Grand Ayatollah H.E. Sayyed M. H. Fadlullah delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque, 30 May 2003, Rabi’ I 29 1424 h, (Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu'a prayer)..
The First Sermon
Commitment to Ahl El-Beit
The birth anniversary of Imam Jaafar As-Sadiq (a.s.), one of the members of Ahl El-Beit whom Allah has purified, is an occasion to review their heritage and vow to be committed to their teachings. As for As-Sadiq (a.s.), he used to quote the Messenger of Allah whenever he sat and talked to the believers. He wanted to introduce Islam to the believers through the Messenger (p.). Even when he was not quoting Muhammad (p.), he used to assert that his own talk is the rhetoric of the Prophet, thus stressing the fact that the Imams do not have their own views, and that they inspire the sayings and actions of the Prophet (p.) in all what they say or do.
This is what the Members of the House advocate. They want the Muslims to be attached to the Messenger (p.) and follow his teachings. They should not be absorbed in any other personality. For he, Muhammad (p.), is the origin, the source, the Messenger and the Imam, while the Imams are his students and successors Thus, we have to mention the Messenger (p.) whether in the sermons we deliver, when we try to reach an edict or in any religious act we do, so that he will remain the mind that guides us to the truth, the heart that teaches us love, the tongue that we learn honesty from and the actions that guide us to the straight path.
Documenting the narrations
To set our feet on this path, the Messenger (p.) should not remain a birthday celebration in which people read the celebration texts, while eating sweets and drinking refreshments. These texts do not contain anything about the Messenger (p.), his manners and his virtues. The texts recited on these occasions might even contain unverified facts, as when they might recall the Hussaini tragedy, which would be recited by readers who are almost illiterate and who would distort the image of Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.).
Thus, most of the Ashura celebrations - but surely not of all them - have been underscoring our backwardness and filling our minds with myths. It ought to be understood that if anyone wants to talk about the Messenger (p.), he must have a broad Islamic background, and he should also study the relevant history. Similarly, when we want to talk about Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.), we have to make sure that everything we say is verified and documented and make sure that the narrations are true. For example, the author of Al-Bihar says that he merely collected all available information, and consequently he cannot say that all the content of the book is true.
The problem is that those who preach and are supposed to guide the people do not have broad Islamic knowledge; a fact that make us prefer the reciters with the beautiful voices, to the extent that I used to ask some of them: Why do you report this story while you know that it is not correct? They would answer: What can I do… people want to cry, and the only way to do this is by telling them lies. Songs and poetry too have begun to play similar roles, even if they have nothing to do with the Imam's tragedy. People have even begun to use certain known melodies and change the lyrics, then they would claim that these songs are lawful.
The original culture
We are in the age of culture, whereby the world has opened up to the Islamic culture and to Shiism. In this atmosphere, it is regrettable that a lot of scandals, myths and exaggerations are being broadcasted on T.V. channels and online. The others are saying let us look at what the Shiites say; in the situation we have outlined, how could our thought be respected? This is why the issue of preaching and guidance should not be left for illiterates. It is not an emotional matter, but one that is closely linked with the Islamic culture and that of the Members of the House.
That is why the Imams used to stress the need to go back to the original sources of Islam and keep on mentioning Allah in all their talks and in every situation they encountered. The Prophet (p.) focuses in these sayings on the impact of the tongue on man in both worlds, for it might incite civil wars, especially if the one who is talking has won the ears of the people. It might also incite sectarian strife, between the Shiites and the Sunnis for example, under the pretense of presenting the truth. But we ought to differentiate between this method of irritation, misrepresentation and accusations that excites instincts and aggravates hatred, on the one hand, and the method of seeking the truth through wisdom and open dialogue on the other.
The same thing applies to the bigger political disputes that the Islamic intelligence agencies are usually behind. They would claim lying is lawful due to secondary considerations. But lying, as we know, would lead man to view things not as they really are. Lies and rumors have been known to ruin families’ lives, as a result of the spread of such rumors and lies. That is why the Prophet (p.) used to emphasize the importance of the tongue.
He said, as Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) reports, when a man came to him and asked for advice: “Preserve your tongue”. The man insisted on further advice and the Prophet kept repeating the same expression. And then he said: “Do you not know that what sends people to Hell is the harvest of their tongues?” In another saying, the Prophet (p.) said: “He who does not consider what he said as a part of his actions, his sins would increase and his punishment would be expected”. In another very significant saying, the Messenger (p.) reveals that Allah, the Most Exalted, would punish the tongue with the most severe punishment compared to the other body organs, because a word might have come out of this tongue, and the result of which may well be the killing of innocent people, by inciting strife or by the lies spies transfer to the arrogant - or the looting of unlawful money… The Prophet went on to say, as the Imam (a.s.) reports: “Hold your tongue. It is how you are charitable to yourself, and no one will know the truth about belief until he holds his tongue”. The last saying we are going to cite is when the Prophet (p.) told one of the believers that he could ensure his place in heaven, if after he believes in God, His messengers, the Day of Judgment… he engages in social work, either by supporting the wrong, guiding the ignorant or holding one’s tongue: “Do you not want to learn what will make you enter heaven.. Then give from what Allah has given you. [If you can't], then support the wronged, [and if you can't], then guide those who are need for guidance. [And if you can't] then keep silent except for the good”.
These are the spiritual and moral values of the Messenger (p.) and the Imams that elevate the spirituality of man, ensure stability in the community, bring people nearer to one another and lead everyone to the straight path.
The Second Sermon
The regimes in the Islamic world are part of the problem
The foreign ministers of the Islamic states held their conference in Iran, to discuss the issue of Iraq, The Arab-Israeli struggle and terrorism, at a time America is initiating threats against Iran as well as several others countries or Islamic movements engaged in the resistance against occupation in an effort to destabilize and perplex the Muslim world. It is throwing false accusations here and there, following its biggest lie about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which it did not find traces of despite all the effort of its intelligence agencies.
Nevertheless, all these threats are made at a time the political and security circumstances do not allow any military action. Consequently they are but a kind of preventive pressure to warn against the intervention in Iraq.
In this respect, we ask about the political, economic or military mechanisms these their summits and not turn them to mere ink on paper, like the previous ones. Moreover, most of these countries are under the hegemony of America, which have made them, by means of various kinds of pressures; feel powerless and frustrated and thus unable to play any of their cards. They have turned to be one of our problems instead of being part of the solution. Such a conference will only intensify the peoples' frustration, and could well lead to further complications with the ruling regimes.
Arab regimes cannot say “no”
In Sharm el-Sheikh an Arab summit will be held headed by the American president, George Bush, to discuss the "Road Map" and the war on "terrorism" to exert pressure on the participants especially the Palestinians to adopt the entire American plan with its understanding of the Israeli reservations that empty the "Road Map" of its content and turn the Palestinian state into a municipal self-rule that does not have any authority over its resources or its policies.
The American President will ask the participants to offer Israel additional concessions and withdraw the Arab initiative that Israel did not accept and consequently not to demand any Israeli concessions... He will also ask them to exert pressure on the Palestinian Authority to stop the Intifada, and to let Israel supervise the implantation without asking it to stop its aggressions on the Palestinian people under the pretense of protecting the Israeli security.
The Arabs have grown accustomed to the American withdrawal of all its political and security policies if they are not accepted by Israel, while putting the blame on the Palestinians. The problem is that those people cannot say "no" to America and its president. They are addicted on accepting whatever America imposes in this region.
The Palestinian- Israeli-American summit
The Palestinian Israeli-American summit in Jordon will not be better than the Arab summit, for what America wants in this stage is that the Palestinians should help Sharon to gain the approval of his government that does not accept the Road Map, by forgoing many of their demands whether regarding Jerusalem, the return of the refuges or the dismantling of the settlements.
The summit between Sharon and Abbas will not also be better than the last one… although Sharon might offer certain trivial and worthless concessions that do not include the assassinations, and the detentions. All this has made some observers wonder if a there is a mutual plan to enable the Zionists eliminate the Intifada militants so that no one will object on any Palestinian concession in the future.
America’s failure in Iraq
In Iraq, America and the coalition have failed to make good on any of their economic, political and security promises whether to the Iraqis or to the world which lead to a great deal of instability whether in security or in public services, and consequently certain acts of sporadic resistance have started, in addition to angry demonstrations that call for the end of occupation and to leave the Iraqi people to decide their own destiny, being both qualified and capable of running their own affairs.
Lebanon has to rid itself of all kinds of waste.
Lebanon suffers nowadays of various political, economic and environmental problems, especially the problem of wastes in Saida and in the neighborhood of the Amrousiah waste factory, due to the illnesses caused by the gases it emits.
We call on the officials to solve this problem quickly to protect public health. Moreover, in addition to the waste dumps, the country needs additional ones where all the trivial political disputes that pollute the national climate could be disposed of.