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 Rajab 29, 1429 AH/August 1, 2008, 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 Night Journey:
Enriching the Prophetic Mission
The Day Islam was Born
Allah, the Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book: "Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know." Surat al-Baqarah (02:151)
"Indeed, We have sent you with the truth as a bringer of good tidings and a warner, and you will not be asked about the companions of Hellfire." Surat al-Baqarah (02:119)
"...And Allah has revealed to you the Book and wisdom and taught you that which you did not know. And ever has the favor of Allah upon you been great." Surat an-Nisa (04:113)
On the 27th of the month of Rajab, Islam was born. It is the religion which Allah wanted His Prophet (p.) to declare and call for, and to struggle to open the people's minds and their lives to its laws, and to emphasize in all truth Allah's oneness in worship and practice.
Allah sent this Messenger (p.) with the truth to give people the glad tidings of Paradise if they follow the straight path, and to warn them of Hellfire if they deviate. He sent him to reveal His verses and purify their souls by developing all the elements of good and piety in them. He wanted to turn them into people who live their humanity through adopting a life of piety, justice, and goodness. He wanted His Messenger to be the teacher who teaches people the entire Book (The Glorious Quran), reciting and explaining it to them: "There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book." Surat al-Ma'idah (05:15)
This is because the Holy Quran is a Divine light that illuminates all minds, souls, and lives, and that teaches people what they did not know and fights the ignorance and backwardness they lived in for a long time.
The Messenger (p.) sought to teach people what Allah had taught him: "...and taught you that which you did not know." Surat an-Nisa (04:113). He wanted him to open up to the broadest and most advanced sources of knowledge, although he was illiterate. "And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand." Surat al-'Ankabut (29:48). But his illiteracy opened the minds of people to the most advanced knowledge humanity has ever produced, teaching people how to read, write, and debate.
Mercy and Glad Tidings
Thus, the Messenger (p.) commenced his role as a witness over the nation: "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)
He is that torch that gives light to the mind, the heart, and life. He is the caller to Allah and the bringer of His glad tidings and the warner of His wrath.
He is the mercy through which Allah bestowed His mercy on all creation. Islam represents a mercy in ideology, law, and human relations that opens up to progress and advancement in all fields of life.
Thus, Allah has presented the Prophet (p.) of Islam to mankind as a human being: "Say, 'I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God.'" Surat al-Kahf (18:110). "I eat, drink and dress just like you do. The difference is that I receive Allah's revelation. I did not come to you as a man who holds the treasure of the earth. Nor did I come to tell you about the unseen." "That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you. You knew it not, neither you nor your people, before this." Surat Hud (11:49). "Say, 'I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner.'" Surat al-Ahqaf (46:9).
Based on these facts, we say to those who talk about the Prophet (p.) and the Imam (a.s.) as having control over the universe that they are violating the Quran. The Prophet himself says: "Say, 'I hold not for myself any benefit or harm, except what Allah wills. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.'" Surat al-A'raf (07:188).
He introduced himself to the people as a human who introduces Islam as Allah has wanted him to, in its general elements: "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 (07:157).
Allah wanted His Messenger to teach people how to love Allah and how to love Him alone just as they worship and obey Him only. The Messenger says: "If you love Allah then follow me (the Shariah and the revelation that I convey to you); Allah will love you and forgive your sins."
The Messenger's Counsel
The Prophet's advice to Muslims in every time and place: "You are all from Adam, and Adam is from dust. There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab except by piety. The most noble of you in Allah's, the Most Exalted, Sight is the most pious."
Dear loved ones, when we look at the world today, we find that disbelief and arrogance have waged a war against Islam as a religion and as a nation. That is why it is our responsibility, as it was the responsibility of the Prophet's Companions, to unite and be merciful towards each other: "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves." Surat al-Fath (48:29). But regrettably, we have been fierce with each other, and merciful with the enemy.
Islam Legislated Unity and Freedom
Our responsibility in this respect is Islamic unity. "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah makes clear to you His verses that you may be guided." Surat Al 'Imran (03:103).
But we notice that the arrogant powers have employed kings, presidents, ministers, and parties in the Muslim countries to besiege any movement of freedom and any manifestation of pride. Therefore, we ought to follow the example of the Prophet and that of Ali, the champion of Islam who loves Allah and His Messenger and who is loved by them, as the Prophet said during the battle of Khaybar, since he felt that he was responsible for Islam more than he was responsible for himself or his family.
Dear loved ones, if we love Allah, the Most Exalted, we have to make every effort to ensure the strength of Islam and the unity of the Muslim nation. And if we love the Messenger, we have to pursue his message. And if we love Imam Ali (a.s.) and his progeny, we have to follow the straight Islamic line they drew for us.
In the anniversary of the birth of Islam, we have to continue this Islamic march, we have to be part of it, so that the Muslims will no longer be merely numbers, despite the fact that they have reached more than one and a half billion. They should become a force to be reckoned with in knowledge, experience, confrontation, dignity, and power.
The Night Journey
We would also like to commemorate the anniversary of the Night Journey and the Ascension that was cited in Allah's saying: "Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing." Surat al-Isra (17:1). Allah wanted to introduce Al-Aqsa Mosque, where all Messengers meet, to His Messenger, the seal of the Prophets.
We also find in the Ascension, as it says in Surat an-Najm: "He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord." Surat an-Najm (53:18), that Allah wanted to educate the Prophet on all the realities of the universe, thus elevating the level of the people in such a way that if they have any differences among them they will resort to dialogue and refer to Allah and His Messenger: "O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result." Surat an-Nisa (04:59). If Allah wants us to say to the People of the Book, "Say, 'O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you...'" Surat Al 'Imran (03:64), why do we not say to the people of the Quran, "Come to common terms as between us and you."
We have to respect one another and refrain from hurting other Muslims just as we want other Muslims not to hurt us. Let us carry the Message of Islam to the entire world as the Prophet (p.) did. Let us also rise to Heaven as the Messenger (p.) did in his ascension and preserve the Aqsa Mosque as we preserve the Masjid al-Haram.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Destroying the Palestinian Cause
The Palestinian question has become a part of the American and international priorities. But they are not the priorities of finding a solution but rather of methodological destruction. They aim at enabling Israel to tighten its control over all of Palestine, and perpetuate the status quo of settlements, the separation wall, and assassinations as new conditions and not as an opportunity to found a Palestinian state.
As the deceitful process of the crumbling regimes continues, and at a time the enemy's Prime Minister declares that a final peace settlement cannot be reached this year, the Israeli bulldozers continue to demolish the Palestinians' houses in Jerusalem. The enemy is also talking about demolishing new houses in eastern Jerusalem, claiming that they are built on Israeli-owned lands.
All this aims at completely Judaizing Jerusalem and turning Israel, as President Bush promised, into a Jewish state, while the Arabs are hallucinating about their fears of Iran to an extent that they are afraid to receive the bodies of the martyrs that were released by the Radwan operation. They (the regimes) are afraid of being caught in the act of receiving those who pointed to the direction of the real struggle and the real enemy.
In this atmosphere, in which the Palestinian Authority is pushed from one empty, consuming negotiation into another, and as the Zionist beast continues to feed on the Palestinian flesh, the feud between Fatah and Hamas escalates, making the pacification agreement with the enemy an omen of a new internal Palestinian war, as if the Palestinians are not suffering enough from the enemy's terrorism. Such developments are recreating an atmosphere of complication, making dialogue a remote possibility.
All this raises the question: was the pacification agreement an opportunity to start a new round of international, American, Israeli, and even Arab pressures that prevents the Palestinians from holding their internal dialogue and agreeing on a national unity government? On the other hand, it aims at weakening the Jihadi militant party and pushing it towards cancelling the resistance option and agreeing to the enemy's humiliating conditions.
We warn that the enemy is moving to another phase of its terrorist project in Palestine that is concealed by all the smoke it raises about Iran, the opposition states, and resistance movements. The real danger is that the fall of Palestine means the fall of the foundation of the rest of the Arab and Islamic causes, which threatens a new occupation reality that endangers the nation in its very existence.
The Takfiris' Bloody Positions
Probably the greatest catastrophe lies in the Takfiri parties, that claim to be flying the banner of Islam and carrying the causes of the Arabs, do not actually appreciate the horrific practices of the occupation's terrorism in Iraq. Instead, they strive to make Islamic occasions bloody ones, as they did in their last barbaric massacres in Iraq, thus targeting Muslim unity and insisting on their Takfiri means that even use women in their suicidal attacks, imagining that this draws them closer to Allah, and rejecting the Prophet's prohibition of Muslim blood.
As we believe that the occupation is responsible for all these massacres and crimes, whether in Kazimiyah or Karkuk, we are astonished by the silence of several Arab and Islamic Authorities who usually comment on little details but find no need to comment on these massacres and clarify the legal Islamic position towards targeting peaceful civilians.
Lebanon's Consensual Democracy
Every once in a while, we hear that the political line that governs the Lebanese is that the majority rules and the minority opposes. Since this is the way that is practiced in the civilized world, we agree that this is the common practice on the international level, but we have two remarks.
First: Majorities and minorities do agree on forming a coalition government during a genuine national crisis. Do those who are adopting this theory oppose the agreement of the Lebanese on a national unity government?
Second: The civilized world adopts this democracy on the basis of the numerical majority reached in elections without any differentiation between one religion or sect and another. Do those talking about the rule of the majority accept the numerical majority based on citizenship, not sectarianism? They refuse this and talk about the particularity of Lebanon represented in coexistence, which calls for a consensual democracy that gives each sect some definite rights in representation even if it were a minority.
We believe that adopting democracy should be based on citizenship that includes every citizen regardless of his sect.
On another level, suffocating economic problems continue to impose themselves on all citizens who find that they are not living in the framework of a just state that is concerned with their hunger and deprivation or the general debt.
In addition, they are not concerned with developing the agricultural or industrial sector, nor do they try to establish security. But this does not prevent them from creating complications against the Resistance that was able to liberate the land and the human being... They talk about the state that should be the only power running the country, but they do not try to supply the Army with the advanced weapons, planes, and rockets that are able to deter any Israeli aggression.
Debate on the Resistance
We view the recent attempts to label the Resistance as an illegal entity, as if what is wanted is to hold the Resistance accountable for its victories over the enemy and for liberating its prisoners and martyrs, while we find no one in the enemy's entity that opposes his government’s confrontation of future challenges...
The debate over whether the ministerial statement should confirm that the state should protect the Resistance might hint that some people fear the force that resists aggression. This is because the Israeli occupation possesses a US and European umbrella that is trying to prevent Lebanon from defending itself on the military level and from pushing for the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 when it comes to banning Israeli violations of Lebanon's airspace and waters.
In the meantime, political flirting with the international community and resolutions continues, while Israel continues to refuse to implement them since America does not allow any state to make such demands.
Liberating the country from direct and indirect occupations and being always ready to confront the enemy's plans and ambitions should be given a decisive priority not only in this ministerial statement but also in all statements of all governments. This will end this shameful debate over the Resistance. We do not know how some could pose the Resistance against the state, knowing that it was the one who put Lebanon back on the track of having a state. A country which does not create a popular force or that fears the force of its people is a country that will always circulate in the orbit of this international alliance, or that regional coalition, which exploits its circumstances apart from strategic interests.
This is the secret of political chaos in Lebanon, the arena and farm, which the international community is preventing from being a state.