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 Sha'ban 7, 1424 AH / October 3, 2003, 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
The Line of Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.):
Carrying the Message of Islam
On the third of Sha'ban, Imam al-Hussein (a.s.) was born, Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas (a.s.) was born on the fourth, and Imam Ali bin al-Hussein (a.s.) was born on the fifth.
These great names, these high summits of Imamate, heroism, faith, and dedication to Allah and His Messenger (p.), ought to be remembered and recalled, for they are a source of enrichment to us in all our causes and issues.
The Imamate: An Extension of the Message
Thus, when we remember Imam al-Hussein (a.s.) we remember him in what enriches our life, for his movement was not merely one of tragedy, but one that is interrelated with the right path of Islam which the Imam (a.s.) carried, being an extension of the Message that protects the Islamic march from any deviation on the ground and in theory and principles.
Standing Against Deviation
When the Umayyads wanted to deviate Islam away from the right path and change the caliphate institution into a monarchy, and ruling to a confiscation of man’s freedom and resources, the Imam (a.s.) stood against them saying that they had usurped the wealth that belongs to Allah, the Most Exalted.
"And give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you." Surat an-Nur (24:33)
When Allah, the Most Exalted, describes the wealth and the resources as being His property, it means that they belong to the nation and that no one is allowed to spend them on his relatives or his personal errands and desires.
Thus, Imam al-Hussein (a.s.) considered the aggression against the public resources as well as the freedoms and wills of the believers to be an aggression against the nation, and consequently against Islam. For Islam wants man to live in freedom and be a slave of Allah alone.
One ought to stand up and fight deviation
In his first speech, Imam al-Hussein (a.s.) explained to the believers the reasons that led him to revolt. He emphasized that this is what Islam expects the believers to do when they see that the rulers are no longer following the line of justice.
Quoting the Messenger (p.), the Imam (a.s.) said: "O people: The Messenger of Allah has said: 'Whoever sees an oppressive ruler who permits what Allah has forbidden, reneging on his oath, violating the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, treating the servants of Allah oppressively, and does not try to stop him by deed or by word, it will be incumbent upon Allah to treat him as He treats the first.' These people have rubbed shoulders with Satan and abandoned their obedience to the Most Merciful One. They have manifested corruption, transgressed the limits, felt comfortable with their ease, permitting what Allah has forbidden, and forbidding what Allah has permitted. I am the best to effect a change."
Thus, from the beginning, the Imam made it clear that his “revolt” is legitimate, since it is a continuation of the Messenger’s and the Islamic call for standing against injustice.
The Objective of Hussein’s Movement
Thus, Hussein’s movement is a movement that has to do with the political, social, and legal aspects of Islam. It is unjust to reduce it to a movement that calls for weeping instead of a movement of change. Certainly emotions are important, and we do not want the commemoration of the events of Karbala to do away with emotions. But what is really fundamental is to follow the Imam’s (a.s.) example in revolting in any time or place when injustice gains the upper hand, to support the right, justice, and freedom of man.
In this context, we understand what the Imam ended his speech with, when he said he did not revolt seeking power or corruption but: "To demand reform in the community of my grandfather. I want to enjoin the good and forbid the evil and to travel on the path established by my grandfather and my father Ali bin Abi Talib. Those who accept me accept the truth and Allah is most deserving of the truth. As for those who reject me, I will wait until Allah judges with truth between me and the community, for He is the best of Judges." Imam al-Hussein (a.s.) wanted to arouse the people’s awareness and re-establish the rule of Islam, and he was prepared to die to achieve this.
Therefore, we have to be reborn in the commemoration of the Imam (a.s.)… We ought to renew our commitment to revolutionary change, to uphold justice, just as the birth of the Imam in the environment of piety and dedication represented by Fatima and Ali, under the leadership of Muhammad indicated that he was destined to fight injustice and tyranny.
This is what the Messenger (p.) meant when he said: "Hussein is part of me and I am a part of Hussein." They both had the same message and the same goal: upholding justice.
Al-Abbas: An Enlightened Mind and a Firm Belief
As for al-Abbas (a.s.), we remember on his birthday what Imam al-Sadiq said about him. He had an enlightened mind that could analyze any development and put it in perspective in order to take the right stand. He also was a man of "firm belief" who did not care about his own life when it came to standing with Right. And this is what he demonstrated when he refused the offer to spare his life made by Shimr bin Dhi al-Jawshan in Karbala when the life of Imam al-Hussein was threatened. His belief was stronger than his desire to live. He was ready to die for his principles, and this is what he did when he fought for the cause of Allah in Karbala and was martyred fighting to protect "his religion" and not merely "his brother"... The issue in this case was not that of blood relationship as great as it was, but one of a common cause and a great message.
Imam al-Sajjad: Supplication as a Guide in Life
In Imam Zain al-Abideen, we meet this great Imam (a.s.) who enriched the Islamic life in all his intellectual and moral heritage, especially by this new method of supplication which incorporates all the moral, spiritual, and social principles of Islam.
In one of his supplications we are provided with a guide of how to make all our day, from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed, an Islamic day in that we spend it in what pleases Allah, enjoins good, and denounces evil: "O Allah, give us success in this day of ours, this night of ours, and in all our days, to employ the good, stay away from the evil, give thanks for favors, follow the Sunnah's norms, avoid innovations, enjoin good behavior, forbid the disapproved, defend Islam, diminish falsehood and abase it, help the truth and exalt it, guide the misguided, assist the weak, and reach out to the troubled!"
Those are the Members of the House, those who carried the Message of Islam and were ready to sacrifice everything they had to ensure its victory. If we want to be of their followers we have to follow their example at all levels. They preserved Islamic unity and did not authorize any internal strife; we too, at a time we are attacked by arrogance and unbelief in their ensured alliance, have to follow their example and adhere to the right path that preserves the unity of Muslims.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
An American Admission of Their Bad Image
How does America’s image in the Arab and Muslim world look?
A report by a Congress advisory committee that was sponsored by the state department confirms the negative reputation of America in the Arab and Muslim world where the hatred of America has reached extraordinary levels that left the Americans, according to the report, vulnerable to lethal threats to their interests and security.
We welcome this admission but we do not agree with the Committee’s recommendation of increasing the funds allocated to public diplomacy. The problem lies in the American stance of full support to Israel in all its plans. The US even encourages, if secretly, Israel to carry on with its strategic plan of continuing the closures, assassinating Palestinian leadership, killing civilians, and destroying the Palestinian infrastructure… In public, it might criticize certain Israeli practices, and shyly advise them to lessen the Palestinian suffering, but without talking about ending the occupation.
Confiscating the European Position
Moreover, the American Administration was able to confiscate the European position which drew nearer to the American stance in considering collective punishment of innocent civilians as self-defense and in considering the Palestinian national struggle for liberation as a form of terrorism, although the Europeans practice a kind of political hypocrisy by continuing to talk with the Palestinian Authority in a way that does not provide any solution.
Thus, we could confirm that the American Administration, the European Union, along with the Russian Federation and the United Nations support the Israeli occupation when the going gets tough, with some meaningless words to the Palestinians... We ask the Quartet committee: What is the meaning of the Israeli Road Map with all the reservations that the Americans endorsed and that the Quartet Committee did not object to? What is the meaning of this American gradual approach of decreasing its opposition to the separating wall: First it was considered a problem, then it was accepted with reservations, then the reservations were lifted.
We do not want to talk from the viewpoint of someone who is infuriated by this international political hypocrisy, but from the standpoint of the downtrodden who are affected by arrogant plans. We, as Arabs and Muslims, wish to be friends of the entire world. We do not have any complex towards the Western nations or any other nation for that matter… But our problem with some of the Western administrations is the same problem those who are governed by these administrations suffer from… We call for a dialogue between the West and the East, and between Islam and other religions… for dialogue draws nations closer and creates mutual understanding.
This is why we told the Quartet Committee that your support of Israel will not be able to reach a solution to the Arab-Israeli struggle. It is the dialogue which ought to be conducted with all parties that will find this solution. And this is what they did not do with regard to the Palestinian problem.
The American Administration: An Addiction to Deception
On another level, the American Secretary of State talks to the Arabs about the "amazing progress" the American Administration has accomplished in Iraq and asks them to help him "in building a new prosperous, peaceful, and free Middle East"… But what about the American political and economic interests that see only the interests of their capital and vast companies? Would the American Administration accept that a democratic and free Middle East practice its right in opposing the American policies that care only about their own interests? Would it accept any decisions taken democratically by the nations of the Middle East even if they run counter to the perceived American interests? What about the Palestinian people’s stand with their political and militant leadership?
This administration and the previous ones have become addicted to lying, deceiving, and pressurizing the nations in the name of false pretenses, the last of which was "combating terror" and possessing weapons of mass destruction which it accuses Syria and Iran of, while it keeps silent when it comes to Israel and forgets about the most brutal massacres of Sharon and the like, especially those of Sabra and Shatila, Qana, and the daily on-going massacres in Palestine.
The American Policies Produce Hostility
The problem is that the American policies, which reflect the interests of the companies its members are a part of, will produce in every stage a new hostile feeling towards the Americans that will be transmitted from one generation to the other, with "terrorism" prospering since its root causes are not addressed.
We love peace based on justice, but the international arrogance wants war in the name of peace and dictatorship in the name of democracy.
…The struggle between freedom and colonialism, between the nations and arrogance will go on… In addition to Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq, more and more wounds will be added and more resistances will be initiated.
Reform in Lebanon:
In Lebanon, reform will continue to mark time as a result of personal and sectarian feuds. We do not need a new law or to amend the constitution. We need to apply the existing laws and do away with the corrupt and those who constitute obstacles…
The people are demanding that they want to live as citizens and not as members of a sect while the region is shaking as a result of the international tempests, and the state is shaking due to its clientelist and corrupt policies. Could Lebanon ever turn into the state of human beings and not a farm for the thieves? O Allah; save us and guide us to see the good and adhere to it. You are the Most Merciful.