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 Shawwal 9, 1423 AH / December 13, 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
Injustice: The Fastest Path to Allah's Wrath
Justice and wrongdoing are two major issues that all Holy Messages have dealt with. The first issue is a positive one that Allah, the Most Exalted, wants man to uphold in every aspect of his individual and social life, while the second is a negative value which Allah, the Most Exalted, wants people to keep away from. The religious law basically deals in all its commands with these two issues, and this is what we understand when we read this verse in Surat al-Hadid: "We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the balance that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice." Surat al-Hadid (57:25)
Believing in the Oneness of Allah is Justice
To be just is universal, whether with Allah, the Most Exalted, with oneself, with others, or with nature and the environment, and so is wrongdoing.
In brief, justice means to give everyone his due right. Thus, justice to Allah, the Most Exalted, is believing in His oneness. For ascribing partners to Allah, the Most Exalted, is, as Luqman told his son, "a tremendous wrong": "And [mention, O Muhammad], when Luqman said to his son while he was instructing him, 'O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah. Indeed, association [with Him] is great injustice.'" Surat Luqman (31:13). While doing wrong to Allah, the Most Exalted, could not be done by force, but rather by not giving Him His rights. Being just to Allah, the Most Exalted, is believing in His oneness on all levels. On the level of doctrine, you would be unifying Allah, the Most Exalted, by believing that there are no other gods but Him. You should be just towards Him in practice by obeying nobody else but Him. You should unify Him in your love by not loving anyone else except through Him.
Believing in the Prophet’s Traditions
The same thing goes for being just with the Messenger (p.); you have to believe in his teachings and traditions, since this is what Allah, the Most Exalted, has told us: "Say, [O Muhammad], 'If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.'" Surat Ali ‘Imran (3:31)
Justice to Oneself
To be just to yourself means making yourself live in such a way that seeks good and salvation in both worlds. To be just to yourself is to believe in Allah, His messengers and His messages, to make your heart full of love, with no hatred, evil or malice. You should be just to yourself in using the capacities and potentials that Allah, the Most Exalted, has given you in all that benefits others and gets you closer to Allah, the Most Exalted, and this is what Islam calls purifying the soul: "And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it and inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness, he has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it [with corruption]." Surat ash-Shams (91:7-10). On the other hand, being unjust towards oneself is leading it to deviation, on the road of obeying its desires and passions and not in what pleases Allah, the Most Exalted. "And We did not wrong them, but they wronged themselves." Surat an-Nahl (16:118).
Giving Others Their Rights
As for being just to others, it means that you ought to believe that others have their rights, just as you yourself have your own rights, and that you have to give these rights to them. There is a right to your wife, a right to every individual and a right to the community that enables it to be balanced and efficient. Injustice is to deny all these people their rights, whether those ordained by Allah, the Most Exalted, or those that you yourself promised.
Traditions that talk about injustice include one that classifies its kinds: "There are three kinds of wrongdoing: one that Allah forgives, one that Allah does not forgive, and one that Allah would not let go without punishment… The wrong that Allah does not forgive is ascribing partners to Him "Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills." Surat an-Nisa’ (4:48) and the one that He forgives is one’s wrong towards himself, and the one that He will not let go without punishment is the denial of the rights of others."
Once a governor who was appointed by the Umayyad unjust ruler Al-Hajjaj asked Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) about the possibility of Allah’s accepting his repentance. The Imam (a.s.) said: "Not until you give back everybody what is due to him."
The Messenger (p.) says: "The most severe kind of wrongdoing is the one against he who does not have anybody to support him but Allah."
Then there is the wrongdoing of taking people’s money in an unlawful manner. According to traditions, this will be punished by being tortured by hellfire.
The day the wronged will stand before Allah, the Most Exalted, to ask Him to return his right by punishing the wrongdoers, is certainly more severe than the pain felt by the wronged. For this will take place in the Hereafter: "The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children, but only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart." Surat ash-Shu‘ara’ (26:88-89).
Prohibition of Injustice for Human Beings and Animals
Some traditions stated that the human being must think carefully when he is about to inflict others with any harm or oppression, such as hitting his wife, his son, his neighbors, or any weak person, just because he possesses political, military, social or tribal power. He must think of the Day of Judgment, the day people have to show up before the Lord of the worlds. Indeed, such thoughts will prevent him from carrying out any wrongdoing. In this respect, it has been reported that Imam Zain al-Abidin (a.s.) tried once to mount his camel and it did not let him. He then picked his whip in an attempt to hit the animal, but he quickly refrained from doing so, saying, "Had it not been for the punishment"—that is how the Imam (a.s.) used to handle the matters of life, something that teaches us a very useful lesson: Human beings must not deal with others oppressively, nor with animals.
We must know that there is no difference when it comes to prohibiting injustice, whether towards human beings or animals. Although you are allowed to slaughter animals, because Allah, the Most Exalted, has made it lawful for you to do so, you must not torture them.
Some traditions reported that a woman went to Hell because she killed her cat through starvation. Moreover, no distinction is made between oppressing a Muslim and oppressing an unbeliever, because oppression and justice have no religion. Justice is for all people—Muslims and unbelievers. It has been written in some works that Allah, the Most Exalted, inspired one of His prophets who used to live under the rule of a dictator: "Go to that dictator and tell him that I have appointed you to end any injustice, even if it were upon unbelievers."
The most severe oppression is eating up the property of orphans, for Allah, the Most Exalted, says: "Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming into their bellies fire. And they will be burned in a Blaze." Surat an-Nisa’ (4:10).
And if you don’t intend to practice any oppression, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) shows you the reward Allah, the Most Exalted, will bestow on you. He says (a.s.): "He who wakes up not intending to oppress anybody, Allah will forgive all the sins he commits on that day, as long as he doesn’t kill anyone and doesn’t eat up an orphan’s property."
Allah, the Most Exalted, wants people to live in justice in this world. He wants them to preserve each other’s rights, to be fair with their Lord, with themselves and with people around them. He wants them to be fair with the environment they live in, because that environment embraces some creatures that Allah, the Most Exalted, wants to be respected and protected from any harm. Furthermore, preserving the environment, as well as preserving justice, leads to protection from all the diseases and disasters.
Let us learn how to be just, and respect the humanity in us by respecting it in others, for this is what elevates our society in this world, and what makes us close to Allah, the Most Exalted, in the Hereafter.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
America’s Current Target: The Islamic Countries
The American military bases in the region, especially in the Gulf, have started to beat the drums of war against the region’s peoples… in a masked military mandate that seeks to dominate political stances and economic circumstances, and threaten with preventive strikes to several probable targets, such as Syria, Libya and Iran.
The Americans are claiming that they want to prevent these countries from possessing weapons of mass destruction; they are even threatening to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons against any party that might use these weapons against them or against any of their friends and allies.
In this respect, it is quite ironic that the country that offered America the biggest military base in the region is the country that holds the presidency of the Islamic Conference Organization, at a time everyone knows that these bases target the Islamic states, especially Palestine (the people), Iran and others… America wants these bases to punish any country or organization that wishes to practice its freedom or independence or opposes the American hegemony over the peoples’ resources and policies. These bases also serve to protect Israel against the strikes of the Palestinian Intifada that struggles to attain the rights of self-determination and independence.
It is also ironic that America has announced an initiative to help the Arabs to enhance democracy, develop the civil society institutions and ensure the rule of law in this part of the world. The slogan of democracy aims at preserving the American interests by finding a formal and superficial state of change that does not deal with such issues as protecting the national wealth and the consuming markets from the arrogant dominance. We also know that America’s allies in the region are the ones who confiscate the nation’s interests, though they might cover their actions with certain marginal features of democracy.
Democracy as a Cover
America also knows that most downtrodden nations, including those of the Arab and Islamic worlds, have carried in their hearts a hatred for the successive American Administrations, for they stood with the Zionist occupation of Palestine with all its atrocities and massacres. It even prevents the Security Council from any condemnation of the Zionist barbaric acts… It gives the butcher, Sharon, all the support he needs to finish his criminal plan. In this respect, Bush has appointed a new official, “Abrams,” in charge of the Middle East region in the American National Security Council, who believes that Sharon "is the one qualified to confront and fight Palestinian violence."
Is This State of Indifference Going to Continue?
If the Arab and Islamic peoples were able to gain their freedom by removing the officials that America has installed to serve its interests, it will naturally stand against the American aggressive policies… Would America accept such a real change in the region? Is it ready to accept the decisive outcome, or does it want to redraw the political map of the region?
As for the Arabs and Muslims, the real question is: Is this state of indifference going to continue? Are they going to stay in this state of subjugation, surrender and obedience? Certain officials in these countries have started to obey the American dictates, and others are expected to follow. Where is the Arab League? How does it remain silent with all that is going on? And how does the Islamic Conference remain absent with all the threats that face the Islamic states?
And to those who are waiting for America to save them from internal oppression, expecting that it will install them in power, we ask: Is America, which has installed all those dictators in our region to protect its interests, a charity organization, or does it want to re-impose its hegemony in the region to serve its economic and political interests? How could you be sure that it will not create new dictators like the ones it helped to create in the past?
What is needed, if you are up to it, is to plan for a change that considers your interests and not that of others.
All our problems have been caused by America and its arrogant allies, as a result of a grand act of deception… We need to keep our eyes wide open to see all that is being plotted against the nation at all levels.
Do Not Forget Palestine
And we have to keep in mind the issue of Palestine, as all the political instability in the region aims at making us be distracted so that Israel and America will be able to end the Intifada. We should also not forget the Golan and the occupied regions in Lebanon, and continue to monitor the new Israeli acts to destabilize the Lebanese security. In this respect, we ask: why was this issue of the bombs that killed Lebanese civilians not raised at the international level, while Israel made a lot of fuss over the reaction?
The fire that was burning under the ashes has surfaced… How are we going to extinguish it? We need an awareness that matches the events, a resolve that matches the danger and a unity that matches the challenges.