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-Oula 02, 1423 AH / July 12, 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
Those Who Obey Allah’s Commands Are Among the Best of People
Allah says in His Glorious Book: "It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error." Surat al-Ahzab (33:36).
According to the righteous Islamic doctrine, Allah, the Most Exalted, wants the Muslim to practice all the religious duties on the one hand, and to refrain from committing all that He ordained unlawful on the other hand. If one commits himself to doing both, he would earn Allah’s satisfaction and mercy.
Prayer: The School of Muslims
When we study the religious duties Allah has ordained, such as praying, fasting and performing pilgrimage, we notice that Allah, the Most Exalted, ordained them to educate us on being committed to obey His commands in what is right and wrong and in what is lawful or unlawful.
Prayer is described in the Holy Quran as a call for "forbidding indecency and evil." It is a school that when one understands everything it teaches and suggests, he becomes a committed person who does not take any step before making sure that it pleases Allah, the Most Exalted, since it forbids indecency (which means exceeding the limits) and evil (which is everything that Allah, the Most Exalted, deemed unlawful).
That is why it was said in our traditions that "those whose prayers do not forbid them from indecency and evil will only become further away from Allah."
When we study all the parts that Allah, the Most Exalted, ordained in prayer, we find out that it bonds man with Allah and educates him on His glory. Saying "Allahu Akbar" makes man feel that no matter how great anything else is, it is small when compared to Allah, the Most Exalted. Moreover, when man testifies that there is no god but Allah, he is discarding all those who consider themselves to be gods. Similarly, when the Muslim recites the Opening Surah, it gives him the methodology that makes him feel that Allah, the Most Exalted, is the Lord of the worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the only One to be worshipped and relied upon. He is One, the Eternal God. He begot none, nor was He begotten. He is the Greatest and the most Supreme.
And when he repeats the prayers five times a day, in addition to those that are not obligatory, the presence of Allah inside him would be intensified.
Fasting and Pilgrimage: Two Roads to Piety
Fasting too was ordained for similar reasons. Allah says: "O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous." Surat al-Baqarah (2:183). Fasting, therefore, is a way to acquire piety: When you abstain from eating, drinking and the rest of your desires, with no one to watch you but Allah, the Most Exalted, you will be affirming and strengthening your will to obey Allah. The same values are taught by pilgrimage in accordance with this tradition: "Allah does not care about those who come to this house (the Ka'bah) unless they possess those three virtues: Piety that prevents them from committing sins, prudence that enables them to contain the ignorant, and high morals to deal with people." Thus, worshipping is not a superficial act, but rather a movement that enters the mind and enlightens it with righteousness. It also enters the heart and fills it with love and fills your whole life with piety.
Thus, the believer ought to be a committed person, whose affairs, whether personal, social or political, are mindful of Allah. He ought to remember that there will come a day in which he will stand before Allah, and he will be held accountable for all his deeds.
The Best People in Allah’s View
There are many traditions that tell us about the value of performing the religious duties and not committing any sins.
Imam Ali bin al-Hussein (a.s.) says: "Those who obey Allah’s commands are among the best of people." Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.) explains the meaning of Allah’s saying "O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful." Surat Al 'Imran (3:200), by saying that it means that we have to be patient when it comes to performing religious duties; these duties include the struggle for the cause of Allah, the Most Exalted, and confronting the challenges of Allah’s enemies.
The Other Pillar: Do Not Commit Sins
As for not committing sins, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) comments on the verse that promises two gardens for those who fear the majesty of their Lord, by saying that they are those who know that Allah, the Most Exalted, sees and hears them and is aware of every act they do, which would make them not commit any unlawful or evil act. Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) says that everyone will cry on the Day of Judgment except three: Those who had fought for the cause of Allah (whether in the battlefront or in any other front), those who had cried in fear of Allah, and those who had abstained from committing any unlawful act.
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a.s.) considers that those whom Allah, the Most Exalted, talks about when He says "Then We will regard what they have done of deeds and make them as dust dispersed." Surat al-Furqan (25:23), are those whose actions are as white as the white cotton of Egypt, yet they do not abstain from committing sins. They would pray and fast, but they would still commit sins. Their good actions will be rendered as scattered dust.
This worldly life will end, and with it all our lusts and pleasures will turn to dust. They will not do us any good in the Hereafter when we have to stand before Allah on the Day of Judgment. Thus, when Satan calls us to neglect our prayers, fasting, etc., as well as Allah’s commands regarding our family, wealth and community, we have to tell him what Allah taught His Messenger to say: "Say, 'Indeed, I fear, if I should disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.'" Surat al-An'am (6:15).
If your relatives and friends try to seduce you to commit sins and disobey Allah, tell them: Could you help me on the Day of Judgment, if Allah, the Most Exalted, wishes to punish me?
Imagine how you will be when you enter your grave and then wait for your turn in the Hereafter. "But when the Deafening Blast comes, the Day a man will flee from his brother, and his mother and his father, and his wife and his children, for every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him." Surat 'Abasa (80:33-37).
Think about this day, for today you act with no one to hold you accountable, but on that day, the day you will be held accountable, you cannot change or add any other deed to what you had already done.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
International Support for Zionist Brutality
The Zionist occupation is still carrying on its operation of siege, destruction, arrests and killings in the West Bank, in what could be viewed as a brutal collective punishment of women, children and the elderly. It enjoys the wide support of the American Administration, as well as an international form of hypocrisy in which the international powers call for withdrawal but without making any effort to realize it. On their part, the Arab states are silent, and they have begun to take part in a political game that might be closer to implementing the American schemes than protecting the Palestinian people.
Do Not Stop the Intifada
As for the Arab and Muslim peoples, they have stopped their protesting demonstrations, as if they had done all their duty in the previous demonstrations. They have to remember that the Israelis continue to eradicate the Palestinian people with all the American advanced weapons they acquired, while America continues to pressure the Palestinians using the Quartet international committee, as well as the Arab states, to accomplish the goals of Sharon and stop the Intifada for good.
Palestine is now subjected to American, European, Russian, Arab and UN pressure, but the Palestinians should keep on their heroic and legendary steadfastness. This is because all these powers want the Palestinians to yield to their conditions and surrender without any real prospects for bringing about any demand that might need thousands of rounds of negotiations…
O Palestinians…
Your steadfastness embarrasses everybody, while offering concessions in the name of reform, and implementing the American and Israeli conditions, underlines the defeat.
Condemn the Algerian Massacres
Moving to Algeria, the country which sacrificed 1.5 million martyrs in the war of liberation only to fall prey to the international game that hindered its reform in the various political and economic fields… It fell into a surrealistic war whose toll has so far exceeded a hundred thousand. And the media has blamed the Islamists for these massacres of innocent civilians, children, women and the elderly…
We are sure that certain local and international military and intelligence agencies have exploited some naive and simple people, calling them Islamic and driving them to commit these massacres. But we would like to emphasize that Islam condemns and deplores all these brutal actions. Those who commit them have no relation to Islam whatsoever, for these acts are not accepted by any law, mind or religion… The Islamists all over the world should voice their condemnation for these acts and expose their motives.
Solve the Problems of the Muslims in India, Kashmir and Afghanistan
With respect to the sectarian differences in India between the Hindus and the Muslims that have been the cause of killing and displacing of many poor Muslims, we demand that the Indian government should interfere and prevent this mobile war against Muslims, being a state that respects itself and its citizens.
The citizens of Kashmir too are the victims of a harsh campaign to silence their demand for self-determination, in the midst of a terrifying international silence led by America, which considers those who demand independence as terrorists, despite the fact that the UN resolutions have given them the right of self-determination over 50 years ago.
The security instability in Afghanistan is still leading to the death of many innocent people and thwarting any attempt to re-stabilize this Muslim country. America leads an international coalition to usurp the resources of this country and the whole region in the name of fighting terrorism.
Getting Ready for the Regional Challenges
In the Middle East, we are confronted with the Israeli threats to Syria, Lebanon and other Islamic and Arab countries, especially Iran. The latest of these threats was that of the new Zionist Army commander who called his troops to prepare for a wide war. This means that the leaders of the region should prepare for this war too…
The coming stage is going to be full of challenges and it will witness many political and military changes, especially with the American plots for Iraq.
A Call for Reconciliation
In Lebanon, we hope that the political detente among the top officials in this country could translate itself into an agenda to solve the economic crisis, or at least relieve the citizens from some of its negative effects, as well as promoting a true political reconciliation in the country that stays away from the sectarian mentality and interests, and fulfills the citizen’s dream in a free land, a free decision, and a free and prosperous future.
O Lebanese, your children are Allah’s trust; do not lead them into the mazes that could make them lost.