The Religious Authority H.E. Sayyed M. H. Fadlullah delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque,27th January 2006, Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer.
Do not trust the oppressors and the unjust
The First Sermon
One of the things Allah wanted man to stay away from is injustice. In this respect, God did not differentiate between Muslims and non-Muslims. Both should not be denied their rights, for Allah wanted justice to be the basis of human relations.
This is what Allah has revealed to His Messengers. One of the traditions of the Members of the House (a.s.) relates that God revealed to a prophet who lived in a dictatorship to go to the tyrant ruler and tell him that God made him a ruler to address the grieves of the downtrodden, for God will not accept any injustice done to them even if they were unbelievers. Justice has no religion just as oppression has no religion. That is why we ought to be just to every human being whether a believer or a non-believer.
We should be fair and just with all human beings for God accepts no wronging of any human being.
Kinds of injustice
Imam Ali (a.s.) divided injustice into three kinds: One that is not forgiven, one that is forgiven and one that should be accounted for.
The first kind is ascribing partners for Allah, for He said: Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases.
The kind that is forgiven is the one related to secondary sins in which one is unjust towards himself , for God does not want man to commit major sins. The third kind is the injustice towards fellow men, whether in money or any kind of damage or wounding. This kind of injustice Allah does not forego, but He punishes those who practice it, and does not forgive it until those who were wronged forgive. A tradition that demonstrates this , is about those who come in the Hereafter with a lot of good deeds that amaze the others. Then the people who were wronged by them would say: O Just, O Wise, rule between us and them for they have wronged us. Allah will say take from their good deeds and give them to the wronged, and then when those are finished Allah orders the angels to take form the sins of the wronged and add them to the unjust.
Allah is the adversary of the wrongs against the servants of God: man’s –wives, children or employees… etc, or the wrongs of the leaders to their people –. Then if Allah is your adversary, what will your fate be like. Imam Ali (a.s) also says: The worst supplies you take with you to the Day of Judgment is wronging God’s servants.
Imam Ali (a.s), the Imam of Justice, also says: By Allah I would rather pass a night in wakefulness on the thorns of as-Sadan (a plant having sharp prickles) or be driven in chains as a prisoner than meet Allah and His Messenger on the Day of Judgment as an oppressor over any person or a usurper of anything out of worldly wealth. And how can I oppress any one for (the sake of a life) that is fast moving towards destruction and is to remain under the earth for a long time.
What then is the fate of those who steal the wealth of the nation and become rich, although they are known to be poor? He also says: "wronging is the biggest sin" and nothing will bring the wrath of God more than injustice, for Allah hears the prayers of the wronged.
The Prophet (p.) describes those who wrong the weak ( the husband whose wife and children have no one to protect or the downtrodden in the community) by saying: “Allah's anger is severe on those who cannot have someone to support them against the wronging except Allah". Ali (a.s) also says: The ugliest and most brutal kind of wronging is the one committed against the weak.
Moreover, Imam Ali (a.s.) advises us that when we feel that we have got the power to wrong people we have to remember God's power to punish us.
Injustice will end
We have seen how things have turned against those who have killed people or robbed their money: Such days (of varying fortunes) We give to men and men by turns. Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s) says: “He who commit injustice, he who supports him and he who does not object are partners”.
The Messenger (p.) says, and this is addressed to those who act as bullies to the unjust or support them: He who helps an unjust in his injustice will come on the Day of Judgement with the following written on his forehead:"I have lost hope in the Mercy of God".
The Glories Quran says: And do not incline to those who are unjust, lest the fire touch you, and you have no guardians besides Allah, then you shall not be helped.
Allah wants justice to be universal; He wants all people to live it. He has asserted in the Quran that all Messages have come to establish justice:We sent aforetime our messengers with Clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance (of Right and Wrong), that men may stand forth in justice.Therefore, To be a Muslim means that you have to be just, just to your self, by not committing sins; just towards your God, by not ascribing partners to Him, just towards others, and so on.
Moreover, we have to stand against the oppressors and the arrogant powers.
This is the line of Islam that man has to educate himself on. When you go to sleep, you have to remember that God is watching you and knows about all your wrongdoings.
The Second Sermon
The Palestinian elections produced a political surprise: Hamas winning the absolute majority in the Palestinian legislative council , which means that the Palestinian people have chosen the Islamic resistance, because they have proved their dedication to liberate the land and the people. It also proved that they adopt political realism since Hamas and its allies will not fire any shots if the enemy withdraws from the occupied lands. Consequently Hamas will negotiate indirectly with Israel to achieve liberation. But negotiations cannot take place while Israel is using all its destructive powers against the Palestinians.
If the American and European officials are talking about the necessity of not dealing with Hamas being a terrorisrt group, and call on it to adopt democracy to be accepted by the international community, we believe that the ball now is in their court. Because they have not asked Israel to stop its state terror against the Palestinian people, especially the women and children and the elderly.
The problem is that the Americans have considered the Palestinian – Israeli conflict a security one, while everybody knows that it is a political one, since the Palestinian violence was a reaction to the political violence of occupation.
We believe that rejecting the electoral results is a rejection of democracy and the choice of the Palestinian people. This means that America and Europe are not taking democracy as a serious issue.
We call on the Palestinians to stick to their choices and support Hamas’s proposal of a national unity government to complete liberation, so that the world will know that the Palestinians are untied in pursuing liberation, and that they will not let Israel take advantage of certain partisan gaps to create a civil strife that will lead to the defeat of all of them.
The American goals in Iraq
While we appreciate the free choices of the Iraqi people, despite certain negative aspects that are causing partisan and sectarian debates, we call the Iraqis to agree on a national unity government that gives each party its political rights, to continue to make every effort to liberate Iraq from the American – British occupation. They should reject the maneuver of taking the forces out of the cities, since the occupiers will maintain their colonial dominance of the country that hides the American – Israeli intelligence activities that aims at taking Iraq as a centre for pressurizing the neighbouring countries to promote the Western and Israeli interests.
We warn against the American plans of inciting civil strife in Iraq as part of the American plan to find a justification for perpetuating the occupation in the name of preserving stability.
We reject the accusations to Iran
America urges the European countries to condemn Iran for its peaceful nuclear project, and submit the issue to the Security Council. This will hurt the European economic interests in Iran, especially that such accusations are built on mere suspicions although Iran has declared that it is against producing nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the West remains silent and does not protest against the Israeli nuclear arsenal, since it is 'threatened' by the neighbouring countries.
This is a something of a comic tragedy, for everyone knows that Israel is the one that constitutes a threat to the neighbouring countries and not the other way round. We stand with Iran and reject the accusations that it is a terrorist state or that it supports terror.
On the contrary, it is facing the Israeli and American terrorism. The truth of the matter is that the West does not want Iran to acquire nuclear scientific knowledge, even if for peaceful purposes.
Beware of American initiatives
In Lebanon, the American envoys attempt to create problems among the Lebanese. They call for the expulsion of the resistance and the political party it represents from the political front.
There is another Jewish American official who hides behind the last envoy, and who played a big role in complicating the American policies in the region so as to assist Israel in its confrontation of the Arab and Muslim world.
America's threat, against some Lebanese parties and befriending others hide a state of political aggression against Lebanon and Syria to prevent any political or even economic agreement between the two countries.
Lastly, all parties should meet the Arab initiative with a positive reaction that serves the interests of the region and Lebanon. They should be cautious from the American initiatives that aim at destabilizing the country, which might lead to a security conflict, which we still rule out… We call on the Lebanese people not to listen to those who incite sectarian rifts, since any political coalition, whether in the majority or the minority, gains its significances from its strive to promote national unity . These coalitions should also seek to punish the corrupted and the thieves and try to solve the economic crisis, protect the national wealth, and ensure that civil servant posts are based on qualification and not sectarian affiliations.
The Religious Authority H.E. Sayyed M. H. Fadlullah delivered the two Friday prayer sermons at the Imamain Al-Hassanain Mosque,27th January 2006, Several prominent religious scholars, dignitaries and thousands of believers attended the Jumu’a prayer.
Do not trust the oppressors and the unjust
The First Sermon
One of the things Allah wanted man to stay away from is injustice. In this respect, God did not differentiate between Muslims and non-Muslims. Both should not be denied their rights, for Allah wanted justice to be the basis of human relations.
This is what Allah has revealed to His Messengers. One of the traditions of the Members of the House (a.s.) relates that God revealed to a prophet who lived in a dictatorship to go to the tyrant ruler and tell him that God made him a ruler to address the grieves of the downtrodden, for God will not accept any injustice done to them even if they were unbelievers. Justice has no religion just as oppression has no religion. That is why we ought to be just to every human being whether a believer or a non-believer.
We should be fair and just with all human beings for God accepts no wronging of any human being.
Kinds of injustice
Imam Ali (a.s.) divided injustice into three kinds: One that is not forgiven, one that is forgiven and one that should be accounted for.
The first kind is ascribing partners for Allah, for He said: Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgives anything else, to whom He pleases.
The kind that is forgiven is the one related to secondary sins in which one is unjust towards himself , for God does not want man to commit major sins. The third kind is the injustice towards fellow men, whether in money or any kind of damage or wounding. This kind of injustice Allah does not forego, but He punishes those who practice it, and does not forgive it until those who were wronged forgive. A tradition that demonstrates this , is about those who come in the Hereafter with a lot of good deeds that amaze the others. Then the people who were wronged by them would say: O Just, O Wise, rule between us and them for they have wronged us. Allah will say take from their good deeds and give them to the wronged, and then when those are finished Allah orders the angels to take form the sins of the wronged and add them to the unjust.
Allah is the adversary of the wrongs against the servants of God: man’s –wives, children or employees… etc, or the wrongs of the leaders to their people –. Then if Allah is your adversary, what will your fate be like. Imam Ali (a.s) also says: The worst supplies you take with you to the Day of Judgment is wronging God’s servants.
Imam Ali (a.s), the Imam of Justice, also says: By Allah I would rather pass a night in wakefulness on the thorns of as-Sadan (a plant having sharp prickles) or be driven in chains as a prisoner than meet Allah and His Messenger on the Day of Judgment as an oppressor over any person or a usurper of anything out of worldly wealth. And how can I oppress any one for (the sake of a life) that is fast moving towards destruction and is to remain under the earth for a long time.
What then is the fate of those who steal the wealth of the nation and become rich, although they are known to be poor? He also says: "wronging is the biggest sin" and nothing will bring the wrath of God more than injustice, for Allah hears the prayers of the wronged.
The Prophet (p.) describes those who wrong the weak ( the husband whose wife and children have no one to protect or the downtrodden in the community) by saying: “Allah's anger is severe on those who cannot have someone to support them against the wronging except Allah". Ali (a.s) also says: The ugliest and most brutal kind of wronging is the one committed against the weak.
Moreover, Imam Ali (a.s.) advises us that when we feel that we have got the power to wrong people we have to remember God's power to punish us.
Injustice will end
We have seen how things have turned against those who have killed people or robbed their money: Such days (of varying fortunes) We give to men and men by turns. Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s) says: “He who commit injustice, he who supports him and he who does not object are partners”.
The Messenger (p.) says, and this is addressed to those who act as bullies to the unjust or support them: He who helps an unjust in his injustice will come on the Day of Judgement with the following written on his forehead:"I have lost hope in the Mercy of God".
The Glories Quran says: And do not incline to those who are unjust, lest the fire touch you, and you have no guardians besides Allah, then you shall not be helped.
Allah wants justice to be universal; He wants all people to live it. He has asserted in the Quran that all Messages have come to establish justice:We sent aforetime our messengers with Clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance (of Right and Wrong), that men may stand forth in justice.Therefore, To be a Muslim means that you have to be just, just to your self, by not committing sins; just towards your God, by not ascribing partners to Him, just towards others, and so on.
Moreover, we have to stand against the oppressors and the arrogant powers.
This is the line of Islam that man has to educate himself on. When you go to sleep, you have to remember that God is watching you and knows about all your wrongdoings.
The Second Sermon
The Palestinian elections produced a political surprise: Hamas winning the absolute majority in the Palestinian legislative council , which means that the Palestinian people have chosen the Islamic resistance, because they have proved their dedication to liberate the land and the people. It also proved that they adopt political realism since Hamas and its allies will not fire any shots if the enemy withdraws from the occupied lands. Consequently Hamas will negotiate indirectly with Israel to achieve liberation. But negotiations cannot take place while Israel is using all its destructive powers against the Palestinians.
If the American and European officials are talking about the necessity of not dealing with Hamas being a terrorisrt group, and call on it to adopt democracy to be accepted by the international community, we believe that the ball now is in their court. Because they have not asked Israel to stop its state terror against the Palestinian people, especially the women and children and the elderly.
The problem is that the Americans have considered the Palestinian – Israeli conflict a security one, while everybody knows that it is a political one, since the Palestinian violence was a reaction to the political violence of occupation.
We believe that rejecting the electoral results is a rejection of democracy and the choice of the Palestinian people. This means that America and Europe are not taking democracy as a serious issue.
We call on the Palestinians to stick to their choices and support Hamas’s proposal of a national unity government to complete liberation, so that the world will know that the Palestinians are untied in pursuing liberation, and that they will not let Israel take advantage of certain partisan gaps to create a civil strife that will lead to the defeat of all of them.
The American goals in Iraq
While we appreciate the free choices of the Iraqi people, despite certain negative aspects that are causing partisan and sectarian debates, we call the Iraqis to agree on a national unity government that gives each party its political rights, to continue to make every effort to liberate Iraq from the American – British occupation. They should reject the maneuver of taking the forces out of the cities, since the occupiers will maintain their colonial dominance of the country that hides the American – Israeli intelligence activities that aims at taking Iraq as a centre for pressurizing the neighbouring countries to promote the Western and Israeli interests.
We warn against the American plans of inciting civil strife in Iraq as part of the American plan to find a justification for perpetuating the occupation in the name of preserving stability.
We reject the accusations to Iran
America urges the European countries to condemn Iran for its peaceful nuclear project, and submit the issue to the Security Council. This will hurt the European economic interests in Iran, especially that such accusations are built on mere suspicions although Iran has declared that it is against producing nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the West remains silent and does not protest against the Israeli nuclear arsenal, since it is 'threatened' by the neighbouring countries.
This is a something of a comic tragedy, for everyone knows that Israel is the one that constitutes a threat to the neighbouring countries and not the other way round. We stand with Iran and reject the accusations that it is a terrorist state or that it supports terror.
On the contrary, it is facing the Israeli and American terrorism. The truth of the matter is that the West does not want Iran to acquire nuclear scientific knowledge, even if for peaceful purposes.
Beware of American initiatives
In Lebanon, the American envoys attempt to create problems among the Lebanese. They call for the expulsion of the resistance and the political party it represents from the political front.
There is another Jewish American official who hides behind the last envoy, and who played a big role in complicating the American policies in the region so as to assist Israel in its confrontation of the Arab and Muslim world.
America's threat, against some Lebanese parties and befriending others hide a state of political aggression against Lebanon and Syria to prevent any political or even economic agreement between the two countries.
Lastly, all parties should meet the Arab initiative with a positive reaction that serves the interests of the region and Lebanon. They should be cautious from the American initiatives that aim at destabilizing the country, which might lead to a security conflict, which we still rule out… We call on the Lebanese people not to listen to those who incite sectarian rifts, since any political coalition, whether in the majority or the minority, gains its significances from its strive to promote national unity . These coalitions should also seek to punish the corrupted and the thieves and try to solve the economic crisis, protect the national wealth, and ensure that civil servant posts are based on qualification and not sectarian affiliations.