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 Safar 24, 1422 AH / May 18, 2001 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
Since You Cannot Change the Past Try to Win the Future.
One of the things a Muslim should learn in order to secure a place in Heaven is how to fear Allah. He should think about how great Allah is, for the more he is aware of His greatness the more he will fear Him.
But Allah is not only a powerful force. He is the absolute power, Who has given us any power we might have or think that we have. Do we not say when we feel weak: “There is no power other than Allah’s” and that “To Allah we will return” meaning that we submit to Allah’s will in all what happens to us.
When man reflects on the greatness of Allah and the secrets He has embodied in the universe, everything else will look minute and unimportant. We might sin and disobey Allah’s command to please our wife or husband or to please the rich and powerful. But this only happens when we forget how great Allah is. Therefore, we should always keep in mind that Allah is great and fear Him. He has told us that the reward is Heaven:
In Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb’s (a.s.) will for his son Imam Hassan, he says: “I trust you to fear Allah in what you do in public as well as in private”.
Imam Ja`afar As Sadeq (a.s.) says: “Fear Allah, as if you can see Him. Since if you do not see Him, He sees you. And if you say that He doesn’t, then you have become an unbeliever.”
Talking about the fear of Allah, the Most Exalted, the Prophet (p.) said: “The believer lives between two fears: Fear of the time that has passed, which he does not know how Allah is going to judge, and the time that is still remaining.”
The Prophet (p.) then says that we should make sure that we take charge of what is left since we still have a chance to redeem ourselves. He added that we should do that today and not wait until tomorrow since after this world you will go either to hell or to heaven. It is your choice.
Imam Ja`afar As Sadeq (a.s.) quotes his father Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.) as saying: “Every believer has two lights in his heart one of fear and one of hope, and if you weigh them you will find them exactly equal”.
The Light of fear makes you fear Allah and refrain from disobeying him, and the light of hope in God’s Mercy will prevent from feeling despair. The Imam then explains to us how both feelings work.
Hoping for Allah’s blessings and reward should lead you to make every effort to earn it, while fearing something should make you avoid it and run away from it. And since there is no fear greater than the fear from hell fire, one should run away from any unlawful desire.
On the other hand, one should endure all the hardships he meets in life since he has hope in Allah, the Most Exalted. Did not he say:
"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, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.'" Surah Al-Baqarah (2:155-156)
The Quran explains in several verses the reward for obeying Allah-Who does not want such a reward? Allah says:
"Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve— Those who believed and were fearing Allah." Surah Yunus (10:62-63)
"Indeed, those who have said, 'Our Lord is Allah' and then remained steadfast—there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve." Surah Al-Ahqaf )46:13)
I would like to refer in particular to a verse that reminds us that if we fear Allah, we ought to fear no one else, because Allah is the only source of strength:
"Those to whom the people said, 'Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.' But it [only] increased them in faith, and they said, 'Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.'" Surah Al Imran (03:173)
The whole world is against you. The kind of intimidation and propaganda that tries to defeat the fighters of the cause of Allah before they even begin to fight. But we, in war, have proved them wrong, and that a small group of believers can fight and defeat even the most powerful army:
"But it only increased them in faith, and they said, 'Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.'" Surah Al Imran (03:173)
"So, they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they pursued the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty. That is only Satan who frightens [you] of his supporters. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [indeed] believers." Surah Al Imran (03:174-175)
We ought to educate ourselves about the greatness of Allah, the Most Exalted. If we realize how great he is, we will fear him more and refrain from disobeying Him and keep to the right path that He ordained for our benefit in this world and in the Hereafter.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Palestinian people are proving every day that they can undertake their grave responsibilities.
They are holding fast against the brutal Zionist attack that has used every means of killing and destruction possible, while the rest of the Muslims and Arabs remain silent. America in contrast, is providing every means of political and military support to the extent that one gets the impression that it has entered the war with the Zionists against the Arabs and Muslims. Europe that the Jews have denied the chance to play any role in the settlement process, is still searching for a role that serves its interests and strengthens its position. Believing that this could be done by statements that are very favorable to the Israelis. The UN for its part has become an American instrument that does not any longer, respond to the pleas of the nations, especially the Palestinians who are calling it to provide international protection but to no avail.
The Zionists and the Americans are betting on the Israeli military pressure forcing the Palestinians to accept the political conditions of stopping “the violence”, that is to surrender and become a dependent people who has forgone any ambition for freedom and independence.
But the Palestinians have decided to continue their struggle until liberation. They are guided by the Holy Quranic verse that reminds Muslims that a war is made up of many battles some of which we might lose, but in the end, victory is guaranteed because we rely on God and have full trust in him. The Palestinians people have already covered a major part of the road, and the final victory of liberation is already in sight.
Meanwhile, the Arab and Muslim peoples should rebel against this political siege on the part of their regimes. They are preventing the people from taking to the streets to protest against the Zionist brutal massacres, because they are afraid that it will turn into a condemnation of their policies of surrender… The current stage is the toughest in the history of the nation, and the nation should rise to the level of the challenge to confront and defeat the enemy for we are fighting for a free and dignified future.
At the same time, the Israeli war minister has been making threats against Lebanon and Syria that coincided with the American pressures in the form of the House of Representatives deciding to cancel the insignificant US aid to Lebanon. These threats have also coincided with UN moves to decrease the number of UNIFIL soldiers in the south no doubt to force Lebanon to safeguard the Israeli border.
But Lebanon and Syria are not intimidated by these threats. Lebanon has acquired the necessary force: its heroic Resistance, that has deprived the enemy from imposing its own rules of the game.
It has continued its operations, in the occupied territories to prove that it is still committed to the cause of Liberation, and to support the Palestinian Intifada with all possible means. This underscores the unity of the nation in its struggle against the enemy despite all the pressures.
Thus, the enemy will not be able to force its will on us no matter how big the necessary sacrifices. The future is definitely with the people that are fighting to gain their freedom and independence.
On the internal level, our basic goal is to solidify the national unity being the solid foundation of our struggle against the occupier. It also prevents any political instability that would further worsen our economic crisis. We are at a stage that needs action not speeches, especially after the recent conferences meetings and communique’s which have not offered the country even a glimpse of hope.
Lastly, there is a problem we have to talk about, the lay-off of a number of workers in the both the public and private sectors. Although I am in support of radical and comprehensive civil service reforms, such a task should be executed as being a part of a general economic plan that provides new job opportunities.
We do not want to solve the problem of the public sector in a way that creates a bigger social problem. Such a general approach, which relies on planning should be adopted with respect to all issues that affect a large sector of the population. We should always try to find the proper balance between the needs of the state and the needs of the people, and never take decisions like the one that permitted the certain type of fuel for automobiles and then reserve the decision a year or two later for the sake of the environment.
I call for a comprehensive political and economic plan that leaves no room for haphazard decisions that have destroyed a lot of potentials in the past and that I am afraid might destroy what is left.