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 Rabi' al-Awwal 16, 1427 AH / April 14, 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
The Anniversary of the Prophet's Birth:
A Day of Glory, Liberty and Strength
Merciful Humanitarianism
Allah, the Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: “O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and an illuminating lamp.” Surat al-Ahzab (33:45-46)
We are living in these days the anniversary of the Prophet's birth, whom Allah has sent to take the people out of darkness and into the light, by means of the Holy Quran, the light that shines on the minds to open them up to the truth… It shines on the hearts to open them up to love and mercy, and a life to guide it to the way of good and justice.
This Messenger, who lived his Message through his humanitarianism, was full of kindness and mercy towards all people. He was the orphan who lost his parents at a very young age, and he dedicated his life to the orphans, the needy and those in pain and distress, to try to ease their sufferings and address their griefs.
He is the Messenger whom the Quran describes in this way: “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.” Surat at-Tawbah (9:128)
This merciful prophet felt the problems and sufferings of all who lived around him and tried to offer them comfort and ease their pains. He studied all their conduct and relations in their communities, their markets, their travels… making sure that they would not deviate or fall.
He was, as Allah described him: “And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.” Surat al-Anbiya (21:107) He was the Prophet of Mercy, who opened up to all people, telling them: "Come to me, Islam is the religion of Mercy that is merciful to all people, and that does not deal with them harshly or cruelly."
Islam, as evident from this Ayah, is not a religion of terror and violence as some claim. It is the religion of Mercy, since its Prophet is the Messenger of Mercy, not only by himself, but also and in the first place, by his Message.
Allah talked about the believers who become Muslims: "And he has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive. And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant." (This appears to be a partial quote from the Quran about Jesus (19:31-32). The verse referenced in the text, "those who believe, and enjoin patience, (constancy, and self-restraint), and enjoin deeds of kindness and compassion" is Surat al-Balad (90:17).)
Believers are merciful among themselves, and the Muslim society is a society of Mercy, in which the strong is merciful to the weak, the rich is Merciful towards the poor, the ruler is merciful with the ruled, and the human is merciful with the animal. The Prophet says: "Allah will be merciful with those who are merciful."
Allah tells us that the method the Prophet resorted to in the call is one of Mercy by the heart and his tongue: “So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you.” Surat Al 'Imran (3:159) He was of a kind heart and a kind tongue that was never violent or cruel. He always abided by the Quranic instruction: “And tell My servants to say that which is best.” Surat al-Isra (17:53)
Carrying the Message
The Prophet's Message was a universal one to all people: “And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner.” Surat Saba (34:28) Allah wanted him to tell the people: “Say, "O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.” Surat al-A'raf (7:158) He wanted the Muslims to uphold the responsibility of this Message, so that each generation will pass it to the next. Thus, every generation holds the responsibility of conveying the Message of Islam to the coming generation. It is a responsibility to make the call for Allah reach all people, each according to his capacity and education. Each human being should feel that he is Allah's messenger to his family and community and to the world at large.
Islam is a Trust from Allah and His Messenger
Allah told us about the society the Messenger established: “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves.” Surat al-Fath (48:29)
He told us about the Prophet's followers in his time and at all times. He said: “But My mercy encompasses all things.” Surat al-A'raf (7:156) And: “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful.” Surat al-A'raf (7:157)
It is the call that comprises all times and places, the call of believing in Allah and His Messenger. It is the call that elevates the believers to the highest humanistic levels. He sent His Messenger with wisdom and guidance to enable the Muslim communities to build civilizations and considered the mind as the reason justifying the judgement of people.
He also considered knowledge as the basis of value: “Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" Surat az-Zumar (39:9), and wanted man to seek more knowledge at all times: “And say, 'My Lord, increase me in knowledge.'” Surat Taha (20:114) He also wanted the Muslims to be strong: “And prepare against them whatever you are able of power.” Surat al-Anfal (8:60)
Yet, when Islam opens up to the world, it does not carry a sword to kill others; it carries a spirit, a thought and a civilization, and wants to enrich the world with them.
When we live the memory of our Prophet (p.), we emphasize that the Messenger (p.) wanted the Muslims to unite and refer their differences to Allah and His Messenger. And since in this stage the entire unbelief has stood up to fight all belief and all the downtrodden, it is our duty to unite and not kill or accuse one another with unbelief. Allah wants all of us to hold fast to His rope of unity. Anyone who tries to incite strife among Muslims is a traitor to Allah and His Messenger. And anyone who accepts fanaticism that makes a Muslim stand against a fellow Muslim in times of challenges, and gives the arrogant and the unbelievers a chance to occupy the land of Muslims and divide it, is a traitor to Allah, His Messenger and His friends: “O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence].” Surat al-Anfal (8:27)
Allah and His Messenger (p.) have entrusted us with Islam. So let the anniversary of the birth of the Prophet be an anniversary of Islam as a whole and of the movement of all Muslims… An anniversary of pride, freedom and power, for this is what Allah wants. He wants us to fight for this cause in unified ranks and on all fronts, whether political, cultural or military. We should support one another, and seek to make Islam the religion of the entire world, and that of life: “And say, "Do [as you will], for Allah will see your deeds, and [so, will] His Messenger and the believers." Surat at-Tawbah (9:105)
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
America: The Democracy of Massacres
The United States is making a lot of fuss of Iran's success in enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, and threatening to pass sanctions in the Security Council, which is dominated by Washington in all its resolutions, including those involving sanctions. Moreover, America, along with Israel, might also resort to a military solution.
On another level, the US Administration, and the EU, has moved to sanction the Palestinians for their democratic election of Hamas. They have resorted to economic boycott at a time everyone knows that America and Europe bear the responsibility of destroying the Palestinians and dislocating them, by supporting the Zionist presence in Palestine. To make things worse, the UN decided to politically boycott the Palestinian government. In this respect, American pressure had prevented the UN from condemning the latest Zionist massacres that killed civilians, women and children. It is as if the Zionist Army is making Gaza a centre of training on killing people in cold blood, with no American and European condemnation and with an Arab silence. The Western world respects the Jews only, while Arabs and Muslims are more like "insects," as some of the Jewish rabbis said. All this at a time the Arabs are afraid to provoke America's rage if they condemn Israel or provide aid for the Palestinian government.
America and Europe, along with Israel, are in one way or another waging a war on the Arab and Muslim worlds, usurping their wealth and forcing them to normalize relations with Israel. They also prevent them from standing with their peoples in their major and vital causes. The problem is that we do not have in these worlds governments that respect their people, but rather kings and presidents that have succumbed to the will of the international arrogance to safeguard their thrones.
On another level, the American occupation is still laying heavily on Iraq and destabilizing the Iraqi political situation, by interfering in the Iraqi independent decision represented by the Iraqis' independent choice of their prime minister. The American Administration does not encourage democracy, unless it coincides with its strategic interests. This is what we notice in the pressure on the elected prime minister, even by President Bush himself.
Meanwhile, the barbaric explosions are killing more and more innocent civilians, including women, children, youth and the elderly, with the absence of a strong denunciation of this criminal phenomenon that has spread in the Muslim worlds by those who accuse others of disbelief, whether they are Shiites or Sunnis, as we saw in the massacre committed in Karachi during the celebration marking the Prophet's birth.
Yet, in all this, we feel that the Americans are guilty, for they have created a state of political and security chaos, in an effort to create a world that is under the hegemony of the "American–Israeli Empire." May Allah bless the soul of Imam Khomeini, who used to talk about the greatest Satan whose stage is the entire world and who accuses any opposing country of possessing weapons of mass destruction and prevents the peoples from acquiring defensive weapons and peaceful technological capacities.
Lebanon: Confronting Strife
Lebanon is living the spectre of the 31st anniversary of the Lebanese war. Its citizens feel wary of the complicated political games of the Lebanese political club through certain dubious projects of some parties, or through certain seemingly rightful claims that hide falsehood.
We urge all officials and all faithful security departments in the country to keep an eye on all those who work in the dark to incite sectarian or partisan strife. We also urge them to confront the agitating statements and opinions, especially those of the intelligence agencies, that hide in dark rooms of the foreign embassies, especially the US embassy, which has received instructions to use Lebanon as a pressurizing card in the region.
But as we hope that the government will be able to reach a comprehensive solution of the chronic problems of the Lebanese, especially in the deprived regions, we call on all parties, especially the experts, to study all the aspects of the problem in Lebanon, since Lebanon lives not only an economic problem but also a political and a security one. The Lebanese problems should be studied as one package. They should not study one problem and forget about the cancer that has invaded all parts of the Lebanese body.
We hope that the government will be successful on all levels—the security, the political and the economic—for this is what building a nation is about, and this is what the Lebanese look forward to.