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 22, 1422 AH/ July 13, 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
Obedience in Full Submission
One of the main issues the Glorious Quran addresses is the true meaning of being a Muslim and a believer. Does it mean that you could testify that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is His Messenger (p.), and perform all your religious duties, but when it comes to social and financial relations, you act according to what serves your interests or reflects your mood or fanaticism?
Belief implies that all your life should be subjected to your belief, meaning that you would not embark on any action unless you are sure it pleases Allah, the Most Exalted. To support or oppose any party, you should learn what the judgment of Allah, the Most Exalted, regarding this issue is. Moreover, love, hate, friendship, or rivalry should also be based on what Allah, the Most Exalted, has revealed. Islam means obeying Allah, the Most Exalted, in everything. It is not a word; it is a commitment. The Glorious Quran has given us several examples of those who say that they obey Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger (p.), but when they differ about anything—whether a business, an opinion, or any other thing—they will not accept Allah’s ruling if it is not in agreement with their own way of thinking.
Such an attitude is common in our communities where fanaticism—whether to the family, sect, or party—is the major determining force of the stands people take. Let us read these verses and use them as a mirror that reflects where we stand: Are we true believers? Or do we obey Allah, the Most Exalted, and His commands only when they are in our favor? Allah, the Most Exalted, says:
"They say, 'We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey'; then a party of them turns away after that. And those are not believers. And when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, at once a party of them turns aside." Surat an-Nur (24:47–48).
They will not accept the rule of Allah, the Most Exalted, and they will choose the rule of another party, like the civil law or the laws of their tribe or party.
"But if the truth had been in accordance with their desires, they would have believed in it at once." Surat an-Nur (24:49).
They do not follow Islam; they follow their own interests. Were they true believers, they would have followed Allah’s commands in all cases in compliance with Allah’s saying:
"It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should have a choice in their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error." Surat al-Ahzab (33:36).
Allah, the Most Exalted, considers those who follow their own interests and not the right path of justice that He has shown them not only to be sick in their hearts, but also wrongdoers.
Is there a sickness in their hearts, or are they in doubt? Do they fear that Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger may deny them justice? Surely these are wrongdoers. But when true believers are called to Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger so that he can pass judgment upon them, their only reply is: “We hear and obey.” Such men shall surely prosper. Those who obey Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger, those that revere Allah, the Most Exalted, and fear Him, shall surely triumph.
Then Allah, the Most Exalted, talks about those who had lived with the Prophet and did not keep their promises. Needless to say, there are many like them in our time. He says:
"They swear by Allah their strongest oaths that if you ordered them, they would go forth. Say, 'Do not swear. Obedience is known. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with that which you do.' Say, 'Obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away – then upon him is only that with which he has been burdened, and upon you is that with which you have been burdened. And if you obey him, you will be guided. And there is not upon the Messenger except the clear notification.'" Surat an-Nur (24:53–54).
If these verses talk about abiding by the judgment of Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger (p.) after having been called upon to solve a dispute, the issue is not restricted to such judgments. No father could run the affairs of his family except by the rules and commands of the Islamic law. The wife and children too ought to abide by Allah’s commands, and seek always to please Allah, the Most Exalted.
Moreover, since this attitude extends by its very nature to all our actions in life, it also extends to our political and party life. A party might ask you to boycott certain believers because of their political opinions that might be different from that of the party. It is unlawful to boycott them, since Allah, the Most Exalted, the Prophet, and the Imams have commanded us to preserve our relations with them.
Furthermore, the party may ban praying behind a just Imam, or you might be asked to inflame others against a believer, or distort his image and accuse him with false accusations. In such cases, it is unlawful to do so, because being a Muslim means that all your actions and sayings should be judged by Islam in accordance with Allah’s saying:
"But no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in full submission." Surat an-Nisa (4:65).
A believer cannot follow Allah, the Most Exalted, and something else at the same time. Being a Muslim means that you abide by all the rulings of Islam, even in minute details.
We are returning to Allah, the Most Exalted, and we have to make sure that we have done our best to prepare for this meeting. We have to hold ourselves accountable before Allah, the Most Exalted, judges us. For then, nothing will save us except our good deeds.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Worshippers of Allah,
Be pious and fear Allah, the Most Exalted in all you do, observe all His commands and do not be like those who forgot Allah, the Most Exalted and who He made forget themselves. Fear Allah, the Most Exalted in confronting all the oppressors and unjust.
We also have to be pious and obey Allah, the Most Exalted in standing with Muslims against oppressors. There can be no neutrality between right and wrong or between the oppressed and the oppressors.
The Great Intifada of Palestine
In spite of all Sharon’s terrorist activities towards the Palestinian people, the Intifada is still haunting Sharon and deepening his impasse.
The enemy has started to make many tours in Europe to convince the Europeans that the Intifada is not a liberation and independence movement, but one of violence lead by the Palestinians who are waging an open and racial war against the Israelis, in the hope that the Europeans will exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority to stop the Intifada.
But Sharon’s mission has failed, for the world is watching daily the crimes he is committing… Destroying houses and leaving its dwellers homeless, building more settlements… economic siege, assassination… etc.
Even the Americans have begun to protest the Israeli actions every now and then, either because they feel embarrassed or because” Israel” violates the provisions of the Mitchell plan...
I am sure that the Palestinian people will maintain their steadfast and firm uprising despite all the difficult conditions that surround them and all the pressures they have to repel. The Palestinians have crossed the barrier of fear, and they have now to learn how to come up with tactics that do not play against their strategy. They also have to know that nobody is going to remove the mines and obstacles for them, if they themselves do not remove them.
As the fireball in Palestine gets bigger and bigger by the day, the ball of humiliation continues to run in the Arab and Muslim worlds. The regimes have succumbed to the American hegemony that does not allow them to take any firm stand.
Israeli-Turkish pact
I am very concerned about the recent developments in the Israeli –Turkish alliance. The Zionist minister of war has announced that is directed in the first place against Iran because of its potential nuclear capabilities. Israel is trying to intimidate Turkey, so as to become a major market of its weapon industry, and an air space from which it could launch its attacks on Iran and Iraq. It wants Turkey to become a military base for Israel in addition to being a military base for NATO.
The Arab and Muslim states should take this turn of events into consideration We should not forget that Turkey was the first Muslim country to recognize Israel as a result, of course, of American pressure.
Who is responsible?
Is the Resistance the obstacle that prevents the donor foreign countries from giving aid to help solve the economic crisis? Or is it the nature of the government in Lebanon?
We know that the donors have had certain conditions to provide aid: Ending all forms of corruption and commission, administrative reform, privatization of certain public companies…etc. Is the government ready to take these steps?
No it is not, because of political and sectarian interests and because the political and sectarian leaders continue to view the government as a milky cow and not a state that should care about the welfare of all its citizens. Why then should we hold the Resistance responsible? Moreover, the economic situation is affected by the fact that Lebanon is part of the Arab-Israeli struggle, and thus its economy cannot improve unless the whole economic freeze in the region ends.
Yet, I call for a plan to stop the collapse that could fix the things that could be fixed; things that are entirely in our control like ending corruption to prevent our homeland from dying.