Your Life is Your Capital - 06/09/2002

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 Jumada al-Thani 28, 1423 AH / September 06, 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

Your Life is Your Capital

Time is the container that carries the actions...

Life, age, time… etc., all these are words that remind man of his entire existence through the seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years.

Man has to contemplate this time that consumes his life in a gradual manner. He has to conceive it as the container that carries the actions, which determine his fate. When man understands time through this perspective he would strive to lead an effective life, always using his mind and developing it, not forgetting to be emotional but balanced, and making sure that he makes relentless efforts to help others build a better life and develop their potentials.

When man goes back to Allah’s words in the Holy Quran he will find that his life is his capital which he trades with Allah: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." Surat az-Zalzalah (99:7-8).

"So their Lord responded to them, 'I will not allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female.'" Surat Aal 'Imran (3:195). If you do not use your time and leave it empty of good work, then you will meet your Lord, the Most Exalted, with a life that is neither rich nor meaningful, but if you fill it with good deeds and charities, then it will elevate you to a place close to Allah, the Most Exalted, and you will enjoy the bliss of paradise.

Therefore, your life is equivalent to what you carry in it.

Allah, the Most Exalted, has talked about life in several verses. He says: "And Allah created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop; then He made you mates. And no female conceives nor does she give birth except with His knowledge. And no aged person is granted [additional] life nor is his lifespan lessened but that it is in a register. Indeed, that for Allah is easy." Surat Fatir (35:11). Thus Allah, the Most Exalted, has determined how long you live through the circumstances that will meet you in your life and which will determine if you are going to have a long or a short life. Everything has already been written.

Imam Zein al-Abideen, Ali bin al-Hussein (a.s.) says in his supplication in the morning and evening:

"This is a fresh day, over us a ready witness; its seconds, minutes, and hours bear witness upon what we do. If we do good it will leave us with praise, and if we do evil it will part from us with blame."

Imam Ali (a.s.) says that whenever you receive a new day in your life you will be parting with another day.

Hurry Up Before Your Life Ends!

The Messenger (p.) was quoted as saying: "Your life is limited, and nobody will live more than what he is destined to, therefore hurry up before it ends and make use of the chance you have and fill it with good deeds."

Muhammad (p.) too has drawn the following picture of what will happen on the Day of Judgment. He says: On that day, twenty-four closets corresponding to the hours of the day and night will be opened for each servant of Allah.

The first one will be filled with light – these are the good deeds that have turned into light. The Holy Quran described the believer on the Day of Judgment as such: "On the Day you will see the believing men and believing women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, [it will be said], 'Your good tidings today are [of] gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide eternally.' That is what is the great attainment." Surat al-Hadid (57:12). He will feel so happy that if his happiness was distributed among those who dwell in Hell they would no longer feel the pain…

Then, another closet will be opened, but this one will be empty, dark, and radiates fear. He will be so afraid and sad that if his feelings were distributed among the dwellers of Heaven, they would no longer feel happy. This closet represents the time he spent in disobeying his Lord – by backbiting, cheating, lying, committing adultery, drinking alcohol… etc. Another closet will be opened but this one will be empty and contains nothing to please or sadden him and this is the hour he slept in or spent in doing something that is permissible. He will feel sorry that he missed this hour without filling it with good deeds.

This saying shows us that there are certain deeds that will have positive effects long after they are done; these are the good deeds that you obey Allah, the Most Exalted, in doing them: "But what remains [forever] of good deeds is better with your Lord for reward and better for [one's] hope." Surat al-Kahf (18:46).

It is true that they might make you tired in this world, but surely you will be rewarded in the Hereafter.

When you want to do anything, think about the results and not about the sufferings or hardships you might face on your way.

Allah, the Most Exalted, also tells us about how the dwellers of Hell will plead: "And they will cry out therein, 'Our Lord, remove us; we will do righteousness - other than what we were doing!' But did We not grant you life enough for whoever would remember therein to remember, and the warner had come to you? So taste [the punishment], for there is not for the wrongdoers any helper." Surat Fatir (35:37).

Moreover, in the supplications of Imam Ali bin al-Hussein (a.s.), we notice that he focuses on the fact that one should ask for a long life not in the number of years he will live but in what he will do in these years. He says in his supplication on the noble moral traits: "Let me live as long as my life is a free gift in obeying You. But if my life should become a pasture for Satan, seize me to You before Your hatred overtakes me, or Your wrath against me becomes firm."

In his Tuesday supplication the Imam also says: "Make life an increase for me in every good and death an ease for me in every evil."

He adds in his "Abi Hamza supplication": "And make me one of those whom You made his life long, his deeds good… One of those whom You bestowed Your Grace upon and made their life a good life of happiness and dignity."

Life is a capital that we trade with Allah.

It is an opportunity, and opportunities pass as quickly as clouds. Therefore, repent before it is too late. The Imam (a.s.) says when death is mentioned:

"Spare us drawn out explanations and cut them short in us through sincerity of works, that we may not hope expectantly for completing an hour after hour, chasing a day after a day, joining a breath to a breath, or overtaking a step with a step."

We ask Almighty Allah to help us with what He helps the good on themselves… Lead us to spend our life in obeying You and learn how to be pious in all our days and nights, so that each day will become: "The most fortunate day we have known, the most excellent companion we have accompanied, and the best time in which we have lingered."

The Second Sermon

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The Palestinian Problem is Outside the Spotlight

The light is no longer focused on the Palestinian problem at this stage. America sends a second-rate envoy who can do nothing… For all he came to do was to emphasize the American support for Israel against the Palestinians, and advising the Palestinians to engage in a "security reform"; that is, stopping the Intifada… etc.

The European Union, on its part, is launching a new initiative that has no real chance of being implemented, while the Arabs have put the Palestinian issue in the drawers of the Arab League, for they feel politically incompetent and unable to face the American pressure and the Zionist muscle-flexing.

The Arab and Muslim peoples follow up the news about the massacres the Israelis commit against women, children, the elderly, and youth, as well as all the arbitrary arrests, brutal assassinations, and the demolitions of the country’s infrastructure. Although they feel the pain, they protest in a calm and ineffective way.

Moreover, the world is not concerned with the violations of Palestinian human rights, nor is there any country to remind the Israelis that they have to abide by the international law that prohibits deporting innocent citizens… In short, the Palestinians are living a human tragedy of hunger, starvation, and dislocation, but nobody cares.

As to the security aspect of their life, it has to wait for the occupation to end, which is conditioned by ensuring absolute security for Israel without any attention to Palestinian security, despite all the calls to the Security Council to send troops to protect the Palestinians from the Israeli atrocities.

The American president talked about giving 50 million dollars in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, but he also gave Israel an additional 200 million dollars to kill the Palestinians… The massacre goes on, with the world either watching or conspiring. The Palestinians are left alone to confront the Zionist war machine with their bare flesh, and their incredible steadfastness and resolve that are supported by their firm national unity. Yet no right will be lost as long as there are those who fight for it: and Allah, the Most Exalted, is the one who provides victory for whom He wills.

Do Not Trust America

The Iraqi problem is still under the influence of American political and informational intimidation, as well as international disagreement between those who are with the war on Iraq and those who are against it. Meanwhile, the American-British preparations for the war continue, especially with the much-anticipated meeting between Bush and Blair about to take place, all within the context of the American offensive that wishes to dominate the region by exerting pressures, making threats, and resorting to the diplomacy of the stick.

Throughout all this, nobody is paying attention to the Iraqi people with all their sufferings in the big prison they are living in, and which have grown even greater with the iron fist that is being more tightly held under the pretense of the necessities of war.

Moreover, the Iraqis are also suffering from dislocation outside Iraq where they live in poverty and humiliation. Yet there are those who dream of salvation through the Americans… But is it possible that the fox will save the lamb with all this long and bloody history of treachery, deception, and preying?

We call upon the Iraqi opposition for a political militant unity that plans and acts inside Iraq, for no opposition can achieve victory from the outside. On the contrary, it will remain subjected to exploitation by various powers of conflicting interests…

A Need for Wisdom to Solve Problems in Lebanon

In Lebanon, the enemy continues to make threats and violates our airspace. It is also trying to prevent us from using the waters of the Wazani River to quench our thirst and irrigate our lands, while America and the United Nations call for calming down in a way that is, at times, more threatening than diplomatic.

Amid all these disturbing developments, Lebanon was busy with the fight in the Palestinian refugee camp in Baalbek in the east of the country, where blood was spilled and security, with all its political implications, was destabilized, although the people living there are among the most impoverished who were never known to emerge in a civil rebellion against the government.

Why did all this take place? Why did the government not deal with the problem with wisdom and prudence, coordinating with the officials and the popular committee of the camp, without spilling blood and creating tensions at a time when Palestinian blood flows like rivers in the occupied territories?

Then, there was the surprise of the so-called precautionary measures that the Lebanese were unable to accept, of closing the Lebanese television station (MTV), an action that renewed the battle for political and press freedoms in Lebanon, the central issue that represents Lebanon being the oasis of freedom in the region. We wished that things would have been dealt with more wisely in a way that corresponds to the issue of freedom and takes the political and security balance in Lebanon into consideration.

We hope that these two issues will be dealt with in a way that upholds justice, safeguards freedom, encourages self-censorship that refrains from all that distorts national unity, and does not undermine the Lebanese-Palestinian relationship and unity against the mutual enemy.

The current circumstances in Lebanon make it unable to endure such political and security shocks, especially since the Lebanese are concerned about the effects of the new annual budget on their daily lives, with the new taxes that are being imposed and even the threats that entail their social security benefits.