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 4, 1429 AH/ October 03, 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
No Patience, No Obedience
Patience in Times of Trouble
In the context of Islamic morals, Allah wants the Muslim to face his personal and public responsibilities, the great challenges and the calling for the path of Allah, with firmness and coherence, so that he will not shake or back off or fall under the burden of problems and pains. When you are sick with a severe illness or when you lose a loved one, or when your business encounters certain drawbacks or even great losses… you have to stand firm and remain patient.
Fasting is a manifestation of patience. Allah's saying: "And seek help through patience and prayer..." (Surat al-Baqarah 2:45) has been interpreted in the sense that patience is fasting, since fasting is being hungry and thirsty or even feeling a desire for lawful pleasures, and you abstain out of free will although they are at your disposal, thus materializing the meaning of patience.
Islam has emphasized the importance of patience as a forbiddance of the feeling that the catastrophe one is passing through is unbearable.
When man was created, Allah gave him the power to endure all that he will face in life. Patience in this sense is a manifestation of strength, because to be patient you have to be the master of your feelings, and not let them control you and lead you to fall, but rather strengthen you.
In this respect, we read the saying of Ali when he buried the Messenger: "If you had not ordered us to be patient and not to lament and bemoan loudly, we would have kept weeping and lamenting ceaselessly."
Some people, including religious scholars, say that it is recommended to lament for Imam Hussein, thus justifying even the striking of heads by swords and other such backward acts. Yes, we grieve deeply for Imam Hussein, but we learn from him and his brother how to be patient as they did when their father was killed, or as Lady Zainab did when her brother was martyred.
In the Glorious Book of Allah, there are several verses that talk about patience. We read, for example, about the companions of prophets who fought with them for the sake of the call:
"And how many a prophet [fought and] with him fought many religious scholars. But they never lost assurance due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the steadfast." (Surat Al 'Imran 3:146).
The Reward of Patience
Allah also tells us about the hardships man would pass through, like fear, hunger, grief… etc., and He promises those who are patient with His Mercy and His guidance:
"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient." (Surat al-Baqarah 2:155).
"Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.' Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided." (Surat al-Baqarah 2:156-157).
As for the person who encounters personal difficulties in his home or at work, Allah asks him to follow this course: "And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend." (Surah Fussilat 41:34).
That is: try to solve the problem in a way that turns your enemy into a friend, which needs a lot of effort and willpower.
"But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion [of good]." (Surah Fussilat 41:35).
Imam Ali said: "Patience and satisfaction are the summit of obeying Allah. Patience to belief is like the head to the body, and the one who has no patience, has no belief."
Patience and Belief
Imam al-Kazim says in his will to Hisham bin al-Hakam:
"Hisham: be patient in obedience to Allah, and be patient in avoiding acts of disobedience to Allah, for the life in the world is but an hour. You find neither delight nor sadness in the part of it that passes, and you do not know that part of it that will come. Therefore, be patient for that hour and you will be delighted."
Imam Ali says: "Patience is to endure what happens to you and to suppress your anger (when it hits you)." He also says:
"Patience is of two kinds: patience in the face of disaster, while the second one, which is better, is when you meet with what Allah has made unlawful, then it will act as a barrier."
Advising Patience
One of the companions of Imam al-Sadiq says: "I heard Abu Abdullah say:
'A free man is free in all his circumstances, even if he were in a prison cell. If he is hit by calamity he would be patient, even if he were imprisoned or tortured.'"
To give an example, the Imam cites Prophet Yusuf (a.s.) whose will was not conquered neither by the depth of the well nor by the darkness and torture of the prison. He was then sent as a Prophet to guide his people and to bestow Allah's Mercy on them. Thus, patience as a sign of freedom is a virtue that, as we are reminded by the Imam, would be ultimately rewarded.
Imam al-Baqir said: "When my father, Ali bin al-Hussein, was dying he hugged me and said: 'I will advise you with what my father advised me on his deathbed: Be patient concerning the truth even if it is bitter, for the results will be sweet.'"
Allah has emphasized in the Holy Quran the need to exercise patience when faced with big challenges, and since we are living in one of the most difficult stages imposed by the unbelievers, the arrogant and the Takfiris, who are trying to make us let go of our rights, we have to resort to patience and more patience.
Allah says: "Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account." (Surat az-Zumar 39:10).
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Palestinian Intifada and the Principles
In the midst of the rushing developments, the statements of the enemy's prime minister are very interesting since they call for an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan and some of Jerusalem's neighborhoods which are dwelled by Arabs. He also said that Israel should come to an agreement with the Palestinians and that he was mistaken when he believed in the last few years that Israel could control all parts of Jerusalem. He also said that peace could not be established with Syria without withdrawing from the Golan.
Although we believe that these statements reveal the magnitude of the Israeli impasse and a refutation of those who say that the Intifada did not accomplish any significant results, we believe that these statements are practically worthless, since they do not represent any Israeli strategy to resolve the Palestinian problems, especially that Olmert did not talk about a complete withdrawal to the lines of the fourth of June, the dismantling of settlements and the racial wall, which could not be accepted by the PA, since those in the authority will not be able to convince their people with such proposals which are not in the first place accepted by the Israeli public.
Nevertheless, such statements highlight the strength and perseverance of the Palestinian people who insist on attaining their legitimate rights, leading the enemy to feel that it would never be able to achieve any stability in its occupation, which means that all Palestinian parties should continue their steadfast resistance and seek to achieve political unity by unifying their position, since any difference between the Authority and the Resistance will weaken the overall Palestinian position in the line of Jihad and liberation.
The Authority's talk about the Palestinian constants is an unrealistic slogan, since it arouses political differences among the Palestinians, especially that the Jewish community is still asserting its strategic goals that seek to prevent the Palestinians from attaining their rights, especially with all that continuous American deceit in talking about the two-state solution without providing any real and practical mechanism to achieve it. In this respect, the Road Map is worthless, since the Quartet Committee continues to face American pressures and Israeli rejection, especially that the Arabs do not exercise any pressures, since they have to abide by the rules of the so-called Arab Moderate axis which means that the Arabs have to coordinate with the Jewish state in imposing more concessions upon the Palestinians to reach a distorted solution that does not provide the Palestinians with their least aspirations. In addition, the Americans and the Israelis are forcing the "moderate" Arabs to create an atmosphere of political and security threats against Iran, to facilitate any possible Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities. Such an attack could well destroy Arab security, especially that the moderate Arabs could join in the war activities, since they do not have the ability to refuse what the Israeli America or the American Israel wants, which would lead to the weakening of the Arab world politically, militarily and economically, in a way similar to what had happened when they cooperated with the West during the Iraqi–Iranian war and the war of Kuwait, which resulted in destroying both the Iranian and Arab economies, and founded the strategic basis for establishing American military bases in the Gulf, on the pretense of defending it against the Iraqi dictator and the Iranian "threat".
The Financial Catastrophe
The economic catastrophe that struck the American economy points out to the economic corruption inside the American banks and major monopolizing companies. This catastrophe had an impact on the world economy with the prices of shares shrinking even in the European markets and the Arab ones. Moreover, the banking system also witnessed a similar catastrophe, leading to a huge financial loss to the Arabs who put most of their funds in American banks to be used in buying and selling shares that ultimately leads to great losses and serves the Jewish planning of controlling most of the economic positions in the US. The Arabs have to study all this thoroughly to establish the means that preserve their economic stability and financial resources.
There are several means to establish a firm strategy to build a strong Arab economy that can be effective in the world economy and not be influenced by it. It is interesting that some Arab officials have donated tens of millions of Dollars to save the American economy, instead of trying to solve certain complicated problems in their catastrophic economies. They could start by industrializing their resources and planning for a policy of production instead of that of consumption which consumes their wealth in the movement of the globalized markets, and exploits our needs to create additional monetary problems in the Arab world.
Security Instability in Lebanon
The new terrorist attack on the bus carrying Lebanese Army troops was the subject of many different interpretations that aim to understand its motives and consequences. In this respect, some have tied it with trying to hamper the political reconciliations, while others accused the extremist groups in the aftermath of Nahr al-Bared, which indicates that there is a fear that it might move to other areas and target the army that represents the deterring force that preserves the country's security.
It is curious that the US, which stresses the need to support the country's security forces and put the arms in Lebanon under the Army's control, has not made any initiative to provide the army and the other security forces with advanced weapons that enable them to face the internal and external forces of aggression, since Israel disapproves. Consequently, an American official stated: "We cannot give the Lebanese Army advanced weapons, because Israel is our ally."
This is also the position of the other European countries. The essence of the problem in Lebanon is that the people possess light arms while political parties have heavy weapons which they acquired from Arab and international powers.
This has made everybody fear that the security tensions will move from one place to another, especially in view of the political complications in the wake of the 2009 parliamentary elections as well as regional and international conflicts of interest.
In this atmosphere, we notice that the stability in the Arab region is being threatened by bombing attacks, like those that took place in Syria, Iraq and Somalia. We have to monitor these situations carefully and consciously, since, whenever the fire breaks out in the region, its spark will reach Lebanon which will burn as a result of Arab differences and intelligence penetrations.
Thus we have to act in a vigilant and responsible way, and move to establish our national unity and internal peace.
Lastly, we have heard some wise talk from Muslim religious authorities and leaders in the context of receiving the Happy Eid al-Fitr.
One of these statements was by the Mufti of Saudi Arabia–Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, who rejected the current method of arguments going on between the Shiites and the Sunnis and called for referring to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger. He also called on Muslims to highlight them. The Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, has called for ending the Shiite-Sunni differences, being a means of weakening the Muslim nation. He stressed that we are but one nation, and that there are no substantial differences between the Shiites and the Sunnis, and emphasized that the strength of Muslims lies in their unity.
We welcome this responsible, rational and wise talk, and call all Muslim scholars and authorities to shoulder their responsibility of unifying Muslim ranks by calling for the word of unity and by unifying their positions and holding fast to Allah's rope, especially in these difficult times in which Islam and Muslims are being prosecuted and wronged.