Pilgrimage (Hajj): A Revolution Against the Self and the Oppressors - 22/12/2006

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 Thu-el-Hujjah 2, 1427 AH/ December 22, 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

Pilgrimage (Hajj): A Revolution Against the Self and the Oppressors

“And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass.” Surat Al-Hajj (22:27)

“That they may witness benefits for themselves and mention the name of Allah on known days over what He has provided for them of [sacrificial] animals. So eat of them and feed the miserable and poor.” Surat Al-Hajj (22:28)

“Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows and perform Tawaf around the ancient House.” Surat Al-Hajj (22:29)

“That [has been commanded], and whoever honors the sacred ordinances of Allah - it is best for him in the sight of his Lord.” Surat Al-Hajj (22:30)

“And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, for those who are able to undertake it; and whoever disbelieves, then indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.” Surat Aal- Imran (3:97)

Response to Allah's Commands

We are, these days, in the pilgrimage season, when people perform the duty of Hajj that Allah made incumbent on all those who are able, so that they will meet at the Sacred Mosque. 

“Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah - blessed and a guidance for the worlds.” Surat Aal-Imran (3:96)

It is the mosque that Allah wanted the Muslims to visit and head to in their prayers, so that they will feel united by God and go round His Ancient House.

Thus, the duty of pilgrimage is a duty in which the believer regains his relationship with Allah, a relation that is based on obedience to all God's commands in what He deemed lawful and in what He prohibited. That is why we find that Allah wanted man, when he begins his pilgrimage, to take off all the fancy clothes he used to wear, and put on the garments of Ihram, which are similar to the shroud that he will meet Allah within the Hereafter.

Then, the believer will perform the bath of Ihram as if he is getting purified from all his sins in preparation for meeting God, remembering that Allah has told him to be careful towards his duty to his Lord. He also talked to him as a believer {O mankind, fear your Lord} and {O you who have believed} to remind him that he should obey Him in all that he does and abstain from all that he has been forbidden from.

Thus, the pilgrim will then appeal to God, saying: "I respond to Your call, O Allah, I respond to Your call. I am obedient to Your orders. You have no partner. I respond to Your call. All the praises and blessings are for You. All the sovereignty is for You." By this, the believer will be recommitting himself to obey all Allah's commands in all his life. He will be obedient in his familial life, in his social life, in his political life… etc. He will be making a covenant with Allah that all his life will be a response to what Allah has commanded. Then, after renewing one's vow, he would leave all the comforts he is used to in life and walk bareheaded in the heat of Mecca to reach the Sacred Mosque and go round it: and perform Tawaf around the ancient House.

This act of going round the House is symbolic in that it means being committed to the House of Allah, which is the obedience to His commands.

When you go round the House, you are not worshipping the stones the house is built with. Even when you touch the Black Stone, you are not worshipping it. You are just earning the blessings that Allah wants you to earn by touching it.

Moreover, whoever goes round the Sacred House should not go round the houses of the wrongdoers and tyrants, or those of dissolution and violation of the rights of others.

Whoever goes round Allah's House should not turn his own house into one where sin is committed (such as drinking wine, gambling…etc.), thus wronging the others in his household by such practices.

Taking the Straight Path

You have to turn all the places you live or work in into places of worshipping Allah, by being pious, remembering Allah, and obeying His commands.

Then when you walk between As-Safa and Al-Marwa seven times, as it is ordained in the Holy Quran: 

“Indeed, as-Safa and al-Marwah are among the symbols of Allah.” Surat Al-Baqarah (2:158), you are doing so to obey Allah and to earn His satisfaction. Therefore, whoever goes round these two hills will never wrong a human being… He will never go to a house of dissolution or usurp other people's rights or property. Taking the course that runs between these two hills of Safa and Marwa suggests to man that he has to take the course of good and guidance. Then you shorten your hair or clip your nails to suggest that you have cut away some of your past.

Then, after you renew your Ihram and Talbiya, you go to Arafat to supplicate, review all your actions, and go back to Allah asking for His forgiveness. In this respect, it has been said in our traditions that whoever thinks while he is in Arafat that Allah will not forgive him, then Allah will not forgive him. You have to believe that Allah will forgive you, since He is the Forgiving, and the Merciful. Then you have to review all your past and repent for all your sins, deciding earnestly that you will start a new life.

Balancing Between the Two Worlds

Then when you go from Arafat to Muzdalifah: 

“Then when you pour forth from Arafat, remember Allah at the sacred Monument.” Surat Al-Baqarah (2:198)

There are those who ask Allah for the goods of this world; those will not earn the good of the Hereafter, because they were preoccupied with the earthly rewards and did not think about the other life. But there are those who say: 

"Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire." Surat Al-Baqarah (2:201)

“For them there will be alloted a share for what they have earned. And Allah is swift in account.” Surat Al-Baqarah (2:202)

Thus, when you are at the sacred Monument, you have to think about both worlds and ask for Allah's forgiveness, lest you end up in Hell.

Then you go to Mina to throw the pebbles and sacrifice and feed the poor as Allah has ordained. Then you will shorten or shave your hair, as if you are breaking up with all the past, and your new hair (future) will grow on God's obedience. Then you will go round the House again… and go back to Mina to supplicate in total piety and dependence upon God, the All-Mighty.

Then you will throw the pebbles as if you are throwing them at all your devils, be they small or big. Then the pilgrimage will end on the 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah. And if you have done all what Allah has wanted you to do in this duty, you will be told: your sins have been forgiven. And you can start your life anew, a life that will be spent in obeying God.

Thus, the Pilgrimage will end upon completing the rites, but a new pilgrimage will start and will go on as long as you live.

This pilgrimage encompasses all your individual and social actions that should all aim at earning God's satisfaction and denouncing all devils. Thus, man can find in pilgrimage what would educate him on sublime morals. One of our traditions says: Allah does not care about anybody who performs pilgrimage unless he has three traits: Piety that will prevent him from doing what Allah has prohibited, tolerance that could counter the ignorance of the ignorant, and sublime morals that he adopts to deal with people.

Dear beloved,

We ask Allah to accept the pilgrimage of all pilgrims… That those pilgrims will understand the real meaning of their duty, in that they will not consider it a normal trip in which they perform the rituals in a materialistic manner. Pilgrimage is a revolution against the self in all the sins it made. It is the start of a new life in which Muslims feel the Islamic unity that unifies and strengthens them as well as the nation and enables them to face unbelief and arrogance… the unbelievers and the arrogant.

The Second Sermon

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Beware of the American scheme

In Palestine, a security catastrophe has unfolded with the Palestinian blood being spilled by Palestinians, as a result of certain partisan differences of a political character.

Based on constitutional legitimacy, one of the parties calls for a realistic plan to resolve the problems of the Palestinian people and seeks a settlement that takes into account the international situation.

This view has emerged following a series of meetings with the American top officials including the President, as well as some European officials; the last of them was the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who came to Palestine to jumpstart the "peace process". But he failed because he committed himself to the US policies not only with respect to the Arab Israeli struggle but also to the entire US world view. Thus, we find Blair talking, even untimely, about Iran as an extremist state that poses a threat to the region and the world. On the other hand, he calls on the Arabs to establish good relations with Israel whose security is his main concern but be does not say a word about its nuclear arsenal that poses a threat to the states of the region that demand a nuclear free region. He also continues to support his ally, Bush, in Iraq whose people continue to suffer from the occupation and the way its running the political and economic affairs of Iraq.

In his talk about moderation and the need to confront the Iranian threat which poses no danger except on the Western arrogant interest, Blair is trying to deceive the Arab officials, for Iran adopts a policy of friendship towards the Arab and Islamic worlds.

We notice that this Palestinian party is trying to open up on the devious schemes of America and Israel and their allies and accept their internal projects concerning the political situation in Palestine.

In contrast, the other Palestinian party remained committed to the strategic goals of liberation and consequently refused to recognize Israeli legitimacy. This stand has led to an Arab and international blockade of this party. On the other hand, their proposal of a national unity government may not be realistic, which means that the Palestinians are still living in the same whirlpool, especially with some of the Politicians trying to dominate over the entire state.

The dangerousness of any civil war in such circumstances cannot be underestimated. Any political conflict could automatically turn into an armed one, with no one listening to the calls for a ceasefire. Thus, all those who are faithful to the Palestinian cause appeal to all parties to educate their members to respect the lives and properties of their follow believers, not only with respect to killing but also to abductions that makes matters worse.

We hold all parties responsible for the mentality that changes the conflict into a civil war, at a time the Zionist Enemy continues to kill and detain scores of civilians every day.

We voice our demand to control the current situation, rising to the level of the great cause of confronting occupation. All arms should be against the enemy, especially that the arrogant world is still supporting the Zionists in their strategic project of obliterating the Palestinian cause.

America targets Islam

On another level, the American Administration that has sunk in Iraqi, Afghani and Lebanese quicksand, still represents the biggest danger on the entire region and on the integrity of Islam in particular. Our following of the American policies towards Islam has made us sure that it wants to destroy Islam, as a culture, thought and nation, as a result of the complexes of the neo-conservatives and the Jewish groups that control the American Administration. We call on the American people not to restrict its opposition to the war in Iraq, but also to include the American unequivocal support to Israel that the latter relies on it to justify its brutal crimes against the Palestinians and other peoples in the region, as well as its undermining of world peace. All these policies lead to the hatred of the downtrodden nations to the US and will consequently hurt its strategic interests.

We do not have any complex towards the American people. It is the policies of the Administration that we are against. This is what we want the American people to know so that by changing these policies, there could be a friendship between the American and other nations.