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 Jumada al-Thaniya 5, 1425 AH/ July 23, 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
If we do not want to lose in the Hereafter,
Let us Hold Ourselves Accountable
The Losers
Stressing the theme of not losing oneself in the Hereafter Allah has warned in several Ayahs in the Holy Quran that we should not deprive ourselves from His Mercy and become losers: "Say, 'To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth?' Say, 'To Allah.' He has decreed upon Himself mercy. He will surely assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Those who will lose themselves [that Day] do not believe." Surah Al-An'am (06:12), for they kept themselves far away from Allah and did not try to draw nearer to Him through good deeds.
Allah, the Most Exalted, is the creator and possessor of the entire universe, has promised to be merciful. Yet there are those who have closed the door that leads to His Mercy and chose to sever any links with Allah… Those are the losers.
In another Ayah, He says: "But as for one whose scales are light, it is they who will have lost their souls for what injustice they were doing toward Our verses." Surah Al-A'raf (07:09)
They have lost themselves; they did not immunize themselves by good deeds which would make the balance tilt in their favor. They used to mock Allah's commands and did not abide by His rulings.
Similarly, Allah, the Most Exalted, teaches the Messenger (p.) to tell those who deviated and served others beside Allah, that they are the losers: "So worship what you will besides Him." Say, "Indeed, the losers are the ones who will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection. Unquestionably, that is the manifest loss." Surah Az-Zumar (39:15)
Although they might feel powerful and even boastful with what they possess in this life, they are the real losers on the Day of Judgment. They had not prepared themselves for this day and they did not pay attention to Allah's warning: "O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded." Surah At-Tahrim (66:06)
Holding yourself accountable
Imam Ali (a.s.) considers that if you want to win you should hold yourself accountable. You should sit with yourself on a daily basis and review all your activities: “Were the words you said good or evil? Was the food or drink you had lawful or unlawful? Did you take what does not belong to you in falsehood? Were you unjust to others… etc”
If you don't you will lose
If you do not, you will end up as if you did not notice that a certain sickness has crept to your body or psyche until it took hold of you, and you no longer can do anything about it.
In his letters to Muawiah that aimed at advising him so as not to have to go to war against his rebellion, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: "The World has attracted you. It spread its net, and you have been trapped therein. The world called you, and you welcomed its call. You have forgotten that you will be summoned to a place where no shield would protect you. Thus, you should desist from the course you have adopted. Prepare your account and take steps to protect you from the disaster that is going to overwhelm you".
He also explained in several sayings that if you do not benefit of the days of your life before your time comes, you will lose, and your death will harm you.
Islam and belief
In another Ayah, Allah says: "And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers." Surah Al 'Imran (03:85) meaning that you should dedicate your mind, heart and life to Allah and not do anything in any field unless you are sure that it pleases Allah.
This is evident from the Ayah that says: "Say, 'Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.'" Surah Al-An'am (06:162). This is the line of Islam that all Prophets from Ibrahim to Muhammad preached. But the Islam of Muhammad (p.) believes in all the Prophets and contains all of the Messages.
Thus, Islam states the truth in all religions. You notice that the Muslim would not, out of profound belief and not merely out of courtesy, offend any prophet, because they are sacred to him. This is the advantage of Islam. It recognizes all previous Holy Books and prophets while others do not recognize the Quran or the Prophecy of Muhammad (p.). And that is why several scholars including me consider it lawful for a Muslim man to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, even if she does not convert to Islam. The Muslim cannot offend her beliefs. But a non-Muslim male would offend the beliefs of a Muslim woman, making her marriage to a non-Muslim unlawful.
The greatest Misery
The Messenger (p.) says that the loser is the one who ignores the necessity of having to secure his future in the Hereafter. He also says that the losers are those who spend their life seeking the pleasures of this world.
On the other hand, if things do not work out in this world and even if your life becomes full of crisis and setbacks you should be strong enough to bear such situations. Imam Ali (a.s.) asked about who would be hit with the greatest misery, said: “It is the man who is only interest is this world, for he will miss it and lose the Hereafter. It is also the man who fasts and prays seeking to please others. He would be deprived of the worldly pleasures and would not earn the rewards of the Hereafter.”
Belonging to this Imam may require great sacrifice, but ultimately it will yield even greater rewards. This Imam has called on people - who entertain certain hopes they will not fulfill, or build homes that they will not live in, or earn wealth through unlawful means (a sin they will surely be punished for, losing both this world and the Hereafter, he greatest loss) - to do nothing unless what pleases Allah, the Most Exalted, and draws them nearer to Him.
Allah wants us to find a way to gain both worlds. By ensuring that what we do in this world pleases Him, we will be happy and, in this world, and ensure His Mercy in the Hereafter where nothing is of any good except our good deeds.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Palestine is still in the same whirlpool created by the Israeli occupier and the internal power struggle, imitated by the project of withdrawal from Gaza. In addition, one should not forget the regional factors demonstrated by the Egyptian and Jordanian roles which are meant to eliminate the Palestinian entity. It is an Israeli project with America hiding behind it, that is raised in the media or by the certain comments like the ones made by the representative of the UN Secretary General who talked about the spread of anarchy that would lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.
Such an international plot supported by internal elements that are engaging in a struggle for power gives the enemy a chance to create a new political climate that would undermine the effects of the historical ruling of the International Court of Justice with all its relevant issues that have to do with occupation and expanding settlements.
Lebanon: Israel's Agents must not remain at large
Israel has once again penetrated the internal Lebanese front, through the security operation by which it assassinated one of the Mujahideen who was engaged in the support of the Palestinian Intifada, thus emphasizing the militant unity between the two resistances in Palestine and Lebanon.
This operation was executed by enemy agents who betrayed their country in the past and are betraying it now, gaining the despise of their Lebanese and even the Zionists… It might well be that they are protected by some bigger agents who support Israel by standing against any relations between Lebanon and its Arab neighborhood, as well as their association with the American strategy that makes them ally with the enemy.
In the face of this Zionist aggressions, we call on all Lebanese to monitor all these minor agents for they constitute a threat for the entire country… Each citizen should guard the country's security and watch for any suspicious move by any agent. Moreover, we would like to emphasize the importance of the swift resistance retaliation, which made the enemy understand that any attempt to further escalate will cost it a lot. Its tourist settlements will be targeted if it tries to undermine tourism in Lebanon. And we are sure that it understands this balance of terror pretty well.
We want to emphasize to the Arab word that Lebanon is the only country that is implementing the Arab league resolution of joint defense, but our problem is that Israel is flexing its muscles against the Arab and Muslim world, benefiting from the American multiple faced support, while the Arab and Muslim regimes are totally helpless. What makes things worse is the role the enemy’s agents are playing in our heartland by assassinating the Mujahideen in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. Thus our peoples have to uphold their responsibility in discovering and arresting them, for they play a major part in helping the enemy and carrying out massacres against civilians and militants alike.
One another levels the UN General Assembly resolution to endorse the ruling of the International Court of Justice regarding the illegitimacy of the racial wall and the Zionist occupation in general is a natural consequence of abiding by international law.
The fact that the resolution is not binding does not mean it is less significant in exposing Israel political isolation as a result of defying the international community, especially that the European Community has voted in favor of the resolution.
If the American delegation is talking about the negative effect of this resolution on the peaceful solution in Palestine, we notice that America itself has encouraged Israel to undermine this solution when it supported all Israeli aggressions in the name of self-defense, while considering the Palestinian fighting for freedom and independence as terrorism.
Iraq: A need for profound study to build the future.
Iraq is still in the bloody whirlpool of car bombs, assassinations, inhumane abductions and American raids on civilian targets without any solution in the horizon. We feel sorry for what the Iraqis are suffering from, which constitutes in a one way or another an extension to the previous stage. We call upon all the faithful Islamic and national parties to study the best ways of enabling the Iraqis to determine their own fate and achieve their independence and national unity.
Where are the honest politicians
As Lebanon continues to face several internal and internals threats, and as politicians continue to talk about the economic problems and the political corruption the country faces, we ask: “What are the dynamics that enable us to solve the problems? How could we get rid of the monster of the huge debt? Why do politicians continue to accuse one another? Why do we talk about national reconciliation without providing any detailed plans? Who are those that if elected to high posts would achieve their reconciliation? Who are the agents of this power or that regional power?”
We are hearing a lot of lectured about honesty and unrighteousness, but where are those honest people? We do not want to accuse others, but we say as Allah said in the Glorious Quran: "O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do." Surah As-Saff (61: 02-03).