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' Althani 2, 1425 AH/ May 21, 2004, 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 Heart of Belief
Belief means seeking Allah's satisfaction.
Allah says in His Glorious Book: "The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely." Surat al-Anfal (8:2). As believers in Allah, His Messenger (p.), and His Message, we have to be of those whom there is nothing in their hearts, minds, and lives but Allah. Believing means that all your being should be founded on the basis that Allah is in charge and control of everything. He has created all beings, and He has given them all what they have, irrespective of poor, weak, or powerful. No matter how influential you are, you cannot harm or benefit yourself.
Therefore, all your thoughts, feelings, and actions should seek to please Allah. You should abstain from any action unless you are sure that it conforms with Allah's commands.
Traditions have it that one should not take any step, whether backward or forward, if it does not please Allah.
The most prominent example is that of the Messenger, when the people of Al-Taif threw stones at him and drove him out of the city. His only reaction was to talk to Allah and say: "If You are not angry with me then I have nothing to worry about." We ought to educate ourselves on seeking Allah's pleasure and doing only what we are sure pleases Him. For we are going to leave all people, whether those who love us or those who hate us, and those whom we love or those whom we hate, and enter into our graves all alone, and then we will be asked about what we did all alone.
Let us see how we can educate ourselves on these themes by learning what the Messenger (p.) and his progeny have told us. The Messenger says that there are three traits which make the believer a true one: “The first trait is that if you love someone, this love will not lead you to commit any sin or falsehood…
If you love someone you would not overpraise him, for by doing so you would be lying. Secondly, if you are angry, your anger will not lead you to lie… You will still give him what is due to him and you will still act towards him justly and do not ascribe to him what is not in him. The Holy Quran concentrates on this theme when It says:
"O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do." Surat al-Ma'idah (5:8). But our problem in this community is that some are ready to lie for the sake of those whom they love, and they are not prepared to acknowledge what is good in those whom they hate even if they were historical figures. Thirdly, if you are in a position that you feel free to do what you feel like, you should not abuse your power by doing what is not right. Allah, the most Exalted, has told us about some of these people when He said:
"And of the people is he whose speech pleases you in worldly life, and he calls Allah to witness as to what is in his heart, yet he is the fiercest of opponents. And when he goes away, he strives throughout the land to cause corruption therein and destroy crops and animals. And Allah does not like corruption." Surat al-Baqarah (2:204-205).
The Believers’ Traits
The Messenger (p.) also says that there are three traits which would make the believers’ faith complete.
The first is not to be afraid to tell the truth (being with Allah) for any blame. This is especially true in the religious, political, and social domains when people, including those in charge, do not say the truth because the people do not accept it.
Many of those have even chosen not to confront bad habits, myths, and backward attitudes because they are afraid of the people. If you hold a position of authority, whether religious, social, or political, you have to guide the people even if it means that they will criticize you. Secondly, he would not be hypocritical when it comes to his actions. He seeks only to earn Allah's satisfaction and not that of the people. And lastly, if he has to choose between two things, one for this world another for the Hereafter, he will choose the second.
What Being a Muslim Means
Imam Zein Al-Abideen (a.s.) considers that being a good Muslim is embodied in four:
“The first is to keep your promise to Allah by keeping your promises and fulfilling your duties towards people, since any commitment to any person is a commitment before Allah. The second is to be truthful. The third is to be shameful of anything that is considered bad by Allah, the most Exalted, and by the people. And the fourth is to be good in your relations with your family, wife, children, and parents.”
What Belief Truly Is…
Belief is not only an issue of faith, but it also has to do with how the believer runs his life. A believer is not a naive man who could be fooled; he is, according to Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.), a man who is well informed about what is prohibited and what is allowed. He is also one who knows how to earn his living and how to be tolerant and patient in times of grief…
Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) also says that “the believer is he who provides good assistance, who knows how to earn his living and who does not fall in the same trap twice.”
We live with the Messenger and Ahl-el-Beit to learn how to elevate our belief to open up on Allah and on people, to build life on the basis of belief in its entire field... The believer is the man who does not live for himself but for Allah and for the people in what pleases Allah.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
America's support for Israel
The American beast is tearing Rafah, its women, its children, its elderly and all its civilians. It is demolishing its houses and bulldozing its fields in brutal massacres that have even embarrassed the United States that had to abstain and not veto the Security Council resolution that condemns Israel, but it succeeded in adding a paragraph that condemns the Palestinian terrorists meaning the freedom fighters, for America stands with the occupiers, and it has enabled Israel to ignore all UN resolutions.
The American President has stood before the Jewish-American conference to express his support to Israel and announce that the American nation has become stronger and more secure because Israel is a strong ally that can be relied upon. This means that there is an organic association between the two to the extent that their strategies have become one and the same. Everything that Israel does in Palestine serves American political security, and everything America does in Iraq serves Israeli interests... In short, they plan together and work together.
Failing Arab summits
The Israeli is now located on the borders of Iran, the Gulf countries and Syria, and the Mosad and CIA could now work together in all acts of subversion to allow America to put its hand on the Iraqi resources. They could also exert political and military pressure on the Arab Summit postponing it, dictating I, thus making the entire Arab world a game of chess that aims at implementing the Great Middle East project.
American violations
On the other side of the picture, the American beast commits a massacre in the village of Qaim in Iraq, killing 45 civilians attending a wedding on the basis of false intelligence information similar to the ones that were the basis of the war on Iraq, as acknowledged by the American Security of State.
In this respect, the question is who would hold the responsibility of the humanistic economic crime that the CIA committed in its wars? America does not permit the world to try its soldiers for war crimes, for it believes that both it and Israel are above the law. They are the ones that try others and that could be tried by no one.
Moreover, America has violated the sacredness of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala and committed massacres against the civilians in these two cities. It also tried to incite strife between the members of the same sect, trying to make them preoccupied with their local priorities and forget about the crime of occupying Iraq, and even reach the level of equating between those who are fighting and the occupying force.
Resisting occupation
We, and on the basis of our religious responsibility, call upon the Muslim World, especially the Iraqi people and the religious authorities, to stand firmly against all of the occupation, especially that of the two Holy cities, so that the occupation would understand that such a rude insult can not be accepted. We re-emphasize our call to forget all local differences to be able to unite against the bigger bleeding wound of occupation.
Lebanon: A complex situation
In Lebanon, people are still suffering from many complications including the tragic comedy of the row between various political authorities and the partisan struggle, with each party counting the number of votes it got.
Such a flex of the muscles that refuels sectarianism and tribalism, as well as shuffling of the cards in which all principles are blurred is something that blurs all principles. It is a situation where belief could meet with unbelief, freedom with collaboration with the enemy's and treason with patriotism...
We say to all Lebanese: Allah was given you a beautiful country, do not make it ugly. He has given you a promising people, do not fail it…
Be with the truthful and not the liars… with the faithful and not those who betray. Be with the programs and not with the persons, with the country and not with small locations … Hold your responsibility before God, history and your own people… It is a responsibility before God and not a game you play.
Allah will surely ask you about how you cast your vote because it created tangible results. Be prepared to be accounted for your actions on the Day of Judgment… the day it will be too late.