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 Muharram 4, 1427 AH / February 3, 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
Imam al-Hussein: A Role Model of Reform
Al-Hussein and the Broadness of the Message
In these days, we live the memory of Ashura, which symbolizes the broad horizons Imam al-Hussein lived in. The Message of Imam al-Hussein could not be confined to narrow circles, for it encompassed the entire Islamic world. Imam al-Hussein was looking from the perspective of his grandfather who was sent to all people, for the Imam lived as a child in his grandfather’s lap and was raised and educated by his father, Imam Ali, and his mother, Fatima al-Zahra, who were both raised and inspired by the Messenger.
Thus, when the Imam was in Medina, he was studying what had happened to Islam and the Muslims, especially to their rulers, who were no longer caring about serving the message but were motivated by thirst for power. Muawiyah, who planned for the rule of the Umayyad dynasty, appointed his son, Yazid, as a caliph, although he knew who Yazid was in terms of dissoluteness. He was not concerned with Islam, but rather to ensure the rule of his dynasty and usurping the nation’s wealth, instead of addressing the Muslims’ affairs and serving their interests.
The Message Dimension
Allah, the Most Exalted, wanted people to be free just as He created them. Imam Ali (a.s.) says: "Do not be a slave to others while Allah has made you free." Those people who acted in accordance with the will of Allah saw that Yazid's rule had enslaved the society, which was plagued by fanaticism, sectarianism, and hatred. Like all the prophets and the Imams who sought reform, the Imam (a.s.) felt that it was his responsibility to call for reform: reform of the government by going back to the principles, and of the ruler by giving the role model of a ruler who is concerned with the welfare of the people.
Imam al-Hussein's (a.s.) concern was thus not with one country in particular, but the entire nation. That is why he said: "I rose to seek reform in my grandfather's nation." This is what the Imam wants us to live. He wants us to be concerned not only with local or regional issues. He wants us to uphold the responsibility of the entire Muslim nation in all its causes and challenges.
If we think about freedom, we should think about the freedom of all Muslims; if we think about pride it has to be the pride of all Muslims. If we think about the state of the world we have to think about the arrogant plans against all of us. We should not think about one country and forget others, as many Muslims have done when they felt the arrogant pressures against them. And now they have come to consider the Palestinian problem as a burden they must relieve themselves from. The negative impact that Israel creates does not concern the Palestinians alone, but the entire nation, since when Israel controls Palestine it will, along with the American arrogance, extend its aggressions to the Muslim world as a whole.
Thus, we should not be concerned with the affairs of our own countries only. Rather, we should know that the cause of all Muslims is but one, and that what happens in one country will affect the others. That is why we found the Messenger (p.) saying in the context of the huge issues Muslims should be concerned with: "He who does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not a Muslim." He also says: "If a man hears a Muslim calling for help and does not respond, he is not a Muslim." Therefore, supporting Muslims extends to all Muslims asking for any help against an aggression by the enemies of Allah and His Messenger (p.).
Let Us Renew Ourselves
When we remember Ashura and relive the role of Imam al-Hussein, we have to establish our own political and cultural Ashura. We have to be renewed by Imam al-Hussein and not merely lament the tragedy. We have to make the tragedy a bridge from the emotional feelings that sympathize with Imam al-Hussein to the role he played for his nation and the way he confronted the challenges.
We do not want to turn Ashura into a forum for some to incite strife among Muslims. The Imam was concerned with his grandfather’s nation that contained several diverging sects, but he considered it as a unified nation that has one cause, the cause of Islam. Therefore, we have to live with the Imam (a.s.) the meaning of the nation and the need to reform it. Tears are an emotional expression that comes from the heart, but the Message is something as big as life, and one for which this pure blood of the Imam and his companions was sacrificed.
Let us be renewed by Ashura. Let the tears invigorate our feelings, for the challenges Islam and the Muslims are facing are great and numerous. In each Islamic country we have a problem, a war, an occupation, and an aggression. We have to be concerned about the entire Islamic nation and face the arrogant with Islamic thought, Islamic movement, and Islamic openness based on a unified stand, in accordance with Allah’s teachings: "Indeed, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in a row as though they are a [single] structure joined firmly." Surat as-Saff (61:04).
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Threatening Hamas
The international community, led by its superpower, the United States, as well as Israel, has moved to impose financial, economic, and political sanctions on the Palestinians who voted for Hamas, the organization that did not recognize Israel, the state that has usurped the land and killed the people and that has not executed any UN resolutions. The greatest crime Hamas has committed is that it fought the Israeli occupation.
The question the Palestinians ask the international community, especially America, Europe, and the Quartet committee, is why they did not ask Israel to:
- Recognize the Palestinians' right to their occupied lands and end the occupation that denies their right to freedom.
- Recognize the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in accordance with UN Resolution 194, at a time the international community stands with the Jews of the world to come to Palestine and kick the Palestinians out of their lands and homes.
- Ask Israel – the people and the government – to end its violence of assassinations, detentions, and destroying the Palestinian infrastructure.
- Consider the Palestinian problem a political one and not one of security.
- Consider the Intifada militants as freedom fighters and not terrorists, but defenders of their people in accordance with international law.
- Enter into political negotiations with Hamas without any preconditions, just like any two combating parties.
Demanding that Hamas should cancel its charter without anything in return, and threatening to impose economic sanctions on the Palestinian people, represents a moving away from human values and democracy, at a time Israel is provided with all financial, military, and political support.
It has been claimed that the president of the Palestinian Authority said that he would not ask Hamas to form the government unless it recognizes Israel. If true, this would be quite odd since Abbas knows, based on his own experience with the enemy, that they have violated all the agreements they made with the Palestinian Authority and tried to humiliate him as well as his cabinet. Moreover, this represents defiance to the will of the Palestinian people.
Supporting the Palestinian People
We believe that the Arab and Muslim world should stand with the Palestinian people and provide them with all the financial aid to counter the American and European threat and to defend its free choice. The peoples of the nation should pressurize their regimes to ensure that the Arab and Islamic position is unified.
If the enemy, and the US, are threatening to withhold the Palestinian taxes, depriving the Palestinians of their rightful source of income, the Arab and Muslim peoples should exert every pressure, including taking to the streets to call for boycotting American and Israeli goods, and call for putting the relevant UN resolutions into effect.
Prophet Muhammad (p.)
The Muslims in the world should continue their protest of the insult to the Prophet (p.), so as to let the world know that this is not one of the details of freedom of expression. It is a war on the Muslim nation and its sanctities and an insult to all spiritual values. Therefore, we ought to make all peaceful pressures as well as effective boycott and political and street protests against this huge insult to the Prophet (p.) and the continuous distortion campaign of Islam.
The Occupation in Iraq
The American president considers Iraq as one of his democratic achievements, but we notice that the American occupation has turned Iraq into a front of violence and chaos, as part of what he calls constructive anarchy in the world. We call on the Iraqis to end the ongoing futile debate and form a national unity government that realizes the interests of the Iraqi people, puts an end to occupation, and destroys the terrorism of the apostates who are targeting innocent civilians. It must be emphasized that victory is the victory of the entire Iraqi people and not that of Bush, who considers occupation as freedom and democracy.
American and European Threats to Iran
We are still following up the American and European threats to Iran regarding its peaceful nuclear project. In this respect, America declared that it would stand with Israel if Iran attacks it, while we all know that it is Israel that threatened to bomb the Iranian nuclear reactor, while Iran stated that it would defend itself.
But the American President feels that Israel is his striking force in his aggressions that aim at destabilizing the region to promote his strategic interests as well as that of the Israelis against the entire world.
We call on the European states to take their interests into consideration and not succumb to the American plots that are more like playing with fire, and that are now represented by using the UN to pressurize Iran and the entire region. We also want the Islamic world to take a firm stand against this Western attempt to prevent the Islamic peoples from defending themselves and from acquiring advanced scientific technologies.
Accord in Lebanon
We welcome the recent accord to solve the political crisis and call for more steps in this regard in order to strengthen confidence among all Lebanese people, particularly between their representatives in government. We hope the new accord will have a positive effect on the people's political and economic conditions and will found the basis for a new phase of understanding that will prevent foreign interference, especially American interference, which was responsible for the internal division that led to a state of economic and political paralysis and made Lebanon worry about the security situation.
We ask the politicians to remain committed to their stated positions regarding the resistance's role, for this will protect Lebanon internally by reinforcing confidence inside the Cabinet.
In the meantime, the economic crisis is worsening with the country's economy reaching the verge of collapse, since those who have influence have appropriated the country's wealth and used their power to stuff the government with unneeded civil servants and made several secret deals that have left the country under a huge debt.
We warn that all the coming taxes will not offset the deficit, because it will once again go into the pockets of the corrupt, making the poor poorer and appropriating the rights of workers and employees, especially the teachers.
I call on Lebanese officials and politicians to have mercy on their country and the citizens who have had nothing but empty promises, with hunger and deprivation imposing itself on all the people.