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 Zoul-Qi'dah 15, 1421 AH / February 9, 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
No Room for Despair in the Life of a Believer
Allah, the Most Exalted, says in the Surah about Yusuf: "O my sons, go and find out about Joseph and his brother and despair not of relief from Allah. Indeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people." Surat Yusuf (12:87)
Allah, the Most Exalted, also said when He was telling Ibrahim that he was going to have a son: "They said, 'We give you good tidings of truth, so do not be of the despairing.' He said, 'And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?'" Surat al-Hijr (15:55-56)
"And if We give man a taste of mercy from Us and then We withdraw it from him, indeed, he is despairing and ungrateful. But if We give him a taste of favor after hardship has touched him, he will surely say, 'Bad times have left me.' Indeed, he is exultant and boastful - Except for those who are patient and do righteous deeds; those will have forgiveness and great reward." Surat Hud (11:9-11)
Thus, there are many verses in the Quran that encourage Muslims to be aware of the way the world works and learn about Allah, whose abilities are infinite, so that they would be able to live in this perfected system where nothing is stable except the major workings of the cosmos. But in man’s life, things change; civilizations rise and fall, kings ascend thrones and abdicate or are dethroned, and Allah humiliates whom He wishes and elevates whom He wishes.
Thus, Allah tells us that when you face certain situations in this life, whether richness or poorness, sadness or joy, success or failure, you should not feel overjoyed or too desperate either, because nothing is permanent. Allah might let certain people enjoy power and strength for a certain time, but there is no such thing as an immortal force. History has shown us that the strong have become weak and the weak become strong. Everything in life has its cause, and nothing could happen except by Allah’s will and the objective laws that He has fixed for this universe, whether the result is positive or negative.
Many of us have lived and followed the world’s political developments. What did they see? They saw certain states that controlled the world, but they have become fourth, fifth or sixth rank powers, while other states that were living in the background have now occupied the center stage. Britain was the master of the seas in the 1940s and has now become a marginal state that follows the American political line. While America was a British colony, look where they are now? The Muslims used to hold many of the world’s strategic positions, and now they have become dispersed and fragmented.
In light of this, we as Muslims should not become helpless when faced with depressing circumstances. We have to analyze the problem, as we ourselves might be the cause: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." Surat ar-Ra'd (13:11)
"Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]." Surat ar-Rum (30:41)
Therefore, if our weakness is a result of our own actions, we have to change our social, political, cultural and economic circumstances. If, on the other hand, it is because of the strength of others, we should study their points of weakness so that we can overcome them.
Even in one’s personal life, when you are faced with hardships, you might fall. You might compromise your religion too when it has to do with your interests. But Allah tells you that you should never resort to such acts, but keep your faith in Allah and remember that He is capable of everything. When you have no faith that Allah would relieve you of your sufferings, it means that you believe Allah to be incapable of something, and this is a form of non-belief. You should always have faith in Allah, and this faith should strengthen your faith in yourself and in the resources He gave you to solve your problems: "For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease." Surat ash-Sharh (94:6)
To the pious who refuse to humiliate themselves, compromise their religion, or sell their country and nation to satisfy their personal needs, Allah says: "Why do you trap yourself in the circle of despair?"
"And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out. And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent." Surat at-Talaq (65:2-3)
Therefore, man should always be optimistic and study his potentials and develop them to the full. You live in hope of victory and success and prepare all the means that will help you to attain them.
Allah has given us all the means that will help us achieve all we need in this life, but some of us just don’t employ these means, and we live in an illusory world. Yet this is what we ought to do if we don’t want to fall down or commit suicide. Some people will try to commit suicide when they feel everything is gloomy around them. Others might not commit suicide, but they do so politically, socially and religiously, and they do so because they do not have enough faith in Allah’s ability and compassion.
Faith in Allah should always be deep in your hearts, even when you are sinful. For a lot of people might be led by their environment or by Satan to commit sins and to deviate or give up hope. For those people, Allah says:
"Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'" Surat az-Zumar (39:53)
"And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons misdeeds, and He knows what you do." Surat ash-Shura (42:25)
"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided." Surat al-Baqarah (2:186)
Therefore, when you face extreme hardship, look to Allah and open your hearts so that He will fill it with hope. Never say that it is all done or that it is all over, for Allah is always there to help. You ought to endure because Allah has given you this power to enable you to be strong when faced with challenges. If we are always with Allah and we always have faith in Him, no one can intimidate or frustrate us. Allah has told us in the Quran about the Prophet’s faithful companions who became even stronger when they were told that the enemy had deployed a big force against them:
"Those to whom people said, 'Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.' But it [only] increased them in faith, and they said, 'Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.' So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them... It is only Satan who suggests to you the fear of his allies. So do not fear them, but fear Me, if you are [indeed] believers." Surat Al 'Imran (3:173-175)
Don’t ever despair, don’t lose your faith in Allah, and be sure that success and victory will be your fate if you strive to reach it.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Likud Victory
The Israeli elections have resulted in victory for the butcher and murderer Sharon and the fall of Barak, which shows the predominance of anti-Arab racism within the Zionist community and the fanaticism as a result of their insecurity since the beginning of the Intifada. They have thus opted to confront the Intifada with the help of this brutal symbol of extreme violence that this killer represents.
All this coincides with the American announcement that it is totally committed to Israel’s security and, at the same time, the absence of talk about the security of either the Palestinians, the Syrians or the Lebanese, whose lands are still partly occupied by the Israelis. On the contrary, they call upon the Arabs to practice self-constraint and to give that butcher a chance to form his government. For in America’s view, the Arabs are the only ones who need to be pressurized.
Despite all this, we have gained a unified and significant Palestinian stand that shows that our people in occupied Palestine have a great awareness of what’s going on. They did not disappoint us, and they answered our call and my fatwa to boycott the enemy’s elections. They have shown that they are coherent and proved to the whole world that they are not under the influence of the enemy’s policies. We appreciate that they have punished Barak and joined hands with their compatriots in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We also appreciate the national unity of the Palestinian people, which proves to the world that they are the real owners of the land.
The Arab and Islamic worlds should not fall into frustration and perplexity. Neither should they be influenced by the American plot that aims at putting a stop to the Intifada and returning them to the endless rounds of negotiations in which America stands with Israel, pretending to be an honest broker.
The big challenge is now facing all Arabs, especially in light of the Likud threat to blow up the Aswan Dam. That’s why our position should be unified, strong and devoid of the political leniency that was so much in evidence at the last Arab Summit. The next summit should adopt a confrontational plan. It should support the Intifada and the Palestinian people in their liberation strategy, for the battle is that of the whole nation and not that of the Palestinian people alone. Both the governments and the people have to meet this challenge head-on.
Facing the Zionist Threat in Lebanon
The new arrogant Israeli leadership might try to flex its muscles again in Lebanon. Therefore, we should be on red alert, and the army must co-ordinate with the Resistance (being the reserve popular army) to defeat the enemy in the future as we did in the past. The Lebanese people should stand unified behind them, and the Lebanese and Syrians ought to co-ordinate moves in the face of this imminent threat. I believe, though, that it is only a psychological maneuver, because the conditions are not favorable. Nevertheless, we should be careful because Sharon is quite mad.
At the same time, the country is on the brink of economic collapse, and we must all forget our sectarian and partisan differences in order to surmount these difficulties and find a comprehensive solution to the problem before it is too late.