The Responsibility of the Islamic Message 04/10/2002

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 Rajab 27, 1423 AH/ October 4, 2002 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

The Responsibility of the Islamic Message

The 27th of Rajab commemorates two Islamic occasions. The first is the anniversary of the day Muhammad (p.) was commissioned to call for Islam. It is the day Islam was born. It is the day Muhammad (p.) was chosen to carry this heavy burden. "Indeed, We are about to send upon you a heavy word." Surah Al-Muzzammil - (73:5).

The second occasion is the anniversary of the Prophet’s night journey and ascension. God, The Most Exalted, took His Prophet (p.) on that night from the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Then He took him to the heavens to show him His signs.

Dear loved ones, we must reflect on these two Islamic occasions. They, especially the first one, are associated with our Islam. When Allah, The Most Exalted, put the burden of the Message on the Prophet’s shoulders, He wanted him to carry it as long as he lived. Then He commissioned the Keepers of the Members of the House to continue carrying it. They in turn would hand it to the religious scholars.

In this way, every Muslim will feel that when the Messenger (p.) dies, the message will not die with him. "Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful." Surah Al 'Imran - (3:144).

The Messenger (p.) dies and the Imams (a.s.) die, but the message stays. The Message was revealed by God to remain until the Day of Judgment. This is what we understand by the Prophet’s saying that what he declared lawful will stay lawful until the Day of Judgment. We understand this by his saying to Ali (a.s.): "Your position with respect to me is like that of Harun to Musa…"

Moreover, the Message is not the responsibility of scholars alone. It is the responsibility of each and every Muslim. Every Muslim should call for it and spread it in the world. The entire world should adopt Islam as a result of our efforts and hard work. This is our mission. Islam was sent to the whole world. This is evident from the verses that stress that Muhammad (p.) was sent to all mankind.

In this light, let us read what God, The Most Exalted, has told us about sending Muhammad (p.) with the Message. Allah, The Most Exalted, says that He is gracious to have sent Muhammad as well as the Message itself. This means that as great as the Message is, it becomes even greater by the Messenger. The Message in turn bestows greatness on the Messenger (p.). "Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error." Surah Al 'Imran - (3:164).

The first part of this verse aims to make the Muslims feel the value of Allah's grace. He bestowed this grace on them when He sent the Message, which is the source of all other graces. Life has no meaning with all its diversity and potentials without the Message. The Message makes you call for God’s oneness. It brings the Messenger and the Islamic law that organizes the life of Muslims. It shows them what is good and what is evil.

Moreover, when a passage of the Quran was revealed, the Messenger (p.) used to recite it to the people. He would explain it to them, thus purifying their minds by making them cling to rightness. He purified their hearts by filling them with love. He purified their lives by making them seek only justice and righteousness. He then would teach them the wisdom contained in the Quran to be their guide in all intellectual and practical issues, especially those relating to their struggle for the cause.

We conclude from this that learning the Book in all its extensions is a responsibility the Muslims should shoulder in every time and place. The religious scholars in particular ought to carry it out in a very objective and dedicated manner. The religious scholar should serve the Message, and not the other way round. We feel that it is the duty of religious scholars, intellectuals and thinkers to be always ready to call the people. This is especially important when deviation and falsehood are abundant and challenges are on the rise.

The word "wisdom" in the verse indicates how the Book should be applied in private and public lives. This means that the Muslims ought to act rationally in applying what they believe in. They should say the right words. They should appoint the right person in the right place. They should draw the right plans for every situation. Thus, they should first thoroughly study all aspects of every situation and field, whether in politics, economy, etc.

Allah says: "It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although those who associate others with Allah dislike it." Surah At-Tawbah - (9:33).

This verse, repeated in other chapters, suggests that the callers must call for Islam to spread it all over the world. They must work for it to gain the upper hand over all other ideological trends.

Talking to His Messenger to define Muhammad (p.)'s task, Allah, The Most Exalted, says: "O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and an illuminating lamp." Surah Al-Ahzab - (33:45-46). So that all people will be guided by the light of the Message and the Messenger (p.). He came to get people out of darkness, giving them the light of righteousness, justice, and good. "And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah great bounty." Surah Al-Ahzab - (33:47).

Thus Allah, The Most Exalted, wants His prophet to rely on Him alone. He should not be concerned about those who might act as obstacles, for Allah is all-sufficient.

But we too are responsible for the call. "And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful." Surah Al 'Imran - (3:104). Follow the example of those "Who convey the messages of Allah and fear Him and do not fear anyone but Allah. And sufficient is Allah as Accountant." Surah Al-Ahzab - (33:39).

Allah also describes the traits of those who follow Islam. It is a call for the good that raises men to the highest level in spirit, thought, and action. It is also a call for forbidding falsehood which lowers them. "[ Allah ] said, 'My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things.' So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses - Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful." Surah Al-A'raf - (7:156-157).

Allah also talks to us about the Messenger’s personality. He is the man who lives his humanity in his heart and in his dealings with all people. "There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful." Surah At-Tawbah - (9:128).

He also draws the picture of how the Messenger and his companions used to be merciful in their Islamic community. It shows how they used to be united in fighting the enemy. "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure." Surah Al-Fath – (48:29).

Thus, dear loved ones, Allah, The Most Exalted, wants us to live like the Messenger (p.) lived. We should start by calling our family and relations. Then we should move to the larger circle.

We are also being held accountable if we do not carry out our responsibility. "O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded." Surah At-Tahrim - (66:6).

On this day, the day of the birth of Islam, and after it has spread and strengthened, with the Muslims reaching more than a billion, we believe that it is our responsibility to widen the sphere of Islam. This is especially important as there are many non-Islamic trends trying to distance our youth from Islam. That is why Allah, The Most Exalted, has shouldered us with the responsibility of carrying Islam from one generation to another. We must deliver this Message in its entirety to the one who will fill the earth with justice after it was filled with wrong doing. We want to stand before him and say that we called for the obedience of God, The Most Exalted, as you taught us. He should not appear to see us killing or hating one another. If we do so, we would be among the unjust that he would purge to spread world justice.

We have to do all we can to protect Islam and fortify it against all the arrogant powers that want to defeat it even in its heartland.

Dear loved ones, in this stage there is an all-out war between arrogance and Islam. We have no time to rest, relax, and resort to negative and defeatist attitudes. We should dedicate all possible efforts to defend Islam and enable it to gain the upper hand.

In this journey, Allah, The Most Exalted, wanted to educate Muhammad (p.). He sent him to the cradle of messages to meet with the messengers and pray to assimilate their message and his. He was there to discuss with them the future of this message that he came to complete.