Allah's Majesty Lights up the Path - 20/06/2008

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 Jumada al-Thania 16, 1429 AH/ June 20, 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

Allah's Majesty Lights up the Path

Forbidding the Soul from Low Desires

Allah, the Most Exalted, says in His Glorious Book:
"And as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, Then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge." (Surah An-Nazi'at 79:40-41).

He also says:
"Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, 'Are those who know equal to those who do not know?' Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding." (Surah Az-Zumar 39:9).

The Quran and the honourable traditions emphasize that man has to envisage Allah's Greatness, so that he will fear Him, as he fears any great man whom he thinks that his life and fate are in his hands.

Thus, he will fear the consequences if he disobeys Him or deviates from the path He has drawn for him. The Holy Quran says: "They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand. Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him." (Surah Az-Zumar 39:67). He is the creator of the heavens and the earth as well as the entire universe. He has authority over all of His servants and He is capable of everything.

Thus, man ought to think of Allah's position as a God and a Lord and as worthy of being worshipped and obeyed. The Holy Quran has talked about all this and summarized the issue of one's fate by being either Hell or Heaven. Allah says: "But as for he who transgressed. And preferred the life of the world, Then indeed, Hellfire will be [his] refuge." (Surah An-Nazi'at 79:37-39). By being inordinate it is meant he who transgresses all bounds, regarding his commitment to his belief in Allah and obeying Him, and only thought about this world, thinking of the power and position he would reach in an act of arrogance and conceit. On the other hand, he does not think about the Hereafter or prepare for it, where would this lead him? Surely it would lead him to Hell.

But those who fear to stand before their lord and "forbid the soul from low desires" ...Those who envisage Allah's greatness, the One and Only, the Merciful, the Lord of the worlds... Those whom this knowledge will lead them to the fear of Allah's punishment… Those when their desires tempt them to deviate, they will struggle against these desires and suppress them… Those who restrain their souls from lust, obeying Allah and seeking His satisfaction, their abode will be the Garden.

The Worshiping Believer

Allah, the Most Exalted, tells us about some of the worshipping believers when He says: "Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]?" Surah Az-Zumar (39:9) those who pray at night while others are sleeping, feeling the glory of Allah and reminding themselves to abide by His orders – "who take heed of the Hereafter" – thinking about how he is going to prepare for it and how he will get closer to Allah- "and who places his hope in the Mercy of his Lord - (like one who does not)? Say: 'Are those equal, those who know and those who do not know'." It is natural that the knowledgeable is better than the ignorant.

Allah says to the callers that uphold the responsibility of the Message in all ages that they have to fear Him and not be neutral and indifferent towards those who choose to follow the path of evil and religious, social and political deviation. He tells them that they should fear Allah and not "fear anyone but Allah, And Allah is sufficient to take account".

He also says that they should be "fighting in the way of Allah, and shall not fear the blame of any blamer" never afraid of accusation of deviation.

The Messenger says: "In this world, man is between two dreaded things, his past life which he does not know what Allah is going to do with it, how is He going to punish him for his sins or reward him for his good acts, and the remaining part of his life which he does not know how Allah is going to decide on it."

The wise one then makes proper use of his own benefits, fills his worldly life with righteous deeds in preparation for his hereafter and judiciously uses his free time before a time comes when he will be busy. "By Him in Whose Hand is my life, there is nothing one can do after the death has come, and there is nothing after the life of this world but Paradise or Hell," meaning that as you choose in this world the house you want to live in, avoiding any dangerous or unsafe place, you have to choose a house in the Hereafter that makes you closer to Allah and to earning His satisfaction.

The Lights of Both Fear and Hope

Imam As-Sadiq says: "My father used to say: Every believing servant has two lights in his heart: the light of fear and the light of hope. If one is weighed against the other they would be equal." Thus, man has to live in a balance between those two lights. His fear should not drive him to despair and his hope should not drive him to indifference.

Explaining the meaning of the fear of standing before the Lord that will lead one to Heaven Imam As-Sadiq said that it is the fear of someone who knows that Allah sees and hears him and knows about all his actions, good or evil, a knowledge that will make him abstain from committing any evil.

Prophet Luqman says to his son: "Fear Allah in a way that if you bring Him all the good deeds of the worlds, you are afraid that He will punish you and have hope in Him as if that even if you face Him with all the sins of the worlds, He will forgive you."

Thus, we have to know Allah; knowledge that will make us afraid of Him and prevent us from disobeying Him. And we ought to have hope in Him in a way that we never lose hope of His Mercy.

The Second Sermon

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

The American Administration: A Biased Policy

The American Administration enters the last six remaining months of its term, feeling that it has no time left for making up for the failures it has met in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon in which it has failed in establishing a new Middle East leading to the revival of the movement of the resistance and opposition in the Arab and Muslim world in an interactive and live way.

Nevertheless, the US Administration is trying to gather as many cards as possible before it packs and leaves. On the one hand, it tries to pressurize the Iraqis to force them to sign a humiliating treaty that gives its bases a legitimacy that was thwarted by the Iraqi people and the Resistance. On the other hand, it is preparing the environment for a booby-trapped pacification in occupied Palestine that enables the Jewish settlements to expand to all parts of Jerusalem to establish Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Jewish entity in a plan that seeks to thwart any possibility of founding a viable Palestinian state.

In this context, the enemy has begun to build 40 thousand settlement units in occupied Jerusalem, confiscating additional Palestinian lands and buying some of the church's properties and continuing to dig under the Aqsa Mosque, which threatens its foundations.

It enjoys in all this the support of the American Administration whose Secretary of State has declared that the continuity of settling does not hinder the negotiations, because the Americans want the Palestinians to negotiate over a mirage and not a homeland.

This is how the enemy continues to implement its strategy of confiscating lands and marking time, relying on America's support of both Democratic and Republican parties who are under the influence of the monopolizing companies and the Jewish voters, to the extent that the presidential hopefuls are submitting their credentials to Israel leaving practically nothing for the Palestinians, and not taking into account any of the Arab demands, since the Arabs are not considered a force to be reckoned with, while the only thing the Secretary General of the Arab League can do is to protest verbally; a protest that cannot change the status quo with all the illusions of resorting to the international legitimacy.

The EU: Absolute Support to Israel

On another level, the foreign Ministers of the European Union have issued a communiqué declaring the EU readiness to establish a partnership with Israel but without setting a date to avoid angering some Arab states, but they did not stipulate any conditions Israel should comply with. Such a relationship is closer to that of the USA with the Jewish state, since it avoids establishing any close partnership with any Arab states although the EU's interests are closely associated with these countries. They have grown accustomed to the Arab weakness and yielding to Israel. That is why they have ignored the Road Map, the siege of Gaza and the Israeli massacres as well as the Israeli occupation of Palestine. These European Administrations do not respect the Arab Humanism but only that of the Jews.

They also do not protest against the Israeli nuclear arsenal, which threatens the entire region, while they continue to attack the Iranian peaceful nuclear project that they have no proof is turning into a military one.

America and the European states do not abide by moral standards or human values; rather they pursue their strategic interests. In this respect, we were interested in the Pope's statement that thanks President Bush for supporting and abiding by the moral values, although he has filled the world with wars and killings, and that there has never been an American President who has ignored all human values more than he did. We wonder how the Pope explains his statement.

Lebanon: Instigating Dangerous Political and Sectarian Tensions

In Lebanon, everybody is preoccupied with forming the cabinet and acquiring the portfolios they want, as if each minister could run his ministry in a way that serves his interests away from the Parliament, the cabinet and the Republic.

Meanwhile, the people are engaged completely in the statements of the politicians, without voicing their protest against the crisis of power, water and communications which has become an issue of bargaining between the officials who are responsible for everything except the people.

Some wonder whether those who considered the Doha agreement a truce implying that it is very difficult for the Lebanese to reach an understanding… those who are trying to prepare for the elections by turning it into a battle for defending the sects or the leaders through inciting sectarian strife… are behind the sectarian tensions, especially that many no longer try to investigate if the rumours they hear are true, but rather jump into emotional conclusions that further expand the fire in one place or another.

In any case, all political, security and religious positions have to shoulder the responsibilities towards the security tensions that have become a threat to the poor people, as a result of political tensions, fanaticisms or Takfiri mentalities, before the temple falls on the heads of all people.