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 Shawwal 26, 1427 AH/ November 17, 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 As-Sadiq:
A Model of Knowledge, Piety, and Dialogue
A Universal Islamic School
Allah, the Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: “Indeed, Allah wants to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification.” Surat al-Ahzab (33:33)
One of the Imams of this household of the Prophet is Imam As-Sadiq, whose death anniversary is on the 25th of the month of Shawwal. When we talk about this Imam, we are talking about a broad, objective Islamic school that enrolled, as students, all the religious scholars of that age, with the aim of not only calling for Islam but also correcting any deviation and guiding the Muslim society to the sublime morals of Islam.
Moreover, the Imam touched on the various Islamic issues, building an ideological and theological basis for Islamic philosophy. He used to guide people to listen to the mind and not to be driven by passions that might lead to man's fall. The mind, on the other hand, works by the rules. It is the means that Allah has provided us to distinguish right from wrong, and, as such, be held responsible, since it is man's holy part that receives Allah's orders.
The Imam of Dialogue
The Imam focused on dialogue and considered that there were no taboos in it. He used to talk with those who differed with him in their sectarian beliefs, presenting his proofs and arguments. He also used to conduct dialogues with those who differed with him in religion, such as the atheists, with an open mind that listened to what they had to say and a humanitarian attitude that believed in their freedom of speech, even if what they were saying was offensive, because he wanted them to say anything they were thinking of, so that he could convince them of its falseness.
The Imam used to sit in Al-Masjid Al-Haram, with people praying and turning round the Kaaba, and receive the atheists who used to mock their acts of worship with such statements as: “For how long are you going to pound this threshing floor?”
Yet he answered them in a humanitarian and calm way, resorting to his grandfather’s (the Messenger’s (p.)) method of saying what is best.
Thus, the Imam was a champion of dialogue, and this is what all the callers, especially if they are Imams, should resort to. They should not be infuriated by the opinion of others, but rather they should try to influence them by their views with wisdom and debate with the best words and means. He was even described by one of those who used to gather around him: “I have never seen anyone who deserves to be called humanitarian except Ja’far bin Muhammad.”
The Imam of Scholars and Knowledge
Imam As-Sadiq was the teacher of that stage, whom all scholars of the various sects used to learn from. One of his students was Abu Hanifa, the Imam of the Hanafi sect, who spent two years in the Imam's school.
Abu Hanifa used to say: “Had it not been for these two years, I would have been damned.” For although Abu Hanifa did not become a Jaafari, he learned the various religious sciences in these two years. Abu Hanifa also reports that he was asked by Abu Ja’far Al-Mansour, the Abbasid Caliph of that age, to prepare forty complicated questions for Ja’far bin Muhammad, “for he has charmed the people.” Faced with these questions, the Imam used to say: “We say this, and the people of Medina say that, and that group says that” until he went through all the different opinions.
Thus, Abu Hanifa concluded: “He is the most knowledgeable person, since the most knowledgeable is the one who knows best the peoples' differences.”
A historian of that era says: “I entered the Mosque and saw 900 sheikhs, each saying: ‘Ja’far bin Muhammad As-Sadiq told me.’” He was the teacher of that age, the teacher of those who agreed with him and those who did not, for they all used to go back to him, and it is said that those who narrated his traditions exceeded four thousand scholars.
Piety and Dedication
The Imam also represented the highest level of spirituality. When we read his supplications, we find out that he was the man who loved Allah and was loved by Him, and who was dedicated to Allah in all his mind, spirit, and life. He opened up to all people, talking to and guiding them. He wanted his followers to learn about all of their religion. He also wanted them not to offend or hurt others, even those who differed with them in their opinions, saying: “It is very easy to please the people; just do not offend them with what you say.” He believed that the differences in opinion necessitate dialogue with the best means that avoids cursing or insulting. Allah has prevented us from abusing others, for it will lead to a reaction of the same kind. “And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge.” Surat al-An'am (6:108)
Moreover, the Imams, including Imam Ja’far, followed what Imam Ali believed in, to uphold Islamic unity and to avoid abusing those who differed with them.
The Commander of the Faithful said: “I will remain peaceful as long as the affairs of the Muslims are maintained and the only wrong committed falls on me personally.” He also said: “I dislike you starting to abuse them, but if you describe their deeds and recount their situations, that would be a better mode of speaking and a more convincing way of arguing. Instead of abusing them you should say, ‘O Allah! Save our blood and their blood, produce reconciliation between us and them, and lead them out of their misguidance so that he who is ignorant of the truth may know it, and he who inclines toward rebellion and revolt may turn away from it.’”
This is the legacy of Ahl al-Bayt, and this is their moral system. They wanted to attract people by wisdom and using the best means in dialogue. One of our Imams said: “Keep our memory alive, may Allah have mercy on those who do so.”
Asked how we do that, he said: “Relate to them our sayings. They will learn about our supreme morals, and thus they will love us.” This is the way to make the Muslims love our Imams, and this is what we want all our religious men and reciters of Ashura to remember: to tell the people the truth and not myths.
Imam As-Sadiq wanted us to uphold Islamic unity. Asked what they should do with their relatives and members of the community of the other sects, he said: “Pray with them, visit their sick, and attend their funerals, so that people will say: ‘May Allah bless Ja’far bin Muhammad; he educated his companions on good manners.’” The Imam wanted the Shiite Muslims to open up to the Sunni Muslims, which does not mean that they have to offer concessions that have to do with their faith. He used to say: “Abu Bakr is twice my father,” since he was his grandfather from the mother's side. This does not mean that he recognizes his caliphate, but he wanted the people to take the ethical and humanitarian aspects into consideration.
Our following of Ahl al-Bayt is part of our Message and Islamic belief. They are the ones who embody the Message. May Allah bless Imam As-Sadiq, his fathers and his children, when they were born, when they died, and when they will be brought back to life.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
A Persistent American Policy
President Bush had given Israel, in the name of self-defense, the green light to kill Palestinian women, children, and the elderly, and destroy their houses in Beit Yahoun.
His UN Security Council representative used the veto against the draft resolution that mildly condemned Israel.
This is the fortieth US veto that is made to support the enemy, encourage it to carry on its aggression against the Palestinians, and humiliate the Arab and Muslim worlds, the majority of whose regimes are under the hegemony of the US administration, which despises their leaders, for it does not respect those who yield to its political pressures.
On another level, the visit of the Zionist Prime Minister has renewed Washington's support for the continued aggression of the Jewish state against the Palestinians. The American President, whose policy's cornerstone in the region is Israeli interests, has even promised Olmert to oppose the idea of an international conference.
It is also shocking that Bush has asked the enemy's prime minister to train the Israeli armed forces to avoid being defeated again, promising to provide the Israelis with advanced weapons that will kill more Lebanese and Palestinians. In this respect, the Zionist officials have declared that the cluster bombs they dropped on Lebanese southern villages are made in the US, and that they are but a part of what the US administration has provided to the Israeli Army, which has not submitted the maps of these bombs to the Lebanese Army or UNIFIL.
Arab Incompetence
The Arab foreign ministers who met in Cairo decided to lift the blockade on aid to the Palestinian people. But this is the least they ought to do, for they did not take advantage of the pressure cards they possess against Israel and America, being afraid of the consequences and the impact of such an action on their personal positions and interests. Such a state of affairs makes the state of Arab weakness persistent and keeps them on the margin of international affairs, especially when their vital interests are concerned.
Repercussions of an Aggression against Iran
In Iran, the American President, with his bleak Israeli hatred, assured the enemy's prime minister that although he lost the midterm elections, he can still carry out what he had previously declared: not allowing Iran to turn into a nuclear state, even for peaceful purposes, and that he will use the UN to impose multiple sanctions if Iran does not succumb.
We believe that the Islamic Republic of Iran has all the means to defend itself against any Israeli or American aggression that could lead to regional and international political or military catastrophes, turning the world—in what is left of Bush's term—into a place more violent and less secure, with terrorist acts increasing.
This will lead to extraordinary complications for American interests, with free nations resisting American hegemony. We even feel that the American people will continue to pressurize their administration, protesting against its wars in Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.
It is ironic, in this respect, that the enemy's prime minister is calling on the "moderate" Arab countries to stand against Iran in its nuclear project, since in his view, it represents a threat to them and the world, but he does not talk about his nuclear arsenal.
The American Solution for Iraq: Division
Iraq is still in the darkness of the catastrophe that struck its people, with tens or hundreds of Iraqis being killed by the occupation forces or the Takfiri death squads, while the losses in the occupation forces are but few.
We have always stressed that the root cause of the Iraqi economic and security tragedy is the occupation, which created this barbaric attitude of Takfiri hatred that continues its war on innocent civilians. In addition, the American media is promoting the idea of dividing Iraq. Time Magazine has described such an idea as the realistic solution and the best one for all parties. It considered that the US should give up the idea of creating a new unified Iraq. It should let the country disintegrate into its three components—the Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds—turning Iraq into mini-states that are ruled by the US and fall under the influence of Israel, giving it the chance to further weaken Iraq and interfere in its affairs.
Lebanon and the Sectarian Complications
We were hoping that the Lebanese would rise to the great victory against the Zionist enemy, but the sectarian-political complications of several parties led the country to plunge into the caves of the international plans for the region, especially the American plan, which made Lebanon a base for its pressures on both Lebanese and regional parties, exploiting the country's suffering from internal division due to the sectarian-loaded discourse most politicians hold. They are practicing deceit to the extent that the dialogue many parties are asking for lacks any essence, being only talk and no action.
The Lebanese people, of all parties, are living a pressing economic crisis, fearing the security developments and being influenced by sectarian, divisive incitement. The politicians promote these divisions to ensure that they stay in their positions. Lebanon is floundering in hatred, rancor, and hostility, with no voice calling for love, even in the religious discourse. Where is Lebanon heading to?