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-Thania 2, 1426 AH/ July 8, 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 Meaning of True Belief
Allah says in His Glorious Book: "It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error." Surat al-Ahzab (33:36)
In this Holy Ayah, Allah emphasizes that the belief of all believers (men and women) impels them to obey the commands of Allah and His Messenger (p). This is actually what belief is, since when we say that there is no god but Allah, the Most Exalted, we mean that He is the only God we believe in, worship, and obey. It also means that Allah’s commands take priority over all other commands and that we ought to obey them.
And when we say that Mohammad is Allah’s Messenger (p), it follows that we are committed to the message he came with and that the message he came with was really from Allah. One has to abide by its commands: "And what Allah restored to His Messenger from the people of the towns - it is for Allah and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and orphans and the [stranded] traveler - so that it will not be a perpetual distribution among the rich from among you. And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty." Surat al-Hashr (59:7)
You have no say or choice. This is the line of piety and righteousness. But if you disobey Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger (p), you would surely be led astray.
Then we read Allah’s, the Most Exalted, saying to His Messenger (p): "But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit with [full] submission." Surat an-Nisa (4:65)
Thus, belief would not be deepened unless the Messenger (p) is the reference and the judge in all they differ about in their personal and social life. When they differ, they should say let us go back to the Messenger (p) and see how he dealt with this issue. He is the one whom Allah, the Most Exalted, sent to tell us what pleases Him and what does not. So if the Messenger (p) has made a social or cultural judgment, we have to conform to it even if it is against our interests or desires. Islam means submission, so we must submit ourselves to the will of Allah, the Most Exalted, and everything He tells us to do. Moreover, we also have to obey the Messenger (p) because obeying the Messenger (p) is obeying Allah.
"He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah" Surat an-Nisa (4:80)
"Say, [O Muhammad], 'If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.'" Surat Al 'Imran (3:31)
Therefore, the sign of love for Allah is following the Prophet (p), and this is what we must learn to do in our houses, in the market, and in our private and public life. Therefore, the issue at hand is what Allah, the Most Exalted, and His Messenger want. Thus, when you want to deal with your children, you should not act in accordance with your personal feelings but, rather, according to what Allah and the Messenger (p) command. The same thing goes for dealings with your wife, which should be based on justice and righteousness. No personal mood or psychological state should influence the actions of a husband or wife. Marital relations should be governed by Islamic guidelines. Both men and women have to reflect on how to deal with any situation before taking action. Even those who want to reconcile marriage partners have to base this reconciliation on Allah’s commands.
The above rule applies to all other social and political situations. A true Muslim is someone who would not take a step forward or backward unless he knew it was Allah’s will. When we support or oppose someone, we should not think about what people would say but about what Allah would say, because He is the one to whom they will be accountable in the end. People should know that Allah, the Most Exalted, will hold them accountable for every word they say and every action they do. They will be ready to answer Allah’s questions on the Day of Judgment…
Characteristics of Hypocrites
Then Allah, the Most Exalted, gives us an example of those who do not follow His commands. He tells us about those who say: "We believe in Allah and in the messenger, and we obey," but then a party of them turn back after this, and these are not believers.
For belief means that you have to be committed to what you say.
"And when they are called to [the words of] Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, at once a party of them turns aside."
They would prefer to go to the state courts, but "if the right is theirs, they come to him in prompt obedience." "Is there disease in their hearts? Or have they doubted? Or do they fear that Allah will be unjust to them, or His Messenger? Rather, it is they who are the wrongdoers." Surat an-Nur (24:48-50)
The response of the believers, when they are invited to Allah and His Messenger that he may judge between them, is only to say: "We hear, and we obey;" and these it is that are the successful.
This is the Islamic attitude that all who are committed to Islam should adopt. To be a Muslim is to say like Prophet Ibrahim: "When his Lord said to him, 'Submit,' he said, 'I have submitted [in Islam] to the Lord of the worlds.'"
"Say, 'Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims.'" Surat al-An'am (6:162-163)
…To live Islam in our hearts and minds so that it will govern all aspects of our personal and social life, thus earning Allah’s pleasure and entering His Heaven.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Tightening the Grip on Palestine
In Palestine, the Palestinian people are facing a series of rapid dangerous acts that aim at enhancing the Israeli control over the country.
There is first the effort that Sharon claims aims to withdraw from the Gaza settlements, while in fact it is but a fake image designed to present Israel to international public opinion as a "civilized democracy." If such a withdrawal would give the Palestinians a certain degree of freedom in determining their future, it actually besieges Gaza with an outside ring, coupled by control of both the airspace and the borders on the seaside, thus turning Gaza into a big prison. Meanwhile, the bigger Israeli settlements in the West Bank are being expanded, and the racial wall that aims at Judaizing Jerusalem continues to be built.
In addition, Israel continues its assassinations and imprisonment of Palestinian civilians, as well as its other barbaric practices on the roadblocks which hinder the movement of Palestinian civilians, especially the sick, many of whom have died while waiting at these barriers. Meanwhile, the international community does not exert any pressure to implement the "Road Map for peace" as it promised. In fact, the International Community still provides political protection for Israel and denies it for the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, America is pouring financial aid to enable Israel to enhance its military and economic potentials while denying the Palestinian people and authority any aid.
In the meantime, the Palestinian internal debate is still unfolding. It is threatening to become counterproductive, through weakening the resistance and destabilizing the Palestinian Authority, especially now that the discussions have concentrated on the security issues and ignored the political aspects. Adding to this, the Americans have asked some Arab states to interfere in Palestinian affairs.
Faced with all these developments, the Palestinians should be aware of what is going on. They should not be preoccupied with their own disputes, while the Israelis are busy changing the reality on the ground.
On their part, the Arabs and Muslims should reaffirm their commitment to the cause whose safety determines all their future, and make sure that it reaches the safe shore, especially that Israel was able to get the blessings of the new pope who expressed his great concern and love for Israel, without any objection to its occupation and brutal practices…
All this drives the believers to ask: Does the Israeli "values" intersect with the spiritual values of Jesus Christ who drove the thieves out of the temple? Would those who stole the country remain in the heart of Jerusalem?
The Islamic Conference Refuses Accusations of Unbelief
On another level, we welcome the decision of the Islamic conference that was held in Jordan to reject all accusations of unbelief that Muslims throw at one another. We also welcome the call to consider objective and academic dialogue in which differences are referred to Allah and His Messenger as the only means to reach decisive results that affirm Islamic brotherhood.
In this atmosphere, Muslims should voice their condemnation of the practices of killing fellow Muslims in the name of Islam. We should differentiate between fighting occupation and killing Muslims in their mosques, homes, and working places, under the influence of backward mentalities that have a distorted understanding of Islam. This is what is happening in Iraq where they are seeking to incite strife among Muslims. We warn all Iraqis from this plot, which only the occupation benefits from, since the civil war will enable it to prolong its stay, under the pretense of protecting the Iraqis.
In the meantime, America continues to haunt Syria and Iran with false accusations, for they refused to succumb to the American conditions of accepting the occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine, and because Iran does not offer any concessions regarding its peaceful nuclear program.
As for the G8 conference in Scotland, America does not agree to help the African states unless they accept the American political terms.
In the meantime, the African peoples suffer from hunger, diseases, deprivation, and a state of chaos as a result of the struggle of the major powers to plunder their wealth.
Sovereignty and Disarming the Resistance
In Lebanon, we notice in the sectarian federation the elections produced that forming the government has become a process of spoils-sharing. Every sect asks for a ministry that is in proportion with its size, as if it were some of the spoils that ought to be divided. As for the development of deprived areas, the liberation of the country from international foreign tutelage, and the nature of the reform program, it does not concern the politicians.
The major concern of some of those who support UN Security Council Resolution 1559 is to disarm the Resistance. For them, Israel does not represent a danger to Lebanon. Their concern is for Lebanon not to threaten Israel.
The question is the following: Is this Lebanon, the free sovereign and independent country that should disarm the resistance but not Israel?