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 Rajab 1, 1426 AH/ August 05, 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
Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.):
A School of Diversity and Open-mindedness
Allah, the Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book:
"Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred." Surat at-Tawbah (09:36)
One of these sacred months is the month of Rajab, which begins tomorrow.
This month is one of the months of worship and one of the months that have many Islamic occasions such as: the anniversary of the beginning of the Prophet’s (p.) mission, the Prophet’s (p.) night journey, the commemorating the passing of Imam Al-Kazim (a.s.), the birth of Imam Ali (a.s.) in the Kaaba, commemorating the passing of Lady Zainab (a.s.), commemorating the passing of Imam Al-Hadi (a.s.) and the birth of Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.).
In this speech, we shall discuss some of the aspects of Imam Al-Baqir's life. This Imam (a.s.) lived at a time when the Islamic community was going through a struggle between the Umayyads and the Abbasids, which ended in the victory of the Abbasids. This struggle gave him a freedom of action, both culturally and politically, since the Umayyads who used to persecute the Imams were preoccupied with their fight against the Abbasids while the Abbasids were still establishing their rule. Thus, he talked to a mixed group of various sects and opinions, and was open to every ideology. He used to discuss all issues with no restrictions, like all the schools of Ahl Al-Bayt, which were the schools of freedom.
They used to receive all people who wanted to learn, regardless of their religious affiliations or ideologies, sitting with atheists as with Muslims and listening to the ideas of both, for their message was the message of Islam which seeks to find truth in all areas. This is also the message of the clerics who should answer every question the people ask regardless of the topic.
Describing the Imam (a.s.), Sheikh Al-Mufid said:
"Imam Al-Baqir was the successor of his father Ali Bin Al-Hussein and the Imam after him. He was known as the most knowledgeable and ascetic person of his time… None of the children of Al-Hassan and Al-Hussein showed as much knowledge in religion, hadiths, Qur'an, the Prophet's biography or literature. Among his students were some of the companions who were still alive and their followers and the most prominent jurists..."
Ibn Hajar, a Sunni cleric, says: "He revealed hidden treasures of knowledge, just rulings and countless other interesting subjects. No one other than closed-minded or malicious people could deny this fact. He was a collector of knowledge who raised this knowledge and elevated its position."
The Quran is the Only Criterion
One of those who narrated his hadiths, a man called Mohammed Bin Muslim, said:
"I have asked him about thirty thousand hadiths and he gave me his opinion about each."
He repeatedly said that the Holy Quran is the only reference and that we should not believe in any hadith that people say or that is written in books unless it conforms with what the Quran says. If it does, we will accept it and if it doesn’t, we will discard it.
Nowadays we might hear people citing hadiths that may contain some legends that go against what is said in the Qur'an. We should not accept these hadiths because the Imam (a.s.) says:
"You should only accept a hadith, be it from a pious believer or a hypocrite, if it conforms with what is said in the Quran, and you should reject any hadith, whether from a pious believer or a hypocrite, if it does not conform to what is said in the Quran."
Because the Quran is the reference which falsehood cannot approach, and it does not contain any additions, omissions or deficiencies.
Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.) used to encourage people to work and considered work to be a kind of worship. According to a story told by a man who once met the Imam (a.s.), he said:
"Once I went outside in Medina when it was extremely hot and I saw Mohammed bin Ali (a.s.); a very stout man who was walking with the help of two slaves. So I said to myself, 'One of the senior citizens of Quraish having to go out at such a hot hour to earn his living. I should talk to him to urge him not to do so.' So I drew near him, greeted him and told him… 'What would you say if you died at this very hour?' The man said: 'If I die, I will die while obeying Allah and earning my own living so that others won’t have to help me. I would have been afraid to die if I were doing something against Allah’s will.' Having heard this, the man then said, 'I wanted to give you advice but in fact it is you who gave me advice.'"
It has been said in certain hadiths:
"Worshipping is of ten parts. The best of these is seeking to earn one’s living."
The Imam (a.s.)'s Advice to His Followers
Historians note that he used to remember Allah at all times: whether walking, talking or doing anything else. And he used to gather his family and tell them to remember Allah until sunrise. He said in a verbal letter that he wanted to be conveyed to the Shiites:
"The Shiites should be pious. Their rich should help the poor and their strong should support their weak. The living among them should attend the funeral of the dead. They should meet and exchange visits. Tell our followers that we cannot do them any good if they do not practice good deeds. They cannot claim to be of our followers except by piety. Those who will be the most remorseful on the Day of Judgment are those who knew what is good and yet they followed what is different."
Talking about charity, the Imam (a.s.) corrected a wrong attitude among the believers. If a believer were asked to help a poor family he would regretfully deny, saying that he doesn’t have enough money, but he might nevertheless save his money to go on pilgrimage for the second or third time. Criticizing this attitude the Imam (a.s.) says:
"To help a needy Muslim family by giving food, clothes or the like is better than performing pilgrimage twice, three times…" (until he reached seventy).
Therefore, the Imam (a.s.) considers that sustaining a poor family has a bigger reward than seventy pilgrimages.
On the issue of knowing oneself, to know whether one is good or bad, loved or hated by Allah, the Imam (a.s.) says:
"If you want to know that there is good in you, then look at your heart. If it loves those who obey Allah and hates those who disobey Him, then there is good in you and Allah loves you. If it hates those who obey Allah and loves those who disobey Allah, then there is no good in you and Allah hates you."
In another saying he says that he who wants to know whom he will be with in the Hereafter has to look at whom he is with in this world. Thus, if you don’t want to be with someone in the other world, how could you follow him in this world and give up your religion and your dignity to him?
Our commitment to following the Members of the Household is a commitment to the authentic original Islamic beliefs that earn us Allah’s pleasure and ensure our safety in this world and the next. Peace be upon Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir (a.s.), his fathers and his sons.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Sharon’s Plans for Expansion
Sharon has recently made a statement in which his real future plans were revealed. In this statement, he said that the separation plans will "guarantee that we will keep large parts of the Jewish homeland forever." He added that: "there will never be a return to the 1967 borders or the return of the Palestinian refugees. We will never compromise on anything that has to do with Israel’s security." At the same time, Israel is building a wall in Gaza that would strangle the Gaza Strip under the pretext of preventing the Palestinians from re-entering Israel. As for the international community, it has only warned about the consequences of the oppressive Israeli measures that are tightening the grip on Jerusalem. So what is behind all this?
Sharon is actually declaring his plan to Judaize Palestine, leaving the Palestinians with so little that Sharon will effectively besiege them to ensure that they will never establish a viable independent state. In the meantime, the major powers remain silent and even praise the butcher of the Sabra and Shatila massacres (not to mention the daily massacres he commits in Palestine). This is what happened recently in Paris where he received a welcome of the type that only a few leaders would receive. This is because of certain internal needs and because America considers support for Israel to be a precondition to good relations with the U.S. I am afraid that this pressure will extend to other EU countries, especially after the aggressive campaign against the Muslims of Europe in the aftermath of the London bombings.
The danger is that the Zionist policies are moving the attention of the Palestine cause from one partial problem to another so that the Palestinians and the world will forget about the strategic problem and Israel will be able to achieve its goal of eliminating the Palestinian cause, especially after it accomplishes its plan to annex the West Bank, which Israel considers to be part of its biblical state. The US, for its part, continues to implement its deceptive strategies to conceal the true consequences of the Israeli actions and ensure that the Arab and Islamic world is duped into accepting them.
We call upon the Palestinians to be aware of the dangers of this plan and not to be deceived by the so-called withdrawal from Gaza, which is destined to be the promised Palestinian state. In fact, Israel would actually be achieving its goal of occupying what they consider to be biblical Israel by securing their positions elsewhere. We encourage the Palestinians to continue their Intifada in order to maintain the current impasse facing the Israelis no matter how the American-Israeli conspiracy develops, since the Palestinians have nothing left to lose except their chains. We call on them to unite and resolve their differences through dialogue in order to maintain their strength and use it against their real enemies.
Iran Resists External Pressures
Regarding the Euro-American stand on the Iranian peaceful nuclear project, it is still pressuring Iran to accept humiliating concessions. They do not want Iran to possess any power that could upset the current military balance in the region. We want the Iranian Muslim people to remain steadfast in the face of western pressures that aim at keeping the Muslim world politically, militarily and economically weak, while, at the same time, providing Israel with every kind of support, including nuclear weapons, that enable it to threaten the region.
Fighting the Occupation in Iraq
We urge the Iraqi people to develop a plan that will force the Americans to withdraw so that Iraq will gain its freedom. They should also promote unity and steer away from any divisive projects, especially as I am afraid that federalism will divide the country. In reality, it is a very vague project that will allow the Kurdish region to gain independence from the rest of the country. Iraqis should uphold national and Islamic unity and stand against those who are bombing innocent civilians under false sectarian pretenses. These people are actually helping the occupiers to prolong their presence since they are giving them the excuse of maintaining security.
Good Relations Between Syria and Lebanon
In Lebanon, the people expect their government to study their problems carefully and especially those concerning security and the economy. As for the political situation, the government should seek to distance itself from American and European interventions that hide behind dubious political projects such as the pressure to implement Resolution 1559 that calls for the disarmament of the resistance. What the Israelis and the Americans want is that Lebanon should not be in any position of strength to confront Israel. They wish Israel to remain the only power that could dominate Lebanese land, people and resources.
I appreciate the goodwill efforts to re-establish good relations between Lebanon and Syria on the basis of the unity of the two countries when facing their common enemies as well as political and economic integration and cooperation on security. This should be done on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s independence. If the difficulties in relations between the two countries persist, it would be harmful for both countries and the politicians should be aware of this when they make fiery statements that could destabilize the whole country.