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 Ramadan 8, 1422 AH/ November 23, 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
Do Not Betray Allah and the Messenger
Allah, the Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: "O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence]." (Surat al-Anfal 8:27)
He also says, addressing His Messenger (p.): "And do not argue on behalf of those who deceive themselves. Indeed, Allah loves not one who is a habitually sinful deceiver." (Surat an-Nisa’ 4:107)
One of the moral issues of great concern to both the Quran and the Messenger (p.) is the issue of betrayal, because it makes man fall in the eyes of both Allah and the Messenger, since we are bound to both of them by a covenant.
One’s Trust Towards Allah and the Messenger
Professing that there is no god but Allah means that you have taken upon yourself that you will not worship or obey others. Moreover, testifying that Muhammad is His Messenger means that you adhere to the Message he brought and all its teachings and commandments.
Trusts of the Community
The same thing applies to the society. Individuals in the community are all bound by the covenants they conclude, either with each other or with the society, and it is these covenants that ensure the safety and the well-being of the community. Moreover, you ought not to be untrustworthy towards your own self. You should not wrong yourself by committing sins that will lead you to Hell, or earn what will bring upon you some harm in this world. You are not free to do whatever you feel like. Allah has created you a mind to control your instincts and to be responsible towards all your affairs.
Your First Responsibility is Towards Yourself
In the light of the aforementioned, your first responsibility is towards yourself. You should not betray yourself. In the Holy Quran, Allah asks His Messenger not to contend on behalf of those who betray themselves.
This verse was revealed when the relatives of a Muslim thief tried to defend him by accusing a Jew, thinking that they could get away with it.
But the verse says that the Muslim is the one to bear the responsibility, since he was the one who stole. It is the Muslim who has committed an act of betrayal and should be punished both in this world and in the Hereafter.
Furthermore, all sins have social implications, whether adultery, backbiting, or supporting the unjust, and they are all a form of betrayal to one's self and the community, as well as to Allah and His Messenger.
It is a pity that some people do not understand that by committing such sins they are not promoting their own interests. They think that their interests are best taken care of by fulfilling their desires. Such an act might be beneficial in some ways on the surface, but it really is counterproductive. Because it means that you have dealt a severe blow to the spiritual side of you, as well as lost the trust of others in you, and earned the dissatisfaction of Allah and His Messenger.
A Negative Balance Sheet
Therefore, the balance sheet on the whole is negative, for the gain you have acquired is negligible compared with the huge loss you brought upon yourself. What good is all the money and the wealth you are going to accumulate when you lose the trust of Allah, His Messenger, the society, and even yourself.
Therefore, Allah wants man not to betray himself. And this is done by studying anything you embark on carefully and thoroughly. You should study all the consequences of what you intend to do, including the social and religious repercussions. You should make sure that it does not make you lose Allah’s satisfaction in both worlds, for He has given us two eyes to see all sides of the picture. The verse we have recited in the beginning asks all believers not to betray Allah and His Messenger, and not to abuse our trusts.
We betray Allah when we disobey Him. There is a kind of a covenant between us and Allah. If we want Him to have Mercy on us and to look after us, we ought to worship Him alone.
We should also abide by the Prophet’s Sunnah if we are to respect the covenant between us. For the people, their trust is not merely the money they might leave with us. It is every contract we make, including marriage, which is not an exchange of money for goods. It is a life in exchange for life. Thus, it is one of the most important and binding covenants we make in our life.
In the Workplace
Furthermore, there is the trust we are entrusted with in our job. An employee in the civil service or in a private institution is entrusted with the interests of the people. He should not get a medical excuse if he is not sick, for this is a kind of betrayal, and he should not leave during office hours without taking permission… All jobs have certain conditions that we should respect, otherwise we would be betraying our covenants. Any responsibility you agree to uphold is a covenant that you ought to respect and abide by… Thus, there is your loyalty towards your homeland, which is a trust that impels you not to spy or incite any kind of internal strife, especially if we live in a sectarian or partisan community. It is a treason to incite strife in this society.
We Should Be Trustworthy With All People
Having reviewed what the Quran says about this issue, we will now turn to our traditions, beginning with those of our master and prophet, Muhammad (p.). He says: "If one of these four things enters a house, it would be ruined: treason, theft, drinking alcohol, and adultery." He also says: "He who betrays the trust is not one of us," and also: "He who betrays a Muslim in his family and money is not one of us."
Once, Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.) was consulted by a man: 'I am about to go and stay in Mecca, but I owe a man from the Murji'ah sect some money; what should I do?' The Imam told him: "Go back to what your religion says: 'You ought to meet Allah free from any debt, for a Muslim does not betray.' If you want to perform your pilgrimage, you have to pay your debts before you go."
A man called Sulaiman bin Khalid asked Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a.s.): 'There is a man who owes me some money, but he swore that he does not, and now I have come upon some of his money he owes me.' The Imam said: "If he betrays you, do not betray him, and do not do what you condemned him for doing." In another case, someone owed him money, and having been asked by a man who wanted to take the money someone owes him from a large sum the man entrusted him with, he says: "No, for this is treason."
The Messenger (p.) says: "Revealing your brother’s secrets is a kind of betrayal."
"O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence]." (Surat al-Anfal 8:27)
The believers ought to follow these commands, and they ought to repent if they have violated them and try to educate themselves on being honest and trustworthy.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Worshippers of Allah, the Most Exalted…
Be pious… and do not betray His trust, whether towards His religion, or towards your society and yourselves. Bear your responsibilities and support fellow Muslims, for caring for the affairs of fellow Muslims is one of the responsibilities that Allah has entrusted us with.
The Palestinian Cause
As scores of Palestinian children are killed daily by Israeli bombs, and the Israeli army continues to besiege the Palestinian territories and occupies several cities… America demands that the Palestinians should stop the violence, the fact that the Israelis themselves are imposing this violence by their provocations and aggressions, as well as displacing Palestinians and building new settlements, notwithstanding.
America finds it enough to feel sorry without exerting any pressure to stop all these killings and destructions of the houses of innocent civilians. It sends envoys accompanied by an American-European publicity campaign that promises that the solution is coming… The Arabs applaud, but they too do not exert any pressure, for they are impotent… The Palestinian Authority welcomes, even before they learn about what the new American initiative is, which, although it is now restricted to the Mitchell project, calls for the end of the Intifada, for it is the only means of pressure they have to keep the Israelis in the current security and economic impasse… Moreover, they have to keep their eyes wide open and their resolve as strong as ever.
Most importantly, they have to consolidate their national unity… The Arabs have to support this struggling people, since the Palestinian cause is the Arabs' major issue and their door to history and their path to victory and pride.
Afghanistan in the Game of Nations
In Afghanistan, the American aggression continues under the pretense of capturing those who committed the attacks of September 11. More and more massacres are committed by the victorious side, and the attempts to install the future of Afghanistan continue, in an effort to find a government which, as they say, represents all the Afghani people. Yet things are getting more and more complicated as a result of the divergent views and interests of those who are trying to find a solution while in reality trying to secure their interests both inside and outside Afghanistan.
Behind all this talk about fighting terrorism is an American plan to re-dominate the whole world, including the Third World we are part of.
The Americans refuse to define what they mean by terrorism so they can pressurize the Mujahideen in Lebanon and Palestine who challenge the Israeli expansion projects. For America wants to secure Israeli security and ensure that the Israeli project reaches all its goals within the framework of the strategic alliance between them.
The American president announced that America is not at war with Islam, but we notice that it is exerting every kind of pressure and playing all kinds of political games against the Islamic world, whether in its ongoing blockade against Iraq or its economic and political war against Iran.
Therefore, we ought to establish a unified Islamic political stand to ensure the safety of the Muslims' political and economic future in this changing world that is being redesigned to serve the arrogant interests.
Independence Day
As Lebanon celebrates its independence, the Lebanese ought to consolidate their independence by supporting the Army and the Resistance in order to liberate the rest of the occupied lands. Moreover, the Lebanese should preserve their independence by enhancing their national unity so as to face the international pressures, especially the Americans, who are accusing the Islamic Resistance of Terrorism.
On another level, all Lebanese should take part in studying the economic problems that threaten to destroy their economic security, as well as the country’s infrastructure.
All politicians should act in a state of emergency to find the means and solutions for this dreadful economic beast. Independence is not a history we read about; it is a daily struggle to secure its continuity as well as the welfare of the country in the future.