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 14, 1424 AH / October 10, 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 Birth of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.): A Universal Call to Justice
An Extension of the Message
Allah says in His Glorious Book: "Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity, O people of the House, and to purify you with purification." Surat al-Ahzab (33:33). One of the members of this sacred family is the last Imam (a.s.), the Imam of the Age, the Imam of Life and Justice who comes to fill the earth with justice after it has been filled with wrongdoing and injustice.
On the eve of this night, the night of the 15th of the Month of Sha‘ban, the night of Prayer, supplication, and closeness to Allah, through piety and obedience that make us fulfill our absolute submission to the absolute Allah… On this night, the night of the birth of our Imam (may Allah hasten his relief), whose secrets, meaning, and Allah’s preparation have made the end of life an end to oppression, so that life will turn, for the first time, into a life of justice in which no human being wrongs another…
This is the great dream humanity has been inspired with in every generation. People, since the first feud among Adam’s sons, have never lived but in aggression that was motivated by envy, hatred of one another, and similar negative emotions which made brothers kill each other. Allah, the Most Exalted, sent several prophets to end this wrongdoing, but the enemies of Allah and life used to kill those prophets and go back on their word, "Those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it." Surat al-Baqarah (2:27), as we witness in the history of the Jews.
That is the meaning of the coming of the Mahdi in Islam, whom all Muslims, although they might differ in certain details, believe in. Ibn Khaldun says in his Introduction that there is a consensus regarding the reports concerning the prophetic traditions about the Mahdi. One of the narrations, reported by the Sunni scholars, states: "Life in the world will not end until a man from the members of my house, whose name is the same as mine, will lead…" Sunni scholars also quote the Prophet’s companion, Abu Hurayrah, as saying that he heard the Messenger of Allah warn of a time the nation will be governed by tyrants; then the Messenger added, promising that Allah will save the nation: "If there were only one day left in the life of this world, Allah will prolong this day, until a member of my house will rule… and Islam will be victorious. Allah keeps His promises…"
The Messenger also says: "I am leaving among you two weighty things: The Book of Allah and the Members of my family. If you hold fast to them, you will not be deviated, and they will never be separated until they come back to me on the Day of Judgment." The Messenger, thus, emphasizes that as long as the Book is in the hands of Muslims, there will always be a Member of the House who will be leading the nation, and this applies only to the Mahdi.
The Imamate and the Enrichment of Human Thought
How should we be inspired by the role of Imam Mahdi in our life? We are not going to talk about his age and how long or short it is, for this issue is no longer controversial since we know that Noah lived about 1000 years, and as science discovers the secrets of life, man will be able to live thousands of years… But the question that is being raised has to do with the significance of the role of an absent Imam, since we cannot benefit from his guidance or leadership…
To answer this question, we have to clarify that Allah, the Most Exalted, has assigned two roles for the Imams:
The first is the one that defends Islam and provides solutions to the events and problems the Muslim community faces in each generation, thus enriching, as the 11 Imams did, the Islamic culture in the face of those who want to marginalize it. They inspire the need to confront unbelief and injustice and set the necessary plans that address the given circumstances, challenges, and conditions.
By doing this, the Imams have left a cultural-ideological, methodological, and judicial heritage that suffices, in its details and generalities, the needs of the people…
That is why we find Imam al-Mahdi telling those who asked him, while absent, about certain issues to go back to those who "narrate our traditions," the religious scholars who carry all this heritage; who have learnt the Book of Allah in a cultural and open way, and who learnt all what the Prophet and Imams said and did, and were consequently able to enrich the human mind and life with the Islamic culture, as if the Prophet and the Imams were still living. Thus, Allah did not leave the nation in a cultural vacuum while the Imam is absent, because what the Imams have left could fill such a vacuum… It is as if the Imam is still among us, since his presence is not restricted to the physical aspect, but to the presence of the Imamate itself, which will always be present through this cultural heritage.
If you want to feel this… just think of the Messenger or of Ali (a.s.). Doesn’t everybody feel that they are still leading us and guiding us, for the cultural and spiritual life is more important as an extension of man than the physical life? That is why we feel that the Messenger, the companions, and the Imams, who were tough with the unbelievers and kind among themselves, are still living among us through all this heritage they have left us... This is one of the roles of the Imamate, which the Imams have accomplished, in all their leading cultural and spiritual roles.
The Imam’s Universal Role
This is the role that the Imam plays when Allah ends life, as we were told by the Messenger: "Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before Doomsday, Allah will expand that day to such length of time as to accommodate the kingdom of a person from my House who will be called by my name. He will fill out the earth with peace and justice, as it will have been full of injustice and tyranny (by then)."
"This life will not finish until a man from the members of my house will rule; he will lead Islam to have the upper hand and defeat all oppressing tyrants. He will fill this world with justice…" This role is different from the first, even if they are based on the same principles as that of the Messenger and the religion of Islam… The Imam will not be bringing a new religion, but rather he will come to support the religion of Islam and ensure its victory in the whole world…. Thus, he will come to ensure the victory of Islam both culturally and politically in the whole world.
The Imam’s Absence
But to perform this role, the Imam, in his absence—which remains one of the secrets that Allah did not reveal to us—needs to be prepared by Allah, the Most Exalted, whether spiritually, psychologically, or intellectually, under the direct supervision of Allah.
Allah, the Most Exalted, would thus make sure that all the aspects of the Imam’s personality would be developed and enriched to enable him to perform the role assigned to him of perfecting all the messages of all prophets. Thus, he should live these messages and he should be "brought up before Allah’s eyes."
Therefore, his absence is one of Allah’s secrets that we were not told about, but Allah’s wisdom has willed that he should be prepared for this universal role, that he will uphold justice on earth, and so that people on earth will live the morals of Heaven on this earth before they go to Heaven itself. Heaven has its laws, ethics, and climates. We should not go to Heaven while we hate one another and curse one another...
On the anniversary of the birth of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.), we have to raise our spirits to Allah and open our hearts to Allah, the Most Exalted, so that there will be no place in them for hatred and evil. Our hearts are the throne of Allah, which, as such, cannot be a place where hatred, envy, and evil dwell.
The Message of Imam al-Mahdi is the Message of universal justice. Be with all who call for justice, even if the source of the call is from adherents of other religions. For Allah, the Most Exalted, wants justice for all human beings, and justice is something that transcends all friendships and enmities.
We pray to Allah, the Most Exalted, that we will be among his supporters, companions, and those who die for his cause... to let us be with Muhammad and the Members of his House … on the road that takes us to Allah, the Most Exalted, and nothing but Allah.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Bush: Legitimizing Occupation
Has the American President lost his humane balance and sided with the extreme right in his administration that has turned into a political and security apparatus for the Israelis?
How could Bush respect his mind and his position as a head of a state that calls for freedom and human rights if he issues statements like the one in which he justified the Israeli aggression against Syria and claimed that Israel should "defend herself" and that the Americans would be doing the same thing?
Sharon, on his part, threatened that Israel "will strike its enemies in every place." He was encouraged by the American green light that suggests the Americans and Israel are waging the same war against the peoples of the region.
We want to ask Bush:
Did he investigate and find out that the martyr operations are being initiated from Syria? Or is this a new lie that is added to the series of Israeli-American lies to justify aggression? Didn’t his intelligence agencies report to him that the Zionist army did not hit a training camp but one of the homeless refugees whom Israel has forced to leave their country?
Moreover, President Bush constantly repeats that Israel has the right to defend itself, but we have never heard him talking about the same rights when it comes to the Palestinians… If he talks about the "Road Map" and claims to be the first American president to talk about a Palestinian state, which is something he demands that the Arabs and Muslims should be grateful for, he has never taken any step forward to establish it. All what he has done is to demand that terrorism, meaning the militant freedom fighters, should be stopped.
He has even gone out of his way to find justification for building the racial separating wall.
This means that all his statements serve to legitimize the Israeli occupation of the Palestinians, just as he justifies his occupation of Iraq. But he does not allow the Arabs and Muslims to talk about the difference between terrorism and resistance, since he has adopted the mentality of the emperor of the world whom the nations, especially those of the Third World, are not permitted to oppose.
Thus, President Bush’s actions will create a political state of hatred toward the American policies; a hatred that all public diplomacy cannot alleviate... We want to emphasize that we seek to be friends with the American people, whom we respect for their scientific and technological progress, and sincerely hope that it will be coupled with humanistic progress in defending the downtrodden nations in their quest for freedom… We call on the American people to stand against their administration, which is bound to isolate America from the rest of the world as a result of its arrogant policies.
A Confrontation Plan
We also call upon Arabs and Muslims, both governments and people, to rise to the level of the current challenges, for Sharon’s project, which is backed by the US administration, plans to eradicate the Palestinian people... Furthermore, the strategic American-Israeli alliance will not spare any Arab or Muslim country, for the charge is already posted: either protecting terrorism or committing aggression against Israel. In this respect, issuing statements and empty words are useless; we have to jeopardize the political and economic interests of our common enemy and devise a comprehensive plan to confront it. For the issue has to do with the future of the nation, which will affect even those who are allied with the arrogant powers, since America does not respect those who are afraid of her.
No to the Occupation in Palestine and Iraq
On another level, Iraq is still suffering from the state of anarchy under occupation... Civilians are shot by American soldiers who do not respect the humanity of the Iraqis, as their sole concern is the security of those soldiers.
The Iraqis are unified in their stand, and they continue to say in one voice: Get out of the country… For Iraqis are able to run their own affairs and they do not need American political supervision…
We Condemn Sedition Among Muslims
We have been following the painful, bloody events that occurred between the Muslims in Pakistan… The bombing of a bus carrying Shiite worshippers on their way to the Friday prayers, as well as the reaction that killed a Sunni leader, and the calls for considering the Shiites as infidels and... consequently for killing them…
We say to all Muslims in Pakistan and in the entire world: the problem of the Shiites is not the Sunnis, and the problem of the Sunnis is not the Shiites. The problem of both is the international arrogance that wants to put its hands on the Muslim wealth and independence… Accusing one another of unbelief is not Islamic behavior... For Allah has set a Quranic rule for us to follow in case we differ: to refer our differences to Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger, which means that everybody should resort to objective and rational dialogue to reach common ground.
We condemn all attempts to incite strife among Muslims as well as every act of violence, and call upon the Muslim religious scholars in Pakistan to put out this fire that will burn everything.
We also call upon them to consolidate Islamic unity and hold fast to the rope of Allah, the Most Exalted. May Allah’s curse be upon those who strive to create persecution.
Israel First
In Lebanon, which is subjected daily to Israel’s aggression without any international denouncement or condemnation… Everybody, including America, began to call for self-restraint and diffusion of tension. But all they had in mind was Israel’s interest and not Lebanon’s, because on the international level, Israel always comes first.
We call on the Lebanese, including the officials of various levels, to rise to the level of the challenges in order to protect the independence of the country and activate the institutions, which might provide some solutions, if those who wish to confiscate them for their own good do not interfere.
Two kinds of reform should be integrated to solve the economic problem in the country: the political reform and the administrative one.
Meanwhile, all parties should stop their meaningless accusations behind the scenes, and this sectarian game whose victim is but the country, for the hurricane that is heading towards the region might sink everybody in its tides.