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 4, 1422 AH / January 18, 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
Change Yourself, You Change Your Fate
Having consulted the doctors, I felt that I should meet you today. I ask Allah, the Most Exalted, to restore my health, with the blessings of your supplications.
Allah says in His Glorious Book:
"[Their fate is] like the custom of the people of Pharaoh and those before them. They denied the signs of their Lord, so We destroyed them for their sins and We drowned the people of Pharaoh. And all [of them] were wrongdoers." Surat al-Anfal (8:54)
"Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves..." Surat ar-Ra'd (13:11)
In these two Ayahs, Allah underscores one of His principles in our life: that the outside is the reflection and the image of the inside. When a human being acts, whether in his private life or his public one, he is driven by his thoughts. A believer in Allah would act according to what this belief instructs him to do, while an unbeliever would imagine that he is free in what he does, and might be influenced by his desires or might become a prey to the oppressors who realize his wishes.
Thus, there is a difference between how a pious and a dissolute act in this life. A pious man who loves Allah and fears Him feels that he is being watched by Allah all the time, and that Allah knows even his thoughts. Such a man would act accordingly, even when he is alone. As to the dissolute who has forgotten his Allah, he would be deprived of the conscience that controls every step he takes in his life. Such a man who does not, for example, feel a responsibility towards the community, would not hesitate to cause strife in this community. A man who is not concerned with his nation’s future might take political stands that could undermine the future of his homeland.
Allah is saying to us; change your life and you change your fate, because your fate is affected by your will which acts through your thought and feelings as well as the path you choose to adopt in life. That is why Islam has underscored the importance of belief, considering it to be the basis of man’s fate, and this is what we observe in Allah’s saying: "By time, Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds..." Surat al-Asr (103:1-3)
Therefore, belief should be firmly established in the hearts, feelings, and thoughts of every Muslim, so that he could control himself and stay on the right path. That is why Islam did not respect good deeds unless they are based on belief, as it is evident in the Ayah we have just quoted.
Since such an importance is attached to belief, the unbeliever and the arrogant powers have tried to penetrate into our minds to shake our faith. In the aftermath of the 11th of September, the West has begun to talk about its direct control of the Islamic educational schools, in a way that enables it to change its programs, believing that all the anti-western campaigning had been initiated by the Islamic thought that teaches man to be a servant to Allah alone but free in front of the whole world. It has inspired the oppressed that they should not feel weak in front of the arrogant. They ought to find the means that would make them strong, and fight the arrogant.
In this respect, it was only natural that Islam did not encourage terrorism that involves civilians with no reason. For Islam rejects any form of aggression: "Allah loves not the aggressors." And even when we punish, our punishment should be equal to the crime: "And if you punish [an enemy, O believers], punish with an equivalent of that with which you were harmed. But if you are patient - it is better for those who are patient." Surat an-Nahl (16:126)
Thus, the arrogant powers started to carry out their plan through the officials in the Muslim country who were appointed by them to protect their interests. They want to interfere in the affairs of the various mosques and religious schools and alter what is being taught in a way that serves the arrogant interests. They want Islam to be an American Islam that does nothing except praising the arrogant powers, and not the Islam that professes dignity, pride, and freedom. That is why they created internal, sectarian, national, and regional strife to keep the Muslims occupied in their internal wars.
Therefore, we have to prepare ourselves to confront this danger that is more dangerous than weapons, because when we distort the image of Islam in our minds and when we stop believing in freedom as Allah wishes, and accept to be slaves of the arrogant and the unjust, we will fail in everything we do. We have to be concerned with the true and authentic Islamic education, for Allah tells us:
"And do not incline toward those who do wrong, lest you be touched by the Fire, and you would not have other than Allah any protectors; then you would not be helped." Surat Hud (11:113)
We have to live the Islam of freedom and justice… The Islam that unites all believers in one nation and faces the arrogant by the force that Allah commanded them to prepare. Allah tells us that He does not change us unless we change ourselves… He made us responsible for what happens to us. Therefore, cling to the right path and you will be rewarded with victory by Allah, the Most Exalted, for "...those who have believed and done righteous deeds - no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve." Surat al-A'raf (7:35)
You should not take any other lord—like the arrogant forces—and you should have honest intentions, for the Prophet said that "intentions are what count on the Day of Judgment." Thus, let us be faithful, and let our intentions be honest. Let us live Islam in our hearts and minds as well as all our lives, so that we will not be deceived by the arrogant or the hypocrites who aim to change our Islam by another that fits their interests.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Worshippers of Allah, be pious… and know that the arrogant powers are making every effort to create strife among you. We have to be aware of their conspiracies, because they want to keep us engaged in our internal feuds that distract us from confronting them.
Palestine Identifies with the Intifada
In Palestine, the Intifada of the Palestinian people continues, despite all kinds of brutal terror and huge pressures. The Palestinians have proved that all these massacres cannot defeat them or lessen their resolve to fight for freedom.
The Palestinians have decided to continue their Intifada and challenge Sharon with this martyrdom spirit that proves that the world’s silence or implicit approval of the massacres against them will not make them surrender.
The American Administration wants the Palestinian Authority that is imprisoned in an Israeli cell to turn into a prison warden of the Palestinian Mujahideen in a Palestinian prison, because they have assassinated an Israeli official or performed martyrdom operations. Israel sees the Intifada as an act of terrorism against its entity, while the US considers the Israeli war against the Intifada as part of the war against what it calls terrorism. That is why both want to put an end to the Intifada, to end the "Palestinian violence" and leave the Israeli violence free in killing the innocent Palestinians and destroying their houses and razing their farms. Then they will send the American envoys to help Sharon in his settlement project through negotiations, in which the Palestinians have no card to play.
America has included the brutal war against the Palestinians in its war against "terrorism", and brought the International alliance to put the final touches on its project in the region: Security for Israel alone, and subjection for the whole Arab and Muslim nations who have to agree that plundering their resources is in their own interest?!
What the Palestinians are doing is part of the process of liberation from these two prisons. It is a war against the Zionist terror to tell the whole world that the war against terrorism is the war of this oppressed people against American and Zionist terror that does not target the Palestinians only but also all the Arab and Muslim nations as well.
Meanwhile, America is sending envoys to the region to pressurize the officials, to exert pressure on their peoples, and besiege their charity organizations and alter the content of the educational programs of its religious teaching organization. For America wants everybody to yield to the American Master, accusing everybody who dares to question its plots of being with terrorism, which gives America the excuse to fight them.
Thus, you either yield to the American demands or you face the American war machine which leaves no freedom of choice for all the Third World peoples.
The Arab and Muslim peoples should not be intimidated. They should think carefully and plan to protect themselves and their causes from this prominent danger if they truly care about the future of their independence and freedom.
When Will There Be Institutions in Lebanon?
The State in Lebanon should become a state of institutions for the whole country without any local, regional, or personal influences. This is the only way to become the state of the people and not of this or that party. It will become the state of the citizen who wants to live with freedom and pride, and not a person who has to turn to local politicians who have shredded the state’s interests among them every time he needs any service from this state.
The value of Lebanon as a civilized country can be achieved only when it turns into a state of its citizens and not of its sects or individuals.