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 Sha'ban 7, 1427 AH / September 01, 2006, 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
To Build a Consolidated Society
Love People Benefit them and Give Advice
Advice is an Act of Worship
How does a believer deal with another believer? How does he think about his affairs? A believer might need advice in any issue he might encounter, whether religious or worldly. This advice has a great impact on Muslims, especially if it is made by political or religious leaders. Thus, those leaders have to think not about their own interests when they give this advice. Rather, they have to consider themselves a part of society and love for others what they love for themselves and hate for them what they hate for themselves. The Prophet (p.) and the Ahl el-Beit Imams have made several statements concerning the advice of a believer to a fellow believer, all of which have stressed that the one being asked for advice should not think about his personal interests, but rather about the interests of the one who asks him.
The Messenger (p.) says: "Advise your brother as you advise yourself." He also says: "Those who attain the highest positions on the Day of Judgment are those who advise His creations the most." He also says that the most pious of people are those who provide advice to Muslims and who have good intentions towards all Muslims… They only think about what is good for Muslims and do not have any complex towards any Muslim. This is what the Commander of the Faithful demonstrated when he was denied his right to the Caliphate, when he said: "I will remain peaceful as long as the affairs of Muslims are not hurt and the only wronging falls on me."
Advice is a Road to Heaven
Asked who is the most loved person by Allah, the Messenger (p.) says: "It is he who benefits the people the most." If he is a scholar, he will benefit the people with his knowledge. If he has money, he will benefit the people with his money. We notice that Islam stresses social welfare acts that provide help in times of need. The Messenger (p.) says: "Who protects Muslims from fire, water (a flood, for example, or any such catastrophes that hit people in their homes) will be rewarded with Heaven." Thus, Paradise is not attained by praying and fasting alone, although they are important acts, but also by social solidarity, especially in conditions of social catastrophes like the ones we have been hit with in the Southern Suburb, the South, and the Beqaa. Those who help people move from one place to another and remove the time bombs the Zionists have left behind will be rewarded with Heaven.
Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) says that it is a religious duty to advise fellow Muslims. He also believes that the meaning of "blessed" in the Quranic verse that cites Christ’s (p.) statement, "And He has made me blessed wherever I am" (Surat Maryam 19:31), is that he benefits them wherever he goes.
The Messenger (p.) says that all people are Allah's children and that Allah, the Most Exalted, loves most among them those who serve His children.
Those Who Are Neutral Do Not Belong to Islam
The same point is expressed by defining who is not a Muslim. The Messenger (p.) says: "Those who do not care about the affairs of Muslims are not Muslims." Those who do not care how others live and do not try to help them bear the difficulties they encounter are not Muslims in the practical sense of the word.
A case in point would be those who are neutral and do not stand with the people who are subjected to the American–Israeli war, or who criticize the Resistance and hold it responsible for every act the enemy might do. The Arabs too who do not listen to the appeals for help by the wronged are also not Muslims. Islam should make you a part of the Muslim nation, and that is how the nation gains strength.
One more thing: a lot of people’s houses and shops were destroyed, and many believers provided help to them. But there are those who try to get rich by exploiting the needs of people. They raise the prices of food and goods or increase rents. To those I say: you have to share with those who lost their houses their pains. Do not exploit the circumstances to become rich at the expense of their grief. Our people are proud and dignified; do not humiliate them. Remember that all wealth is from Allah. If you exploit the needs of others, you will be punished in this life before you are punished in the Hereafter as well.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
America is Israel's Partner
America is still waging its Israeli war against Lebanon. It has given the Zionist entity more time to enforce its blockade and continue to occupy certain parts in the South in violation of Resolution 1701, which did not stipulate such a thing. This is because America wants Israel to look strong, having been defeated by the Resistance, which means that the blockade will not be lifted except by American pressure. But America is not a mediator: it is a partner to the enemy in this war, which Washington aimed to use to turn Lebanon into a base for founding the "New Middle East." But the Lebanese steadfastness, of both the Resistance and the people, thwarted its plan.
The Lebanese people realized that America is also an enemy of the Arabs and Muslims, for Israel has not waged any war since 1948 that was not coordinated and planned with American administrations, which also provided military and political cover for them.
An American Cover for the Blockade
That is why the UN Secretary-General was not able to lift the blockade, since Israel enjoys the cover of the US, which encourages Israel to continue and even strengthen this blockade. This is what the Lebanese and the party of the American Embassy should know. This party might even have favored this blockade to reach some of its goals against the Resistance, which it considers responsible for the war and its tragic consequences, as if America is not responsible for all this. Perhaps American pressure on Lebanon is demonstrated by the failure of all the EU and most of the world’s demands to lift the blockade. Yet the blockade persists because America refuses, since it does not respect the international community it trades with in its name.
A Systematic Eradication Campaign
America also continues to wage its Israeli war against the Palestinian people, who are subjected to systematic eradication campaigns as well as the destruction of their infrastructure. These acts are supported and encouraged by the US in the name of fighting terrorism, which includes in the American definition any party or group that does not accept its hegemony and seeks to liberate its land. That is why America disrupted the negotiations between the enemy's government and the Palestinian people, even if they lead only to the achievement of an insignificant part of their rights. It also prevented the Quartet Committee from implementing the Road Map, since it feels that the role of this committee is to give Israel more time to establish its domination over Palestine.
America talks about the rockets of the Palestinian Resistance, but it does not talk about the American weapons that hit all parts of Palestine and besiege Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the Arab regimes do not exert any pressure to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. Thus, the Palestinians should acknowledge the political fact that America’s only solution to their problem is the Israeli solution that presents a fragmented and unviable state, and that they have to continue their struggle, since what is taken by force can only be retrieved by force.
The National Resistance in Iraq
The American war against the Iraqi people continues too. This war has sunk the country into a state of chaos, with the American and British occupation army committing, every now and then, massacres against Iraqi civilians on the basis of illogical pretexts. The chaos the occupation created is still inciting sensitivities among those who do not respect the humanity of man. Those Takfiris who kill civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, have turned to killing Iraqi Muslims instead of fighting the occupation, which does nothing to stop these massacres because they provide it with an excuse to stay and implement its plan of usurping Iraqi wealth and turning Iraq into a base to dominate the neighboring countries.
We call on the Iraqi people to rise to the level of awareness of the challenges and unite nationally and Islamically to face the occupation jointly, since it is the biggest evil they face in Iraq.
America and the UN
America still considers the Iranian peaceful nuclear project a threat to its interests. It accuses Iran of planning to acquire the bomb, although Iran has deemed the production of nuclear weapons religiously unlawful. Yet America, and the EU states that fall in its sphere of influence, do not want any Muslim country to acquire the scientific knowledge that could enhance its economy. In this respect, we notice that preparations are going on to use the UN as one of the fronts in the political and economic war against Iran, to prevent it from acquiring its natural rights that are guaranteed by international agreements.
We are afraid that another episode of American madness will target the UN and will lead to its final downfall. This is what we noticed in the statement of the American Ambassador to the UN, who spoke like a general commanding his troops when he said: "The UN will not be lenient with Iran after August 31."
As we follow the statements of US officials who might be planning a new preemptive war against Iran, we feel that the US will not be able to fulfill this dream because it might turn the entire region into hell, which will represent a threat to the oil resources of the whole world. The Arab and Muslim peoples will stand up and reflect the real position of the Arab and Muslim world towards American policies, just as they expressed their opposition to American support of Israel in its barbaric war against Lebanon. America has turned into a blind devil who lives the hysteria of power, which might end in its final fall, if the peoples of the world learn how to confront it.
Imam Al-Sadr Mystery
Lastly, we remember in these days a great Islamic leader who was able to achieve a lot for his people in Lebanon and for Islam and Muslims in general. The great militant and religious scholar Imam Musa Al-Sadr, who launched the resistance against Israel and declared that "Jerusalem will only be liberated by the struggle of the believers, and that arms, when responsible and directed against the occupier, are what adorn men."
We remember him with great respect and appreciation and demand that the mystery behind his disappearance should be unveiled and declared to the entire nation. Lastly, we want to move to enhance the political and cultural struggle by kicking out those who plan for defeat from Lebanon and from all Arab and Muslim lands.