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 Rabi' al-Thani 12, 1429 AH/ April 18, 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 Independence of Mind in Islam
Independent Reasoning: A Principle of Faith
One of the educational principles that Allah, the Most Exalted, wanted us to abide by is having independent reasoning. He has created for man an independent mind and a responsible personality that He wished that we ought never let it be run by others. Instead, we should study whatever we are supposed to believe in and only then will we be convinced or not convinced of.
That is because we will be held accountable for our thoughts and beliefs when we stand before Allah, the Most Exalted, Who will ask us about the principles we relied on to reach our conclusions, and our options.
The Glorious Quran has talked about this issue in several verses emphasizing that every person or individual will be responsible for what he has done and not anyone else. This is what we read in Surat An-Najm: "And that there is not for man except that [good] for which he strives, And that his effort is going to be seen." (An-Najm 53:39-40). No one else no matter how close to you, even your father or your son, will hold the responsibilities of your actions. "And when those who were followed will disown those who followed [them], and they will see the punishment, and cut off from them are their [former] ties. And those who followed will say, 'If only we had another turn [at life] so we could disown them as they have disowned us.' Thus will Allah show them their deeds as regrets [upon them]. And they are never to emerge from the Fire." (Al-Baqarah 02:166-167). It is reported that when the Prophet was on his deathbed, he was accompanied by his uncle Al-Abbass bin Abdul Mutalib, his aunt, Safiah and his daughter, Fatima Al-Zahra (a.s). He turned to each of them calling him/her by name and saying: "Do good for the sake of Allah, for I can do nothing for you", even if it were Fatima (a.s), his daughter. That is why Imam Ali (a.s) said: "Muhammad (p)’s friend is he who obeys Allah even if he is not related to him, while Muhammad’s enemy is he who disobeys Allah even if he is a close relative."
In this context Allah tells us about some of the unbelievers who has asked some of the Muslims to deviate, promising that they well hold their responsibility: "And those who disbelieve say to those who believe, 'Follow our way, and we will carry your sins.' But they will not carry anything of their sins. Indeed, they are liars. They will surely carry their [own] burdens and [other] burdens along with their burdens, and they will surely be questioned on the Day of Resurrection about what they used to invent." (Al-Ankabut 29:12-13).
The Followers and the Leaders
Allah has talked about the relationship between the followers and the leaders, when he talked about the followers who close their eyes, when He said in Surat Al-Baqarah: "When those who were followed disown those who followed [them], and they see the punishment, and cut off from them are their [former] ties. And those who followed will say, 'If only we had another turn [at life] so we could disown them as they have disowned us.' Thus will Allah show them their deeds as regrets [upon them]. And they are never to emerge from the Fire." (Surat Al-Baqarah 02:166-167).
In another scene, Allah says: "And [mention] the Day when We will gather them all together; then We will say to those who associated others with Allah, '[Remain in] your place, you and your 'partners'.' Then We will separate them, and their 'partners' will say, 'You did not used to worship us, And sufficient is Allah as a witness between us and you that we were of your worship unaware.' There, [on that Day], every soul will be put to trial for what it did previously, and they will be returned to Allah, their master, the Truth, and lost from them is whatever they used to invent." (Surat Yunus 10:28-30). (They would then refer them to Satan, but Satan is witty and is an expert in deceit)
"And Satan will say when the matter has been concluded, 'Indeed, Allah had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me [with Allah] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment.'" (Surat Ibrahim 14:22).
In another verse Allah says: "And [mention] the Day He will say, 'Call those whom you claimed [to be My partners],' and they will invoke them, but they will not respond to them, and We will put [between them] a valley of perdition. And the criminals will see the Fire and will be certain that they are to fall therein. And they will not find from it a way elsewhere." (Surat Al-Kahf 18:52-53).
The Dialogue Between the Oppressed and the Oppressors
"And those who were weak will say to those who were arrogant, 'We were your followers, so can you avail us anything against the punishment of Allah?' They will say, 'If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you. It is all the same for us whether we show intolerance or are patient: there is for us no place of escape.'" (Surat Ibrahim 14:21).
"And those who were weak will say to those who were arrogant, 'Rather, [it was your] conspiracy of night and day when you were ordering us to disbelieve in Allah and attribute to Him equals.' But they will [all] confide regret when they see the punishment; and We will put shackles on the necks of those who disbelieved. Will they be recompensed except for what they used to do?" (Surat Saba 34:33).
Thus man has to bear the responsibility of himself as an individual. He has to think about the time he will stand before Allah, the Most Exalted, when he is held responsible. "But stop them, for they must be asked." "The Day [it occurs], no soul will speak except by His permission. And among them will be the wretched and the prosperous." (Surat Hud 11:105).
Allah wants man to keep his mind independent and not controlled by any other human being. The mind is the gift that Allah has given us. It is a gift that enables us to distinguish right from wrong and consequently, make us responsible for our actions before Allah Who will hold each of us accountable on an individual basis, on the day that no children or money will do one any good. The only thing that will matter is one’s deeds.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Israel's Free Rein: Violations of Arab Capitals
American and Israeli officials roam the Arab and Muslim capitals, just as their planes continue to fly over these capitals, from Afghanistan to Iraq to Lebanon, as well as other countries, including occupied Palestine.
Moreover, a month before the Zionist Entity is scheduled to celebrate the anniversary of its establishment, at the expense of the Palestinian people, Israeli officials meet regularly with the Arab officials. They take part in seminars and appear in the various media outlets with all what that means on the level of despising the Palestinian people and ignoring their rights… and even dancing on their daily tragedy of killing, besiege, and starving to push them to surrender.
The meetings between the president of the Palestinian Authority and the enemy's prime minister are also continuing without yielding any results even at the level of reducing the sufferings of the Palestinian people, let alone the political issues. Thus, these meetings only serve to mark time while Israel meanwhile continues to execute its strategy and enables the conservative American Administration to continue to win the support of the Jewish Lobby in the United States.
The enemy's foreign minister, who was a guest in the Doha forum, tried to draw a strategy for the Arabs that calls on them to ignore their past, present and future and join an Arab-Israeli front to confront Iran. This front aims at reaching a political and security understanding that aims at confronting what it calls the "Iranian threat". In contrast, a recent Arab public opinion survey has shown that most of the Arabs view Israel as an enemy, and do not consider Iran as a threat or a danger.
We could only notice that there is a horrific decline in the Arab official positions, that coincides with the escalation of the resistance movement against the American and Israeli occupation. We also notice an increased American pressure on the Arab regimes to force them to move away from Iran and closer to the Zionist entity, to change the balance the Americans think that it tilted in favour of the Resistance, after the Israeli defeat in July 2006, the American impasse in Iraq and the last battle of Gaza.
The American Policy Towards Iran
The problem of Iran in America's and Israel's view lies in the fact that it is open to the Resistance movements in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq, in addition to opening up to the Arab world seeking friendship and political and economic cooperation in defending the security of the Gulf.
What America wants from Iran is to join the axis that is hostile to the causes of the nation, and open up to America and Israel. It also wants it to remain a third world country, and not think about modernizing its economy, or utilizing scientific advancements, like nuclear power, for peaceful economic purposes. That is why many of the Arab regimes are asked to threaten Iran with sectarian strife or open up on its enemy and theirs to intimidate Iran at a time the Americans are pressurizing Iran to negotiate with them over the Iraqi situation.
We say to the Arabs that are speeding up to meet with the Zionists that they have to take it easy.
If you do not care about the wishes and aspirations of your people, you have to study the reality around you, to learn that Israel will never stop committing massacres against the Arabs, whether Palestinians or the Lebanese, the Syrians and the Egyptians… this state cannot be a friend to the Arabs except as the wolf is a friend to the lambs. The nuclear Israel cannot be the saviour of the Arabs from the supposed threat of an Islamic neighbour who only wishes to cooperate with them in the nuclear peaceful project.
This front the Israeli foreign minister is calling you to join is in itself a great danger that could destroy the Arab and Muslim reality as well as that of the entire region.
At the same time, we would like to warn from the arrogant devastating plots in Iraq, which is being jointly executed by both the MOSAD and the Americans.
In addition, the practice of the American planes with their continuous bombing of the innocent civilians in Al-Sadir city, and other places in Iraq is identical to that of the Israeli planes hitting the Palestinians in Gaza, yet nobody accuses them of being terrorists. Then America would hold Iran responsible for the deterioration in Iraq, although everyone knows that the occupation, which created this situation in Iraq, is the one responsible for all the tragedies and catastrophes the Iraqis are suffering from, since it enables it to control the region’s oil wealth and its strategic positions.
Lebanon: Extending the Vacuum
In Lebanon, we are met with a new "glad tiding" that America has carried to us, that is that the vacuum in the presidency is going to stay since "it does not hurt the Americans". She is calling for the extension of term of the Parliament, as an "indication" of the "democracy" that America’s “mission” is to spread in the region.
Thus, we ask the Lebanese, as well as the Arabs in their initiative: has America left them with anything to hide behind? Does anybody suspect that the Americans want the crisis to continue till next year?
We believe that Lebanon is still moving inside an impasse controlled by the American intelligence services and their political administration in order to keep the current crisis complicated, and continue this infertile political debate that tries to put the responsibility on this or that party, while everybody knows that the issue is not a Lebanese but rather a result of America's playing with the Arab situation that is even responsible for the accusations this or that Arab party makes against the other parties.
Thus, Lebanon continues to drown in the vicious circle of consuming talk about the citizen's rights while starvation is killing most of the Lebanese without asking about their religion or political line, leaving a devastated state run by political leaders who only care about themselves, and who see the people as mere numbers that can be used in the political and sectarian incitement game, that ate most of the country and left very little of it.