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 Rabi’ al-Thani 3, 1423 AH / June 14, 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
Islam Should Be Taken as a Whole
How does one become a Muslim as Allah wants him to be? And how does the society become a Muslim society? Allah has explained that the Muslim believes in all these fundamental bases of Islam: Belief in Allah, the Messenger (p.), the Day after, and believing in what follows these beliefs: the belief in Allah’s angels, books and messengers, without differentiating between them. Allah also underscored the fact that to be a Muslim you should be committed to the Sharia (Islamic law): "Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know." Surat al-Jathiyah (45:18)
In this respect—that of the doctrine and Sharia—Allah has set general guidelines about the moral set of rules the individual and the society should adhere to, in addition to the social, economic and political systems.
Islam cannot be divided into parts, and Allah wants us to believe in it as a whole, and adhere to all its commands and teachings. A Muslim should practice Islam in his private life, in what he eats, drinks, says, desires and does. A Muslim should be a Muslim in his home, with his wife/husband and children, with his brothers and sisters, in addition to the larger units of the society, by making sure, before embarking on any act, that it pleases Allah.
Thus, we have to keep an eye on ourselves, because we tend often to think that being a believer is represented by performing the religious duties of prayer, fasting, etc., while our relations with our families and fellow human beings would be really bad. We might even cheat people in our work. Others might be good in their relations with people—they never tell lies or betray—but they do not pray or fast.
To those two groups Allah says: "Then do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part?" Surat al-Baqarah (2:85)
Allah has sent His Book to be taken as a whole and sent His Messenger (p.) to be obeyed in all that He ordained. Thus, each of us has to continue to watch over his actions and relations to make sure that he has built the Islamic personality that he is going to stand before Allah with in the Hereafter, when there is no one to defend you but your good deeds. In all our actions and sayings, we should be inspired by the traditions that have told us that among those Allah will be pleased with in the Hereafter are those who did not take any step before they learned that it pleases Allah. The most important thing is Allah’s satisfaction with what we do and not that of the human being. Allah is the One to Whom we will return, while other human beings will die and perish. Whether they are pleased or angry with us is irrelevant, for it will not affect our fate. The Messenger (p.) himself has guided us to adopt this line of thinking. When he was hurt both physically and morally, he stood near a tree on his way back from the city of Taif and said: "If You are not angry with me, then I have nothing to care about."
Allah is the only source of strength and power. Our problem is that we succumb to the social atmosphere that drives us to feel that those who have power and influence in the society could determine how our life will develop. We forget that Allah says that all power is for Him alone. Therefore, we have to think about Allah and not about fellow beings, and remember to think about the other world, for we will also gain this world, as Allah explained: "And among the people is he who says, 'Our Lord, give us in this world,' and he will have in the Hereafter no share. But among them is he who says, 'Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.' Those will have a share of what they have earned, and Allah is swift in account." Surat al-Baqarah (2:200-202)
This is the balanced way to look at both worlds. It does not mean that we should not enjoy this world, but it means that we should give priority and precedence to the Hereafter, since thinking about this world is thinking about how to obey Allah and gain His satisfaction.
This course helps us in changing our personalities, families and the whole nation… to Islamic ones. The Islamic nation should reflect the true image of Islam. We should not remain as we were seen by that German orientalist, who studied Islam and the Muslim communities and concluded that Islam is something different than the Muslims. We have to be faithful to our belief in Islam and convert it into an action by adhering to everything that Islam had ordained. The Glorious Quran dealt with this issue in many verses. It says: "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)
When we are committed to something, it means that we are no longer free and that we have to honor our commitment. If this is true regarding our business relations and personal affairs, then it is certainly true towards our commitment to the doctrine of Islam. When a man and a woman are joined in marriage, both of them enter into a stage where neither is free to do what he feels like. Any contract has certain conditions that makes one lose his freedom with respect to it. In this sense, to commit yourself to obey Allah and His Messenger means that you do not have a right to object, for you have lost your freedom once you committed yourself.
Allah also says: "But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission." Surat an-Nisa (4:65)
The meaning of this verse is quite evident: A Muslim goes back in any argument or difference he finds himself into Allah and His Messenger. We apply this rule in our communities by going back to the religious authority that is qualified and just. But we notice that there are those who will not abide by the judgment of the Religious Authority unless it is in their favor. Those are described in the Quran as sick in heart, for a believer has to be absolutely sure that Allah is just and that His rule is the just rule. He is the one who says, I hear and obey: "They say, 'We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey'; then a party of them turns away after that. And those are not believers. And when they are called to [the words of] Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, at once a party of them turns aside [in refusal]. But if the right is theirs, they come to him in prompt obedience. Is there disease in their hearts? Or have they doubted? Or do they fear that Allah will be unjust to them, or His Messenger? Rather, it is they who are the wrongdoers. The only statement of the [true] believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say, 'We hear and we obey.' And those are the successful." Surat an-Nur (24:47-51)
These are the general Islamic guidelines which every Muslim should adhere to if he fears Allah, seeks His satisfaction and hopes to be rewarded in Heaven on the Day of Judgment, when only his deeds will help him.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Playing with the Palestinian Cause
America is still playing with the Arab and Muslim worlds, through its playing with the Palestinian cause, and asking their nations to deny the accusation of being terrorists. To do this, they should kill the Intifada and destroy the Palestinians’ determination to fight the occupation. They should also help the occupation to ensure its security and perpetuate the occupation. In return, the Arabs will obtain Israel’s recognition, which they feel that they need. Meanwhile, Sharon stated during his visit to the USA that Israel does not need the Arab recognition, being the stronger side.
Moreover, America, represented by the head of the CIA, is establishing an overseeing or a guardian Arab committee whose members include Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This committee works under America’s direct control to make sure that the Palestinian security agencies are performing their task of ending the Resistance and "taming" the people in a way that ensures that they will never resist again… Then, and only then, would Sharon start negotiating, having made sure that the agenda of his government—"absolute security for Israel"—has been realized. But those negotiations will also impose new conditions and a list of ever-growing concessions.
What America and Israel are planning for is to transfer the responsibility of safeguarding the Israeli security from the Palestinians to the Arabs, under the watchful eye of the Americans and Israelis, to prove that they are not terrorists.
As for the end of occupation and the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the refugees’ dream of returning; such issues will be subject to political developments, beginning with the four-party committee which does nothing but wastes time and cracks down on all those who protest against Zionist brutality.
Then there is the International Conference, whose mechanism is so vague that it is not clear whether it is a regional or international conference, nor is it known whether Lebanon, Syria and Palestine will take part in it. As for the Arab visits to America and their surrendering peace initiatives that Israel did not accept, they have all proved to be a failure after Sharon’s visit to the US… He got all that he had wanted from the American President: refusing the Arab demand for a timetable of the peaceful solution, refusing to declare the Palestinian state, hailing Sharon as a man of peace and considering the invasion of his forces as a form of self–defense against the Palestinian terrorist killers, and lastly declaring that the Palestinian Authority and its President have disappointed the American President.
These positions humiliate all Arab officials and make all their discussions with the American president meaningless, in spite of all the attempts of the American Secretary of State to polish his president’s image with vague statements that some of the Arab officials try to interpret in a way that saves their face… The support Sharon got from the American Administration, as well as the Congress, suggests that America supports Israel without any conditions, and that it stands against the Palestinian and Arab aspirations, especially those that have to do with the Palestinian state and its capital, Jerusalem, which Sharon has started to oppose unequivocally, since in his view it represents the biggest threat to his Zionist entity. Furthermore, America has started to talk about a provisional state as a prelude to a permanent one, which could turn into an endless maze of discussions and negotiations.
Preparing for the New Stage
Both Arabs and Muslims, as well as the Palestinians, should stop running after these fictitious dreams of an American just solution. The American solution for Palestine will inevitably be tailored to fit the interests of Sharon’s Israel. It will never give them a viable independent or sovereign state.
We have to prepare ourselves for a long war that could last for several generations, for the Zionists have decided to adopt a long-term strategy of taking over the whole of Palestine and dominating the entire region, politically and economically, by exploiting the Arabs’ incompetence, with the help of the US that has put several Arab regimes on the defensive. And now they have to prove that they do not support terrorism by offering endless concessions.
We do not call for war, but for freedom, independence and security for the Arab and Muslim peoples in the face of the Zionist-American threats and aggressions.
At the same time, we salute with all appreciation and respect the Palestinian Intifada that has remained steadfast despite the barbaric campaign of invasion, assassination and arrest that will lead the Zionists to nowhere. They cannot arrest all the Palestinians, who will continue to fight and give birth to more martyr heroes as long as the Palestinian mothers will continue to conceive, and as long as Palestinian children are born.
Eliminating the Political Pollution
In Lebanon, as we appreciate the officials’ agreement to stop the cars that run on diesel, people are asking what about the political agreement that ought to be followed by an economic plan to find solutions for many problems. It is not enough to clean the air, for the political atmosphere itself is poisoned and threatens the country’s fate.
We say to the Lebanese officials: Give the people their right which you had given them before, but then took it away from them by means of new laws… This could only be done by giving them the alternatives that enable them to continue to sustain themselves…
Try to reach an agreement on what serves the interests of the country and not only the taxes and all that hurts the deprived and the poor… We call for getting rid of both pollutions: the one in the air and the one in the political and economic life.