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 Shawwal 2, 1426 AH / November 04, 2005, 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 Best Among You
In the context of describing some of His Prophets, Allah says in His Glorious Book: "And remember Our servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - those of strength and [religious] vision. Indeed, We chose them for an exclusive quality: remembrance of the home [of the Hereafter]. And indeed they are, to Us, among the chosen and outstanding. And remember Ishmael, Elisha and Dhul-Kifl, and all are among the outstanding." Surat Sad (38:45-48)
The Best People
Allah considers them the best because they lived all their life seeking good for all people, and because they sought to call to Allah and practice piety in all that raises the intellectual and practical lives. The Messenger (p.) said in one of his sayings that "the best of you is the pious who fears Allah in all his actions, the pure in heart, spirit, and dealings with all people, whether close to him or not, the generous, who gives from what Allah has given him and does not become mean when it has to do with the needs of others, the pure whose conduct does not contain any malice, hatred, or deviation, the good to his parents," as Allah, the Most Exalted, has ordered, which also means that one has to be tolerant of any harm they could inflict on him, "the one who does not let his family need others."
Imam Ali (a.s.) was asked: "Who are the best among Allah's servants?" and he answered: "Those who fear Allah the most" – those who are always aware that Allah knows all about them and those who do not do anything except after they are sure that it gains Allah's satisfaction, and "those who abide by their piety" – those who do not commit any unlawful acts and those who strive to do all that Allah has ordained, and "those who care the least about this world." Those who care about this world only as much as their natural needs, and do not sell their religion for all the pleasures of this world, considering it merely as a phase that prepares them to meet Allah in the Hereafter.
Benefiting Others
Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) says: "The best of you are the most tolerant, and the worst are the most mean." The Messenger said in response to a question about who the best man is: "The best among you is the one who benefits others, so be useful to them." If you want to be the best, study all your potentials in all fields and study how you can deploy them in the service of others.
Allah, the Most High, has given us certain potentials and capabilities and made us responsible for putting them in the service of those who need them. Moreover, we know that these capabilities are divided among individuals. Hadith has even talked about the financial level: "Allah has made the rich and poor partners."
Imam Al-Rida (a.s.) says: "The best in their living among you are those whom the living of others benefits from his resources."
This means that every man having any resource, whether money, power, experience, or knowledge, should strive to spend it on the people.
Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) says: "Allah has not bestowed a grace on any of His servants, without asking him to do something in return."
Those whom Allah bestowed money are asked to give to the poor. Those whom Allah bestowed a well-built and strong body are responsible for what is requested from them, and to be tolerant to those who are weaker than them. And those who were made dignified in their community and beautiful in their looks have to observe the rights of the weak in their honour and beauty. Allah has given in His Book the meaning of what is beneficial.
He says: "He sends down rain from the sky, and valleys flow according to their capacity, and the torrent carries a rising foam. And from that [ore] which they heat in the fire, desiring adornments and utensils, is a foam like it. Thus Allah presents [the example of] truth and falsehood. As for the foam, it vanishes, [being] cast off; but as for that which benefits the people, it remains on the earth. Thus does Allah present examples." Surat ar-Ra'd (13:17)
Therefore, man has to take advantage of his time to make use of all his resources and powers to serve the people and address their needs. It has been narrated that if any of Adam's children (human being) dies, his actions are ceased except for three: a continuous charity, like building a mosque or a hospital, which runs continuously like a river – knowledge which benefits others – in any fields of benefit to people, and a righteous son supplicating for him, when he educates his son on fearing Allah and trying to please Him, this will remain after his death. Jesus Christ passed once near a grave whose owner was being tortured, then he passed by the same place a year later and found that he was no longer tortured. He was astonished, but Allah told him that he had raised a good son who sponsored an orphan and renovated a road, thus I have forgiven him for the sake of his son.
These are the deeds that ensure that one is rewarded after his death, but since not all people could build hospitals or mosques, they can nevertheless participate in them.
Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) says: "The best worshipper is he who possesses five traits: If he does well he will be hopeful and delighted, if he commits a sin he would ask for forgiveness, if given he would be thankful, if tried he would be tolerant, and if he is wronged he would forgive." Imam Ali (a.s.) says: "The best men are those whom if wealthy would be generous and thankful." He also said: "The best man is he who parts himself from the desires, who oppresses his anger and pleases his God."
This is what Allah wants from us in this life: To uphold our responsibilities towards the resources that were given to us; even religious scholars should give their knowledge to the people, especially at times of deviation. The Messenger (p.) says: "If innovations appear, the religious scholars should show their knowledge. Those who do not may Allah's curse be on them." We ask Allah to help us on ourselves with what He helps the good on themselves.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The UN Legitimizes Eradication
The Palestinian people face systematized daily killings and barbaric invasions that prevent people from any feeling of settlement to celebrate the Eid. These acts terrorize the children and the women, and appropriate the freedom of the youth. The Israelis are also demanding the annexation of some parts of the West Bank including those on which the major settlements and the racist wall are built.
All this is happening amidst a complete silence from the international powers, especially the US…
As for the United Nations, it is busy preparing for commemorating the passing of the Holocaust that was committed by the Nazis against Jews who multiplied the number of the victims to reach millions without any precise data, claiming that they are doing so so that such acts will not reoccur in the future. But at the same time, nobody is talking about Israel's gradual eradication of the Palestinians, using the most sophisticated American weapons that enable them to kill the people and destroy the infrastructure, as well as hurting those who demand freedom and the removal of occupation, and calling those who do so terrorists, as if national freedom is a terrorist demand.
The Massacres of Qana, Sabra and Shatila, Jenin, and Gaza were all committed without any condemnation of Israel's terrorism from the international community.
We ask the European Community: if you persecuted the Jews, why should we pay the price? Knowing that the Arab and Islamic worlds have always been tolerant with the Jews, giving them economic, religious, and security privileges. The Jews used to live with us freely because Islam has taught us to respect the religious freedoms of minorities.
As for Iraq, America is still pressurizing the Iraqis by its occupation that has so far led to the death of 30 thousand Iraqis. It did not seek to establish any economic or security stabilization.
On the contrary, it created favourable circumstances to encourage the apostate groups to blow up people in their shrines, streets, and working places, paying no attention to the United Nations resolutions that make the occupying power responsible for the security of the occupied country.
In this respect, we should note the statement made by an American official who said that the occupation in Iraq provides "a protection to Israel that could face some danger if the American forces withdraw."
Occupying Iraq to Protect Israel
America has started to lose the war in Iraq whether on the economic level by paying tens of billions of dollars that exhaust its economy, or on the military level having so far lost more than two thousand who were killed and about 20 thousand wounded. Furthermore, its sinking in the Iraqi quicksand has made the American President lose the confidence of public opinion in the polls and has led many Americans to call for a pullout of the American forces from Iraq.
Targeting Syria and Iran
The current Administration may be trying to run forward by pressurizing the EU and other states to issue UN resolutions against the states in the region that still oppose the American policies, especially Syria that is expected to yield to the US political and security demands.
It is exploiting the brutal crime of assassinating the late Premier Rafic Hariri to impose impossible demands in a process that aims at humiliating and subjugating Damascus.
It is also – along with the EU – pressurizing Iran to halt its peaceful nuclear program and accuse it of planning to make nuclear weapons. At the same time, it does not let the UN pressure Israel, which not only has the bomb but also other weapons of mass destruction, for it does not want the Arabs and Muslims to possess any sources of scientific advancement, whether for developing their resources or for protecting themselves.
Hegemony Over the Entire World
America is planning to incite chaos in the region in the name of democracy which should promote its own interests and not that of the peoples of the region.
Therefore, the region ought to confront this plan to protect its peoples and resources from the project of economic globalization, which wants to increase the poverty of the world so that the rich can get richer.
We could sense how dangerous the American project is, since it wants to spread the dominance of its empire over the entire world. We want the world to reject it because it will destroy its security and economy. We are not against the Americans or the Europeans, but we are against their administrations that spread corruption on earth and plan for wars and devastation to the benefit of the monopolizing companies.
There is a lot of talk about international legitimacy concerning the imposing of its resolutions on Lebanon or Syria and the region, but where is this legitimacy when it comes to Israel, especially Resolution 194 concerning the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes, knowing that Bush himself has stood against it in his letter to Sharon.
Sectarianism and National Unity in Lebanon
As for Lebanon, that is still suffering from its economic crisis, political turmoil, and sectarian slogans to the extent that the Lebanese citizen feels that those in charge of the affairs of the sects are acting on the basis of a sectarian federation in which each sect elects its own representatives to one of the three presidencies and imposes it on the entire country. It also elects its government ministers and plans for an electoral law in which each sect elects its MPs. Nevertheless, they still talk about national unity.
The Lebanese feel that there is no way out except by adopting citizenship as a basis for running the country and the institutions. This is the only way one can find himself in this country or even find the country itself.