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 06, 1424 AH / June 06, 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
Produce Love, Not Hatred
Allah says in His Glorious Book: "And indeed, you are of a great moral character." Surat al-Qalam (68:4).
"So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]." Surat Aal 'Imran (3:159).
"There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful." Surat at-Tawbah (9:128).
Why does the Quran present Muhammad as being essentially a man of sublime morals to the extent that the whole message is a movement of morals, and the Prophet (p.) has considered that Islam is essentially the religion of moral virtue?
The objective of the Islamic message, as well as all the other messages Allah sent His messengers with, is to respect the human being in you and in the other. Thus, you would respect the other even when you disagree with him, as you want him to respect you. Morals in this context are the human values that bond between you and the other and allow you to open up his heart and mind; when you respect the other, he will open up to you, because he will feel that you are present in him as he is present in you.
The Basis of Family Relations
That is why the prophets, the Imams, and the most pious were exemplary in their morals, and this was manifested in their relations with their household members. The Prophet (p.) said, "The best of you is the one who is best to his family… and I am the best of you to my family." The Prophet (p.) used to feel the responsibility of not hurting the feelings of his wives and family. He used to consider that the relationship with one's wife and children is not a relation between an owner and what he owns. It is a contractual relation based, as Allah, the Most Exalted, stated, on love, mercy, and kind treatment. The relation with one's children is also a humanistic one, where the father has been held responsible for upbringing and protecting his children. For Allah has not empowered you to practice over them the authority of the strong towards the weak... He only made you responsible for them, so that you could care for them and allow them to grow in a natural way that will enable them to become active citizens in the community.
Islam thus wanted to underscore this moral concept, and that is what we notice in Allah's saying: "And live with them in kindness. For if you dislike them - perhaps you dislike a thing and Allah makes therein much good." Surat an-Nisa' (4:19).
Because you might be influenced by your personal mood which will prevent you from discovering the good qualities of the other. You might not like someone because of certain differences in character and preferences, yet he might be of the best in doing good, and vice-versa. Therefore, moral value is one thing and personal chemistry is quite another.
Your life could not be controlled by your mood; it should rather reflect the humanistic morals inside you.
Reciprocal Rights
This is a principle that we should adhere to not only in our personal life but also as members of the community; you should not be asking society to give you your rights while you do not feel that society has its rights too, for rights and duties are reciprocal.
When we study the rhetoric of Muhammad (p.) and Ali (a.s.), we will find that it was based on the following equation: "I have rights on you and you have rights on me." Even Allah, the Most Exalted, whom no one can claim that he has a certain right on, has wanted us to obey and worship Him and promised in return that He would take care of us in this life and have mercy on us in the Hereafter...
Thus, any man who feels that he is everything and all others are nothing is a man that has imprisoned himself. For the more human nature you are, the more you uphold your responsibilities and the more you become modest and try to live with others as one of them and do your best to serve them.
That is how you become a leader and a holder of a message. The Prophet (p), the master of all mankind, used to live with the people as one of them to the extent that if a stranger dropped by he could not tell which one in the group is the prophet. It has been reported that when a woman saw the Prophet (p.) she trembled, but Muhammad (p.) told her to take it easy, and added, "I am the son of a woman who is the same as you…"
These sublime morals are what make us humanistic. We have begun to lose this humanistic feeling, having grown immersed in seeking our own interests and considering them as the only basis of our social relations. Everything including the mind, the feeling, and the heart has become materialized, and money is the one that talks.
Rethinking Social Values
Therefore, we have to review our social values, especially that we have begun to teach our children the values of material interests. There is no place in our society now for love, but only pure calculation. We are producing hatred and boycotting. Even political parties have begun to tell their adherents: Do not pray in that mosque or talk about a certain individual… We have become a society that teaches hatred to the coming generations, claiming that it is sacred. I cannot understand how hatred could be sacred.
Our society is full of problems and internal complications, which the arrogant benefits from. They study in their universities our traditions, our internal relations, our sectarian and political differences, and present them to the intelligence agencies to make use of them in widening these differences, which have grown so deep that they are attacking our freedom, stability, and ability of confronting arrogance.
In Lebanon, we have lived this sectarian and political hatred, until everybody was thinking of killing everyone else. During the civil war, I remember how certain kids came to ask me for an edict to kill someone or explode a shop. Where did this culture that penetrated all sectors of the community come from?
It came from those who are planting hatred in the minds of people. Both Shiite and Sunni extremists say in bitter irony: "The other party has a different god than ours, as well as a different prophet." Some even say that the others are not believers, but they do not talk about what we agree on. If Allah, the Most Exalted, has asked us to maintain dialogue and conciliation with the Jews and Christians: "Say, 'O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah.' But if they turn away, then say, 'Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him].'" Surat Al 'Imran (3:64), should we not do that with our coreligionist who is much closer?
Training on Producing Love
We have to learn from the Quran, the Prophet (p.), and the Members of the Household—whom we differ with the Sunnis about—how we become the champions of Islamic unity. Ali (a.s.) helped the other caliphs who preceded him although he had the right to be in their place, and he used to say that he would not fight for any personal cause as long as the affairs of Muslims were not endangered.
Dear beloved:
You are being trained to learn various professions as well as how to use arms; let us also train on love, tolerance, and dialogue, and turn our society into a piece of heaven on earth. Paradise is beautiful, but attaining it needs a lot of effort. Nevertheless, it is worth it. Our role model is the Messenger: "There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often." Surat al-Ahzab (33:21), whose morals were the Quran. Let us follow him and his household by adopting their morals in our personal and social life.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Worshippers of Allah: be pious and fear Allah…
We are living in a very critical stage in which the entire Arab and Muslim status should be redrawn to fit the arrogant interests.
We simply cannot be indifferent or neutral, but we cannot rely on emotional and chaotic reactions. We have to plan our responses and devise our strategies…
Arab Subjection to American Dictates
How does America view its Arab allies: Does it consult these regimes about all the complicated regional issues, or does it simply dictate its political and security instructions that secure its interests, and all what the Arabs have to do is to sign?
Signing seems to be the issue that joined the participants in Sharm El-Sheikh, that was headed by the American president. The Arab communiqué did not comment on the American occupation of Iraq, which could suggest that they accept it.
They did not also condemn the Israeli state terror. On the contrary, they rejected the Arab right of resisting occupation in the West Bank and Gaza by condemning all "kinds of violence." Even the Intifada as a movement against occupation was considered unacceptable terror.
They did not also speak about the need to disarm Israel of its weapons of mass destruction, because it disturbs Israel and undermines the "Road Map"...
There was also no talk about the settlements or the right of return… because these are issues Sharon does not accept.
Thus, the Arab communiqué has in one way or another cancelled all the resolutions of the Beirut summit, for the Arabs who were present do not dare to object to any American dictate.
On the other hand, the Arabs, who might have reservations and demand the withdrawal of the occupation from Syria and Lebanon, have no place in this summit.
Al-Aqaba: Is Sharon Innocent?
The Palestinian prime minister’s speech in Al-Aqaba declared that both Sharon and Bush are innocent. Abu Mazen talked about the Jewish historical sufferings. He did not even mention the sufferings of the Palestinians and the surrounding Arabs who have nothing to do with the Jewish suffering. The Palestinian prime minister went on to declare the need to stop militarizing the Intifada, although the Intifada was not founded to seek a military solution, but to end occupation. In any case, what are the political cards that Abu Mazen has to pursue the political solution? Is there any basis for putting his trust in America which, according to its explicit strategy, cares only for Israel's security? It even gave Sharon and his army the green light to destroy the Palestinian infrastructure and considered it an act of self-defense.
President Bush talks about Sharon in a way a lover talks about his beloved, choosing words that do not carry a specific commitment, even when he talked about an independent Palestinian state… he did not talk about dismantling the settlements but about linking the Palestinian territories even by hanging bridges… The main purpose of the two summits was to prevent any aid for the Palestinians, whether humanitarian or otherwise.
We are afraid that this stage is the stage of international, regional, and even Palestinian pressure to reach a solution that offers a nominal state that has no land, resources, security… etc.
America has presented its occupation of Iraq as ending a potential threat against Israel, and it now seeks to rid the Iraqi army of any deterring capability... It is also offering Israel the "Road Map" that enables it to achieve its ambitions in the region.
Liberation and Independence
The Palestinians, especially the militant factions, should keep their resistance and arm themselves with steadfastness and patience… The rivers of the martyrs' blood will not have mercy on those who offer concessions to the enemy. But careful planning is needed to ensure that the cause remains alive and continues to confront the enemy while at the same time preventing any internal Palestinian fighting.
The Arab and Muslim peoples should not surrender to the feelings of frustration and despair. The nation’s voice is still relevant even in times of great pressure. It is an issue that determines the nation’s future, and we should all hold our responsibilities towards it.
Iraq for the Iraqis
The occupation in Iraq has made the country a laboratory for its experiments, as the Americans were ill-prepared for the situation they found themselves in. Meanwhile, the Iraqis continue to look for their beloved ones in the collective graves which could contain tens of thousands each.
It is an atrocity of the tyrant regime that might be unprecedented in history. But the Iraqis remember that some of these massacres are supported by the Americans, especially when they helped the tyrant in 1991 to eliminate the popular Intifada.
We share our folks in Iraq their grievances and sorrows and call on them to be patient and seek a future for Iraq that is made by its own people. And we are confident that they are capable of doing so by clinging to their unity, and by increasing their awareness and planning for the future.
Meanwhile, America continues to threaten Iran and mobilize other states to take part in the siege it has tightened on the Islamic Republic, that still holds on and did not succumb to the various pressures.
This made America wage a diplomatic war against Iran, accusing it of nuclear weapons and supporting terror, but we believe that the Iranian people will be able to remain steadfast and be victorious in the end.
Resistance Should Continue
Lebanon, where a part of the territories is still under occupation, and Syria, whose Golan Heights are totally under occupation, were not among the American president's interests, for he is interested in Israeli interests, which shows no sign of willing to withdraw from the territories of these two countries.
Thus, we feel that the Resistance should be kept alive in this stage. All efforts should be joined in confronting the Israeli-American challenges, and all internal differences should be frozen.
Furthermore, the Lebanese authorities should address the issue of economic hardship in a way that does not seek to score personal points. Dialogue should remain objective and calm. Debating that takes the form of political and sectarian rows is responsible for all the sectarian mazes that might end the current state of reconciliation.