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 Thul-Qi'dah 5, 1430 AH/ October 23, 2009, 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
Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.): The Peak of Knowledge
The Educator of Scholars and Intellectuals
Allah says in His Glorious Book: "Allah only intends to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet's] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification." Surat al-Ahzab (33:33). The Messenger of Allah (p.) says: "My household is like the ship of Noah; whoever embarks upon it will be saved and whoever turns away from it will be drowned." Last month, on the 25th of Shawwal, was the commemoration of the passing of Imam Abi ‘Abdullah Ja‘far Bin Muhammad al-Sadiq (a.s.).
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) represents the role model that reached out to the entire Islamic reality, filling its horizons with knowledge and science in all aspects of life. The Imam's era was one that produced religious scholars and intellectuals, and it guided the Imams of other sects, even if they did not share his points of view. The Imam (a.s.) had a school that was open to all people and that enrolled every knowledge seeker; wherever he (a.s.) went, he would spread knowledge and science. Al-Hassan Bin Ali Al-Washa‘ al-Kufi, one of the narrators, said, while pointing to the Kufa Mosque: "I entered the Mosque and saw 900 Sheikhs" – the term "Sheikh" here refers to a person who teaches people – "each saying: 'Ja‘far Bin Muhammad told me.'"
During his stay in Kufa, the Imam (a.s.) filled its mosque with knowledge and science, knowing that mosques at that time were places specified for education and learning. The term "told me" means that the sheikhs were educated by the Imam. Moreover, when certain historians counted the figures who narrated Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.)'s traditions pertaining to various aspects of knowledge, they found that they were four thousand narrators from different schools and Islamic sects.
In history, we learn that Jabir Bin Hayyan, a well-versed chemist, was taught chemistry by Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.), and he used to say in his writings that the westerners would read: "My master, Ja‘far Bin Muhammad, told me."
In the Imam (a.s.)'s biography, it is reported that Abu Hanifa al-Nu‘man, the Imam of the Hanafi School, was taught by Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) for two years, so the former used to say: "Were it not for the two years, I would have been doomed." Moreover, the Imam of the Maliki School, Malik Bin Anas, says: "No ear has heard, no eye has seen, and no mind has imagined anyone better than Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) in knowledge, piety, and worship." Zaid Bin Ali Bin al-Hussein (a.s.), to whom the Zaidis belong, says: "In every age there is a man from among us, the Ahl al-Bayt, whom Allah makes a proof for the people. The proof of our time is my nephew. Whoever disagrees with him will not be guided, and whoever follows him will not be led astray."
The Imam's Relations with the Caliphs
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) used to follow all anti-Islamic trends and principles to confront them with his knowledge and science and to refute them in a civilized, objective, and scientific manner. Al-Mansur, one of the Abbasid caliphs, wrote to him: "Why do you not visit us like the others?" The Imam (a.s.) answered: "We have no worldly pleasure that we fear you would take away, nor do you have any matter of the Hereafter for us that we hope to gain from you. You are not among those who would guide us to what brings us closer to Allah, so that we would accompany you to be safe from Allah's punishment. You are not enjoying a bliss for which we should congratulate you – we do not consider the caliphal position and power to be blessings that people ought to congratulate you for – nor are you suffering a misfortune for which we should console you. So why should we visit you?!" Al-Mansur wrote: "You may accompany us so that you will advise us," meaning, we want you to advise us because the caliphate is a huge responsibility. The Imam (a.s.) answered: "He who seeks worldly pleasures will not advise you – because he would actually be cheating you – and he who seeks the Hereafter will not accompany you." Al-Mansur then said: "He (a.s.) has taught me how to distinguish between those who seek this world and those who seek the Hereafter, and that he (a.s.) is one of those who seek the Hereafter."
When Imam al-Sadiq's father, Imam al-Baqir (a.s.), was dying, he asked his son to take care of the Shi‘ites. So, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) promised that he would and that he would teach them until they would have to ask no one about anything. He would answer all their questions; and he would teach them, even if they did not ask him anything, in order to make them learned and well-versed scholars, so that if they sat with other scholars, the latter would appreciate their profound knowledge and high cultural level.
Human Freedom in the Imam's Thought
The teachings of Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) fill tens of books that discuss various issues concerning man, life, and Islam. On the issue of freedom, there is a speech by Imam al-Sadiq in which he confirms that the freedom of a free man cannot be granted by a decree issued by a king, a caliph, or anyone in power. Rather, freedom comes from within man, from his free will that represents his depth in life. A man can be free even if he is lying in a confined cell; and he can be a slave even if he is wandering in the widest horizons, since freedom is the free will and the free stand, not merely free movement.
It was narrated that Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said: "A free man is free under all circumstances. If he is in trouble, he remains patient. If calamities hit him, he does not break down, even if he is imprisoned, overpowered, and put in difficulties." He (a.s.) takes Prophet Yusuf (a.s.) as an example and says: "Thus, imprisonment and slavery could not harm the Honorable Yusuf (a.s.) – because he was sold as a slave – and the darkness and fright of the well could not put him at a loss. Allah rewarded him and made the tyrant – the ruler of Egypt at that time – his (a.s.) slave after Yusuf was the tyrant's slave, until Allah made him His messenger and showed mercy to the nation because of him. Patience and forbearance always result in good – the free man ought to bear the pains and troubles inflicted by those who wish to enslave, capture, and suppress him; just as the arrogant people try to enslave the peoples and confiscate their political decisions and economic progress – so be patient and tolerant so as to see its reward."
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said: "There are five traits; he who does not possess at least one of them would not be appreciated – he would not be one of those worthy of being appreciated and valued – the first is loyalty, the second is good management – to run and organize life's affairs in the right manner – the third is modesty – to be modest in his relations with people – the fourth is good morals, and the fifth, which encompasses all these traits, is freedom." The free man is the one who encompasses all these traits and applies them in his behavior, his situations, and his relation with the entire reality. He is the one who possesses a will that no challenges or troubles can break; rather he remains free and faces all the problems others impose on him.
Indeed, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) took this concept of freedom from Imam Ali (a.s.) who said: "O people! Adam did not beget a male slave nor a female slave; all people are free." All the sons of Adam were born free and were not enslaved by anyone. The Imam (a.s.) also said: "Do not be a slave to another – neither to a king, a prince, a leader, a rich man, nor anyone who owns wealth or a high position; you ought not to submit or enslave yourself to any of these – when Allah has made you free." Allah has granted man freedom that is part of his existence and entity; a thing man ought not to let go of, because he is not its owner, but rather it is part of his humanity and existence. He (a.s.) also said: "Do not let greed enslave you when Allah has made you free," and: "A free man is free even if he is inflicted with harm, and a slave remains a slave even if fate helps him." Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) also said: "A religious man rejects desires, which makes him a free man."
Dialogue with Atheists
Imam al-Sadiq used to go for Hajj where he frequently met unbelieving atheists and heretics who made fun of the Muslims' way of praying and the act of circumambulation (Tawaf) of the Ka‘bah. Despite that, the Imam (a.s.) would open his mind and heart to them, instead of assaulting them, and he would conduct a dialogue with them, presenting his arguments and proofs and refuting their misunderstandings and misconceptions. The Imam (a.s.) filled the world with knowledge, piety, and a spirituality that opens up to all the issues of man and life. So I call on all intellectuals, educated people, and scholars to spread Imam al-Sadiq's heritage amongst people, for it is a civilized heritage that reflects the bright image of the Members of the Household (a.s.), who represent a civilization that elevates man's position in life.
Peace be upon Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) the day he was born, the day he passed away, and the day he will be brought back to life.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
American Green Light for Israeli Colonization
In occupied Palestine, the enemy's Prime Minister declared that Israel has reached an agreement with the American Administration regarding settlement activities, while the entity's Minister of War calls for reactivating the Zionist institution that grants licenses for carrying out settlement activities. This is a new practical sign that the American administration has given a full green light to the enemy to expand its settlement activities, which have not stopped in the first place, and which are meant to expedite and accelerate, even at a time when the Americans are talking about proceeding with the negotiation process between the Palestinian Authority and the enemy.
Further Humiliating the Palestinian People
On another level, Israeli terrorist acts against the Palestinians continue, where the enemy expelled additional families from occupied Jerusalem, without any response from the Arab and Islamic countries, in addition to the continuous raids on Gaza's peripheries and the attacks carried out by the settlers against Palestinians while picking olives.
Faced with this scene in which the entire world approves of the American-Israeli plan that aims to keep the Palestinians under pressure until they surrender like humiliated persons and pledge allegiance like slaves, we ask the Palestinian Authority: About what elections and institutional commitments are you talking?!
The entire world called on the Palestinians to conduct their own free elections; however, after the results, Gaza was besieged and rivers of Palestinian blood were spilled, and the West Bank was placed under an American security umbrella supervised by the Zionists from afar. As a result, the Palestinians reached the worst level and had to choose between dying from hunger and surrendering to the enemy – that is, choosing death… despite all that, the world still talks about the integrity of the elections!!!
We ask: How can a people express their opinions in elections while under the threat of being killed and under a savage occupation that history has never witnessed before, and at a time when major states are trying to clear the enemy's name of the war crimes and crimes against humanity that the UN report has confirmed, suggesting to the enemy, in an indirect manner, to wage a new war of annihilation against the Palestinians?
American Double Standards
We also ask the American President who was recently granted the Nobel Peace Prize: How can you speak of a war of annihilation in "Darfur", while you know the actual nature of the tribal problem there and you are aware that Western states, including your own country, are nourishing this conflict; yet, you say no word about the war of annihilation conducted against the Palestinians during the war on Gaza that was followed by a starvation siege that is still being exploited to pressure the Palestinians into recognizing the so-called national homeland of the Zionists on Palestinian land?! How can an administration that calls for peace authorize the ongoing Zionist aggression against the Palestinians and against International Law?!
At the same level, we hear nothing from the American Administration about Israeli espionage, but rather it contents itself with condemning the Israeli spy only and not the entity behind him. Moreover, and despite all that, America deploys its huge arsenal of battleships and advanced missiles to conduct a maneuver with the enemy, on the day a major spying operation and a dangerous breach of the American military and nuclear forces was declared. Thus, this maneuver would actually be the beginning of an expected aggression against the Arab and Islamic countries neighboring occupied Palestine…
We warn that the ongoing American game in the region is devious and deceitful, because America, after its failure in Iraq and its ongoing failure in Afghanistan and Pakistan, aims at exporting its crises to more than one location in the region and spreading chaos, violence, and terrorism, under the cover of so-called democracy and peace…
Islamic Unity: A Top Priority
Therefore, we call on the major Islamic states in the region to thoroughly examine the American plot, and we call on the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has been subjected to a brutal, devious aggression that targeted a meeting for establishing unity and spreading good in the region, to be cautious of probable American plots devised for Iran's internal arena and camouflaged by the external negotiations on the Iranian nuclear dossier… We also call on the Pakistani authorities to confront the American intelligence and others, to prevent the Islamic countries from turning into a location where the spark of sedition is lit and eventually inflames the entire reality.
Therefore, we call on everyone not to neglect Islamic unity, which represents the Muslims' life, strength, and invincibility, and to place this unity at the top of their priorities, in all their political and non-political movements. This would thwart the enemies' project that aims at destroying the nation internally, at a time when all those who are faithful seek to salvage it from the hellfire of the occupation that is wreaking havoc in Iraq, Afghanistan, and occupied Palestine.
Lebanon: Beware of an International Cover for an Israeli Aggression
As for Lebanon, whose expectations swing between feelings of pessimism and optimism for the birth of a new cabinet after four months of waiting, it is actually overlooking the security turmoil inflicted by the Zionist enemy in the South, at a time when many officials and non-officials say or do nothing in response to Israeli espionage on its land, as well as the violation of its airspace…
We warn of a wide-ranging international cover being secured for Israeli aggression, and of the engagement of UNIFIL in this game that not only constitutes limited aggressions, but rather a preparation for a large-scale aggression during which the enemy would take advantage of the preoccupation of internal parties with their personal ambitions or ministerial portfolios to place the entire country within its sphere of occupation and aggression.
We call on the Lebanese not to be preoccupied solely with the formation of the cabinet and to focus on the need for a state, and to unite totally in order to protect the independence that is violated by internal complications and external plots. Because of this, the Lebanese are about to lose the sense of independence, after having lost its dynamism in their willpower and its reality in several political positions.