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 Rabi' al-Thani 8, 1422 AH / June 29, 2001, 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
Beware of Rumors and Hasty Judgments
Allah, the Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book:
"O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful." (Surat al-Hujurat 49:6)
A story lies behind this verse, and it has a theme that applies to both private and public lives: Someone came to the Messenger (p.) and told him that a tribe that had embraced Islam apostatized and refused to pay alms. The Muslims heard the news and began to prepare to fight them to restore order.
But what actually happened was that the tribe was waiting for the man who told the story to pay him, and decided when he did not show up to send someone to the Messenger to find out the reason for the delay. When the man saw Muhammad (p.), he assured him that they were still Muslims and were ready to fulfill all their religious obligations. It turned out that the man had deliberately lied to settle old accounts with the tribe, which could have led the Muslims to engage in an unlawful war had it not been for the wisdom of the Messenger (p.).
Allah, the Most Exalted, revealed this verse to tell the Muslims not to believe anything that has been told to them without making sure first that the one who is carrying the news is pious and trustworthy, especially if it is a serious matter that might create internal strife. You should also try to use your own means to investigate the matter and learn the truth. You should make sure that what you have been told is the truth before you take any action, for such an action might hurt innocent people.
If spreading fabricated news at the time of the Prophet (p.) had certain negative repercussions despite the fact that they were carried by one person, it has an enormous effect in our time with all news agencies, the mass media, and the regional and international intelligence agencies that fabricate news to create political or economic destabilization. We now have news factories that invent all kinds of political, economic, and security news for the sole reason of creating confusion and destabilization. All intelligence agencies, including those of political parties, usually have special departments whose task is to spread this kind of news.
Therefore, this kind of news could be very dangerous at both public and private levels. How many times do you find people telling you bad things about your spouse to create problems in your family life that could cost you your happiness and destroy your life. Thus, Allah, the Most Exalted, wants us to make sure that the person who is telling us anything is pious and to use our own means to investigate the truth of the matter.
Things of this sort used to happen at the time of the Prophet. Some of those who were frightened or naïve used to spread news about the enemy preparing for an imminent war, and that used to spread panic and chaos among the Muslim community. Allah, the Most Exalted, warned the Muslims against believing such stories:
"And when there comes to them information about [public] security or fear, they spread it around. But if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it. And if not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have followed Satan, except for a few." (Surat an-Nisa' 4:83)
We are facing a similar situation now, and not only in Lebanon but in all Muslim countries. Thus, we should not spread any news that has to do with security once we hear it. Those who invented this news might be plotting to destabilize the community.
Then there is the news that has to do with the wives’ virtue. The Messenger (p.) himself faced such a problem when someone claimed that a man had sexually harassed one of the Prophet's wives (some historians say it was Aisha while others say it was Maria). The story spread among the Muslims and created a lot of despair and confusion. When the Prophet was asked about the matter, he said: "I am waiting for Allah’s decision," since the issue is not personal but one which would have social and other consequences.
Then Allah, the Most Exalted, told us about the matter in these verses:
"Indeed, those who came with falsehood are a group among you. Do not think it bad for you; rather it is good for you. For every person among them is what [punishment] he has earned from the sin, and he who took upon himself the greater portion thereof – for him is a great punishment. Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of one another and say, 'This is an obvious falsehood'? Why did they [who slandered] not produce for it four witnesses? And when they do not produce the witnesses, then it is they, in the sight of Allah, who are the liars. And if it had not been for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter, you would have been touched for that [lie] in which you were involved by a great punishment. When you received it with your tongues and said with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge and thought it was insignificant while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous. And why, when you heard it, did you not say, 'It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You, [O Allah]; this is a great slander'? Allah warns you against returning to the likes of this [conduct], ever, if you should be believers. And Allah makes clear to you the verses, and Allah is Knowing and Wise." (Surat an-Nur 24:11-18)
In the light of this, we learn from these holy verses that we should be cautious with what we hear and say, since there are fanatic partisans of certain parties, families, and now even Marja’s that have started to create and invent news to distort the image of other families and other religious scholars. Those who spread such news do so only because they seek to spread feuds among the believers. When we hear such news, we should not believe it unless we verify it ourselves. In this way, we avoid being unjust. We should not forget that offending a Muslim's honor is a greater sin than violating the sanctuary of the Ka'aba. Backbiting and telling lies about Muslims are greater sins than destroying the Ka'aba.
Let us keep to the right path of Islam, the path of piety that will lead us to Heaven, and abstain from these grave sins that cannot be forgiven through intercession on the Day of Judgment.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Powell’s Tour
The international arrogance is trying to interfere in all our affairs, even as a mediator. We have become so naïve that we now turn to the CIA to find solutions to our problems.
Successive American administrations have adopted the policy of "Israel first" in all their actions and moves in the region. They have provided Israel with political, economic, and military aid, and resorted to a game of deception and sweet talk to the Arabs, including US allies.
This is also the line that has been adopted by the new American administration that is viewed regionally and internationally as holding all the cards for finding a settlement in the region and to the Palestinian problem in particular. However, at first, they declared that finding a solution in the Middle East is not one of their priorities.
They then received the enemy’s prime minister, who the world knows is one of the most brutal and barbaric war criminals, and asked their allies to give him a chance to prove that he intends to make "peace". They also refused to receive the president of the Palestinian Authority and held him responsible for what they call "violence", i.e., the Intifada that they refuse to accept as a liberation movement that is struggling for the right of self-determination.
Then America began to be actively involved when it noticed that Israel was struggling. It sent its secretary of state to dispel any myths of disagreement between Bush and Sharon and to emphasize that Sharon alone should determine whether the rate of violence in the Palestinian territories has decreased enough to start implementing the Mitchell recommendations.
The Arab world in general, and Palestine in particular, should say no to this man who represents, along with his boss, American deception. For he came to say that he does not carry any new ideas, and that there is no time-table, but that developments on the ground will determine any shift towards starting to implement the Mitchell recommendations. But when Americans and Israelis talk about developments on the ground, they are only talking about what the Palestinians are not allowed to do. The Israelis can do whatever they want because, according to the Americans and Israelis, they are only defending the security of their citizens against Palestinian terrorism.
I say to the Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims: the American discourse is a Trojan horse that will explode to create strife and internal wars among you. Do not believe America, for all its moves are planned to help Israel, whose security is more important than that of the Arabs and Muslim worlds. I say to the Palestinians: all these proposals, whether those of the CIA, the Mitchell Committee, or Secretary Powell, will not give you freedom and independence. It will only paralyze the Intifada and force you into a vicious circle of negotiations. And at the end, Jerusalem will remain in the hands of the Israelis, and the refugees will not be allowed to return.
Continue your Intifada with vigor and firmness. Do not let the enemy out of the trap and do not listen to the American deceiving proposals… Freedom is ahead of you, and the stormy sea with all its killing and political waves, behind you.
Lebanon: Justice for All
First, I would like to point out that Israel continues to violate our airspace, and nobody condemns it, while they intimidate Lebanon by talking about the possible consequences of any resistance operation.
Secondly: The economic crisis is exerting additional pressures through the recent layoffs of workers and employees who were employed as a result of political pressure and not real job vacancies.
The question that has to be asked here is: who is responsible for employing more than these companies need? Aren’t they the Lebanese politicians who held or hold prominent posts in the government? They are the ones who should be held responsible. Why should we pick on the workers who have nowhere else to go if they lose their jobs?
Moreover, why should we wait for a problem to reach its climax before we try to solve it? Why could we not try to have a global economic plan that could find a solution for all these problems?
I do not want it to be said that one party or another is against economic reform. It is a political maneuver that aims at distorting the image of those who liberated the country. Those who sacrificed their lives for their country are certainly supportive of every real plan to solve the economic crisis.
Faced with this endless debate, with the economic crisis continuing to worsen, I suggest that the current and previous officials should give the government all the unlawful wealth they earned through illegal deals and commissions. This would ease the economic situation and give them a chance to compensate for their crimes.
The rule of law should apply to all individuals without exceptions. There should be no one who is above the law. This condition is necessary to prevent the collapse of our country, and this is the real meaning of Lebanon being a homeland for all its citizens.
O Lebanese, do you want your country to remain a farm for all who wish to make unlawful money, or do you want it to be a country of justice and righteousness? Our country is a country for man and not for those who play with his fate.