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-Thani 05, 1427 AH / June 02, 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
Hasten for the Best Deeds
In every call for prayer, we hear this phrase: "Hasten for the best deed."
This phrase represents the Muslim's saying to himself: O servant of Allah, hasten to all that ensures your success in your relations with Allah, yourself and other human beings. You have to be the human being who probes deep in yourself to educate and develop and strengthen yourself so that your mind would not produce except what benefits people, and you will seek only the knowledge that develops and strengthens life, and your heart will only love Allah, the people and life.
Seeking success through good deeds covers all aspects of man's activity. Man should seek to say only what is good. His actions should also seek the good. But before and after this he should seek success in his relation with Allah. It should be a relation of piety that aims at earning Allah's satisfaction, by doing what pleases Allah, through giving and abstaining from all what Allah has deemed unlawful, especially regarding sexual desires, such as adultery and homosexuality.
Seeking Good
The Quran has talked in several Ayahs about the meaning of success and deliverance through seeking good deeds. In the Surah of Al-Mu'minun (the Believers) Allah says: "Certainly will the believers have succeeded." Surat al-Mu'minun (23:01), those who have lived the belief in Allah in their minds whose movements are based on the belief of Allah's Oneness, Power, Mercy and all the other traits of Glory and perfection. "They who are during their prayer humbly submissive." Surat al-Mu'minun (23:02). Those who contemplate in their prayers the greatness of Allah, those who remember all the graces He bestowed on them, which will make them feel that their being is linked to His and that their life in all its secrets is subjected to His Will. "And they who turn away from ill speech." Surat al-Mu'minun (23:03), they do not talk or listen to any talk that does not benefit people. "And they who are observant of zakah." Surat al-Mu'minun (23:04), they believe that all what is bestowed on them is from Allah, and they have consequently to give a part of it to the poor, the needy and for Allah's cause. They will live the spirit of giving for the sake of giving that the Members of the House exemplified. "And they who guard their private parts. Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed - But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors." Surat al-Mu'minun (23:05-07). Those who do not would deviate from the right path. "And they who are to their trusts and their promises attentive. And they who carefully maintain their prayers." Surat al-Mu'minun (23:08-09) – you have to observe your trusts whether it is a secret or in the domain of work as well as being faithful to the nation and the country. And those who strictly guard their prayers. They would not neglect it, and perform it in its proper time and abide by all its conditions. If the believers abide by all this, what will they inherit? Money? They leave the money behind them when they die: "Those are the inheritors. Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein forever." Surat al-Mu'minun (23:10-11). What inheritance could be greater than this?
We read in another verse about seeking success by good deeds: "He has succeeded who purifies it. And he has failed who instills it [with corruption]." Surat ash-Shams (91:09-10), by distancing it from what saves it and draws it closer to Allah. In another Ayah He considered prayers as one of the means of purifying the soul: "He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself. And mentions the name of his Lord and prays." Surat al-A'la (87:14-15). Allah also considers repentance as one of those means: "And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed." Surat an-Nur (24:31).
He also considers fighting for the cause of Allah as one of those means: "O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him and strive in His cause that you may succeed." Surat al-Ma'idah (5:35).
Imam Ali (a.s) says: "He whose mind overcomes his passion will be successful." Man has a mind that determines what is good and what is evil. But then there is the passion and the desires, and he has to make his mind overcome his desires in order to succeed. The Messenger (p.) says: "He will be successful whose heart will be faithful to his belief. He is of a good heart, a truthful tongue, an assured spirit…"
The Successful
Allah explains that there are two parties: that of Satan who follow Satan in all his moves, and that of Allah who follow all the teachings and commands of Allah. He makes it clear that the party of Allah are the successful: "Unquestionably, [for] the party of Allah - they are the successful." Surat al-Mujadilah (58:22).
What about those who do not seek the road of purifying their souls to obtain success in this life and the Hereafter? Who are they? They are everyone who is more unjust than he who forges a lie against Allah or gives the lie to His communications; surely the unjust will not be successful, and those who assume partners to Allah, for the unbelievers as it says in the Quran will not be successful.
The Messenger says: "If a man is forty years old, and his good deeds do not outweigh his evil ones, Satan will kiss him between his eyes and say: This is a man that will not be successful."
Imam As-Sadiq says: "If a man sins he will have a dark spot in his heart. It will be erased if he repents, but if it enlarges until it spreads over all of his heart, he will never be successful."
If you hear the call "hasten for the best deeds," remember that you should focus your life actions and saying on the best deeds to ensure that you are successful in both worlds. This is what we should all compete on.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Media is talking about the brutal massacre the marines committed when one of them was killed by a bomb. His comrades became mad, and went to the nearest two houses and shot the members of two families in their sleep. They also shot four university students and the driver of the taxi they were in, and that happened to be passing by. In less than one hour, the Americans killed 24 innocent civilians many of whom were women and children.
Another murder was revealed lately, although the American occupation tried to cover it up. The American troops killed two Iraqi women who were on their way to a hospital in al-Mutasim – They said that it was a mistake, a justification that they always use to cover up for their soldiers’ massacres. But it was revealed to be added to the other crimes of the prison of Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and the other torture centers spread in various parts of the world. All this at a time America continues to talk about human rights, and issue annual reports accusing other countries of violating them.
On another level, the American position towards the Iranian nuclear project has evolved and they began to acknowledge Iran's right to have a peaceful nuclear project. They have also – along with the permanent members of the Security Council and Germany – expressed their willingness to conduct direct negotiations with Iran, but they demanded an immediate cessation of enrichment, threatening to enforce sanctions and denouncing Iran's support of liberation causes as a means of supporting terrorism.
The problem is that these countries are doubting the Iranian intentions, although Iran has announced that it is not planning or seeking to make the bomb. The real motives behind this Western stand might be that they do not want any Arab or Muslim state to acquire scientific knowledge in any field unless it serves the Western interests, through buying the Arab and Islamic minds. Therefore, Iran, as well all the states of the region, should be cautious of all Western plans that aim at weakening us and preventing us from developing our resources and potentials to reach scientific and practical independence.
On another level, America has asked Israel to train its soldiers in Iraq on targeted killing of individuals and groups, since it has gained experience in this field in killing the Mujahideen and the Palestinian civilians. Since Israel has accepted to perform this task, in addition to its coordination with the American troops and intelligence agencies in Iraq, the British and American occupation of Iraq has become an indirect Israeli occupation. In its turn, the US supports the Zionist daily massacres of Palestinians and the continuous detentions of the Palestinian youth.
The International Community, especially in the West, continues to watch without making any comments, as if they and the Arab regimes have agreed to let the Palestinians face siege and starvation all alone, under the pretense that the Palestinian democratically elected government supports terrorism.
Faced by these Israeli brutalities, it is very odd that international Arab and Muslim states continue to be silent, while they demand that the Palestinian government should recognize Israel unconditionally in order that they would recognize it. But they do not provide any guarantees to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people, especially that of the occupation’s withdrawal and establishing their independent state.
We call on the Palestinian Authority and government to resort to dialogue and understanding that leads to unity. We warn them against the Zionist plots and the Arab pressures that aim at inciting a civil war, giving the enemy through peace what it could not acquire by war.
Zionist Aggressions Against Lebanon
Israel has declared a war on Lebanon, in a clear and outright attempt to create internal security tensions and widen the political divide that destabilizes the national unity. These new developments began when the Zionist intelligence targeted a Lebanese leading member of Jihad, who was assassinated with his brother in Saida.
The Western countries, especially the US, France and Britain, that always talk about the Syrian intelligence practices in Lebanon remained silent, and did not find in this criminal act any need to comment, let alone demanding that the Mossad should not interfere in the Lebanese internal affairs. They believe that Israel's intelligence has a right to move freely in Lebanon and in the entire Arab world. Thus, the security situation escalated as a result of the Israeli aggression and the Resistance has to retaliate for the enemy's shelling of civilians by targeting his vital military posts and forced him to demand a ceasefire.
It is interesting that the anti-resistance Lebanese political group has considered the Israeli aggression as an act of self-defense. These people believe that the problem in Lebanon is an Arabian one and not an Israeli one. The threat of the enemy's prime minister to inflict a severe blow is a message to the Lebanese and the internal dialogue that was not able to find alternatives for the defense strategy presented by the Resistance.
We want Lebanon that is very fragile politically and that suffers from a judicial crisis as a result of the quota struggles, needs to build its institutions on the basis of citizenry that respects the qualifications and does not put those qualified away as a result of personal sectarian and tribal interests. Lebanon that defeated Israel through the institution of the Resistance can defeat anarchy by rehabilitating the mentality of the institution at the expense of that of friends and followers, as well as the mentality of sectarianism that is dominant these days.
We have to look at what is going on around us in the region, to learn from it, and to prevent others from penetrating into our internal fabric. The daily massacres in Iraq and Afghanistan are happening under the occupation's eyes. What prevented Lebanon from falling into complete anarchy is the Resistance’s liberation of land and the rationalization of the political discourse.
America's Appropriation of Iraq
When we look at what is happening in Iraq and the occupation that is destabilizing its security and economy and preventing its people from being united by insisting on sectarian quota that prevents the formation of a national unity government, we warn the Iraqis of this American strategy and its goals. We also warn them of the role of the American Ambassador in Baghdad and the role of the Mossad that is allied with the CIA. We call on them to hold fast to the rope of Allah, and preserve the wealth of Iraq by confronting all those who want to plunder it. They should all know that any robbing of the national wealth above or inside the ground is unlawful. It is a big sin and a crime. So fear Allah in His land and His servants, for you will be asked about all this when nothing will save you except your good deeds.