sorrow. And there is no text to validate such behavior in our Islamic literature. We believe that hurting one's body is unlawful, and there are many other religious authorities that share the same view. But this is not the issue here, but the fact that this practice is meaningless, especially that of those who vow to injure their children and let them bleed. Such a vow is invalid, because parents do not have the authority to hurt their children.
We are being made fun of by the rest of the world when these pictures are seen by millions in all corners of the Earth. This does not mean that we should no longer organize meetings, processions, and demonstrations, but we should give the poems and speeches a social and cultural context that does not neglect the emotional side, but tries to add a rational analysis that enables us to educate the nation.
We should develop the means we use to commemorate Ashoura, by adding various art forms (drama, movies, etc.) to extend our message to other parts of the world. For we have to take into account that every generation has its own distinctive means of expression.
Seeking to Earn One's Living Lawfully Is a Struggle for the Cause of Allah
Lastly, on this occasion of Labor Day, which applies not only to factory or farm workers but to all who work to earn their living, we say that Allah blesses all workers. "And that He does not respond to the prayers of those who sit in their homes and do not work to earn their living." Even on Friday, we are called upon to go back to work once we finish our prayers.
Imam As-Sadiq (A) cites the following tradition (Hadith) by his grandfather, Prophet Muhammad (p.): "To seek to earn one's living is equivalent to the struggle for the cause of Allah." In addition, it is a religious duty that Allah has ordained on each Muslim, male or female.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Worshippers of Allah, be pious, and seek to earn Allah's satisfaction in all your actions, especially with respect to the general causes of all Muslims, such as those related to Islamic security on all the fronts that are subjected to the Arrogance's offensive.
The Tragedy of Kosovo
In Kosovo, the situation has become, as a result of American policy to expand NATO and ensure its hegemony over it, quite tragic.
In addition, this policy offers America a golden opportunity to make new arms deals that could reach the sum of 100 billion US dollars. On the other hand, it is not surprising that the American policy, which leaves no role for the allies, would naturally hinder any UN attempt to play its obvious role towards international political and security issues.
Syria and Lebanon Will Not Succumb to Zionist Pressures
In South Lebanon, the Islamic Resistance has been able, through its latest series of successful operations, to challenge the enemy and leave it with no option but to stop relying on its agents, who were forced to choose between fleeing or repenting, while the enemy's troops are increasingly left with the sole option of withdrawal. In this respect, the request made by the enemy's war minister asking the Americans to talk to the Syrians to stop the Resistance operations demonstrates how deep the crisis is that the enemy has sunk into. But this same request also shows how rude it has become, for it implies that Israel is asking America to intervene to safeguard its occupation. Nonetheless, America has agreed to intermediate, despite the fact that it does not expect (nor do we) Syria or Lebanon to comply.
Furthermore, the Zionist officials have threatened to retaliate if the Lebanese Government supports the Resistance, as if the Lebanese State is not entitled to nor bears the responsibility of freeing its territories.
Reform and Justice Are Correlated
Lastly, we wish to underscore the importance of continuing to implement the plan of administrative reform and economic recovery. But we would like to draw attention to the fact that such a program could not achieve any positive results unless it is coupled with making sure that justice is fully served, whether in ending the services of the corrupt, in appointing new civil servants, and especially in the on-going corruption trials that should encompass all dirty hands.