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 23, 1424 AH/ April 25, 2003 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
Commemorating the Martyrdom of Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.)
A Mission for all times
Right is life and light
A few days ago, we commemorated the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (a.s.). On this occasion, I would like to remind you that the Imam (a.s.) is not someone whom we forget and remember only on such occasions. He is always present in our hearts and minds. He guides our actions, whenever right faces falsehood.
We hear Imam Hussein (a.s.) saying bitterly: "Don't you see that right is not followed and falsehood is not discouraged. The situation is so severe that the believer wishes to meet Allah. Today I do not see death but a prosperity and living with a tyrant is nothing but disgrace". In this call, he goes to the heart of our belief in Islam to say to all Muslims in all times: You have a duty to follow the right and forbid falsehood.
Thus, adhering to the right is what links between the earth and the Heaven. It is what draws you nearer to Allah.
On the other hand, living with tyrants (accepting their wrong doings) is a life in disgrace. Yet, the Imam (a.s.) does not wish death. He is merely saying that living with falsehood is actually a state of death, while the right is life and light.
Imam Hussein (a.s.) holds every believer and every human being responsible of changing any corrupt situation, each in accordance with his capabilities under the given circumstances. He is saying to the people: You have to forbid falsehood and to revolt against tyranny.
This is what he said in the speech at the start of his revolution: "O people, the Messenger of Allah (p.) said: Whoever sees an unjust ruler, who enjoins what Allah has forbidden, breaks the vows of Allah, and who violates the Sunnah of His prophet, and who transgresses against the worshippers of Allah, yet he does not act to impose change, he deserves to be treated by Allah in the same way the unjust is treated."
Change is a collective responsibility
Thus, the Imam (a.s.) is calling upon us in every time and place, in every generation that is plagued with tyranny falsehood and arrogance, to plan to change and refuse to accept the unjust state of affairs. For Allah, The Most Exalted, tells us that we ought to change ourselves so that He will change what is in us. Therefore, the Imam's message, if we want to carry it, is a message of change, change of corruption into righteousness and change of tyranny into justice. It is the message that all messengers were sent to convey.
Neutrality is not an option
The Imam (a.s.) is thus telling us that in such a conflict, there is no chance of remaining neutral when the conflict is one between right and falsehood. There is no standing on the sidewalk, when the confrontation is between wrongdoers and the wronged. This is what Imam Ali (a.s.) has emphasized in his will to his children, Imam Al-Hassan and Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.): "Be an opponent to the wrong-doer and a supporter to the wronged" regardless if the wrong-doer is a state, an international alliance, a group of people or an individual, and regardless of what they claim to be.
Thus, the infallible Imams wanted us to visit Imam Hussein, in addition to the Ashoura meeting, to remember and relive the message of Imam Hussein and the values he scarified for. They did not want us to transfer this message to a set of rituals.
It is claimed that these rituals are an expression of love, but we would like to remind those who say so that when you want to express your love or sympathy, you should adopt means and ways of expression that are in harmony with what you are feeling sorrow for. Furthermore, we have always said that these means develop with time, and with the change of circumstances.
A need for change in ways of expressing sorrow
Therefore, hitting the head with swords, the backs with chains or crawling and the like, to express love and loyalty is performed by people who really love Hussein (a.s.), yet they have resorted to the wrong methods of expressing this love. They portray the wrong idea when these images are broadcasted throughout the world.
Let us make of the slogan we heard in Karabala that we will never forget Imam Hussein our daily slogan throughout our life, pledging that we will not forget the message, and this great Imam who represented the glory of this message and the willpower of humanity when he stood, with his bleeding wounds and unbearable pains, to say that he will not submit or act as a slave.
Let us remember this magnificent stand that no one, after his father and grandfather, has taken. Let every one of us become a Hussein even if at a rate of 1 percent. For he wanted us to see him as role model of piety and revolt against tyranny. And let us not turn these noble and glorious values and themes into a set of rituals and habits that are void of the vitality of the Husseini revolution.
In this occasion and in all such occasions, we discover that Imam Hussein (a.s.) is inside us. He is not absent or dead. He is present among us and his presence is as strong as it could be. He is present among us in every field of struggle. He is with us, when we deviate to remind us to go back to Allah, and to follow his lead as he gave everything to Allah having loved Him as Allah alone should be loved.
Restoring values and commitment
When we visit him, we have to remember him when we say: "I testify that you have performed prayers and paid alms tax and enjoined good and forbade evil..." If you want to be with Imam Hussein (a.s.) then perform prayers, give the poor and the needy, enjoin good and forbid evil. That is how you will be with the Imam, his father his grandfather, and the other infallible. To be with Imam Hussein is to be with the Messenger and the Message that Allah sent with His messengers and wanted it to be followed until He inherits the earth and all who are on it.
Dear loved ones renew your methods and even your awareness as you remember Imam Hussein (a.s.). Let him be a message and not merely tear drops… Tears are good when they express pains but tears in the case of tyranny are demonstrated by resisting this tyranny as the Imam and all the other Imams, as well as his mother, the pure and infallible Fatima al -Zahra, did.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Enemy’s Impasse
The American-Israeli ploy is now planning to push the Palestinian cause into a new tunnel called the "Road Map". They have, as an initial step, pressurized the Palestinians into accepting a new government that was commissioned with the task of cracking down the armed Intifada that Israel itself with all its massacres and atrocities was unable to end.
The enemy has started to pressurize the new government to use force against the Intifada. In this respect, the new martyr operations in the heart of the Israeli entity is a proof that no one, Palestinian or otherwise, is allowed to liquidate the Intifada before the end of the occupation and the achievement of Palestinian rights.
We believe that the party who is still in trouble is the enemy. For as long the Palestinians are still fighting, the Israelis are the ones who are politically defeated and the Americans have politically failed. No massacres, however barbaric they are, can break the resolve of a nation that has decided to fight, one generation after the other.
There is a lot of talk in the regional and international political spheres suggesting that the Nation was defeated in the Iraqi war… and that it should act accordingly in the Palestinian front. But we believe that it is the regimes that were made by the international arrogance especially the Americans that were defeated, and not the peoples that began to demonstrate and voice their opposition to the occupation and all its consequences such as any government that might be supervised by the occupation or used as a cover. It is the Iraqi people that will determine its future and choose its government.
The enemy’s plans unfold
It is being revealed day by day that the occupation did not come to liberate the Iraqis, despite the fact that the war has rescued them from the tyrant. The occupation came to turn Iraq into a military base to extend its influence over the entire region and threaten other countries and force them to offer concessions, thus attaining all the political economic and military gains without having to go to war.
What happened in the 40th day anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (a.s.) proves that history does not overwhelm the Muslims. On the contrary, they learn its lessons, in order to make a new one. It proved Furthermore that changing an unjust situation is an integral part of Islam. For it is a religious duty to establish justice among men.
This uprising that took the form of a revolutionary demonstration of faith could change into a multi-dimensional resistance that employs various means, as the ugly face of occupation becomes clearer. Nations know quite well that there is no such thing as a liberating occupation. Occupation is a hegemony that plunders the occupied wealth and undermines their interests.
Uphold unity
We call upon the Iraqis and the Palestinians to uphold their internal unity, on the basis of freedom and change. They should confront all the arrogance attempts to incite internal strife, that would defeat them before they even go to war.
We believe that this American-Israeli war was intended to deprive the region from any source of strength it may have. And this is what the Americans and Israeli declared when they said that the war on Iraq has protected the Israeli security and removed a big threat, that of Iraq which has a lot of potential… They might even be planning to establish their direct control on the region without having to do so by means of their agents.
The people of the region should rise to the level of the challenges, and try to integrate their confrontational efforts, especially with the renewed threats to Syria, Iran and the Resistance in Lebanon. We have to resort to more planning and studying all the means we should adopt and take the right stance without any emotional reactions or improvisations.
A state or confederation of conflicting interests
The Lebanese in particular have to prove, if only once, that they are ready to preserve and enhance their unity to confront all the threats that are facing them.
They have to prove that they are able to choose an effective government whose formation is not based on dividing the cake, but on the interests of the Lebanese people.
Moreover, Lebanese should not put their stakes on the external developments, for the outside parties might use them to incite internal differences whenever they see this fit. They have to rely on dialogue and reconciliation rebuilding their country and confronting the Israeli threats. Their only option is to intensify their belief in the unity of the Syrian and Lebanese tracks being a major source of strength, that is open on the mutual respect, as well as containing the country's independence and right of self-determination.
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 23, 1424 AH/ April 25, 2003 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
Commemorating the Martyrdom of Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.)
A Mission for all times
Right is life and light
A few days ago, we commemorated the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (a.s.). On this occasion, I would like to remind you that the Imam (a.s.) is not someone whom we forget and remember only on such occasions. He is always present in our hearts and minds. He guides our actions, whenever right faces falsehood.
We hear Imam Hussein (a.s.) saying bitterly: "Don't you see that right is not followed and falsehood is not discouraged. The situation is so severe that the believer wishes to meet Allah. Today I do not see death but a prosperity and living with a tyrant is nothing but disgrace". In this call, he goes to the heart of our belief in Islam to say to all Muslims in all times: You have a duty to follow the right and forbid falsehood.
Thus, adhering to the right is what links between the earth and the Heaven. It is what draws you nearer to Allah.
On the other hand, living with tyrants (accepting their wrong doings) is a life in disgrace. Yet, the Imam (a.s.) does not wish death. He is merely saying that living with falsehood is actually a state of death, while the right is life and light.
Imam Hussein (a.s.) holds every believer and every human being responsible of changing any corrupt situation, each in accordance with his capabilities under the given circumstances. He is saying to the people: You have to forbid falsehood and to revolt against tyranny.
This is what he said in the speech at the start of his revolution: "O people, the Messenger of Allah (p.) said: Whoever sees an unjust ruler, who enjoins what Allah has forbidden, breaks the vows of Allah, and who violates the Sunnah of His prophet, and who transgresses against the worshippers of Allah, yet he does not act to impose change, he deserves to be treated by Allah in the same way the unjust is treated."
Change is a collective responsibility
Thus, the Imam (a.s.) is calling upon us in every time and place, in every generation that is plagued with tyranny falsehood and arrogance, to plan to change and refuse to accept the unjust state of affairs. For Allah, The Most Exalted, tells us that we ought to change ourselves so that He will change what is in us. Therefore, the Imam's message, if we want to carry it, is a message of change, change of corruption into righteousness and change of tyranny into justice. It is the message that all messengers were sent to convey.
Neutrality is not an option
The Imam (a.s.) is thus telling us that in such a conflict, there is no chance of remaining neutral when the conflict is one between right and falsehood. There is no standing on the sidewalk, when the confrontation is between wrongdoers and the wronged. This is what Imam Ali (a.s.) has emphasized in his will to his children, Imam Al-Hassan and Imam Al-Hussein (a.s.): "Be an opponent to the wrong-doer and a supporter to the wronged" regardless if the wrong-doer is a state, an international alliance, a group of people or an individual, and regardless of what they claim to be.
Thus, the infallible Imams wanted us to visit Imam Hussein, in addition to the Ashoura meeting, to remember and relive the message of Imam Hussein and the values he scarified for. They did not want us to transfer this message to a set of rituals.
It is claimed that these rituals are an expression of love, but we would like to remind those who say so that when you want to express your love or sympathy, you should adopt means and ways of expression that are in harmony with what you are feeling sorrow for. Furthermore, we have always said that these means develop with time, and with the change of circumstances.
A need for change in ways of expressing sorrow
Therefore, hitting the head with swords, the backs with chains or crawling and the like, to express love and loyalty is performed by people who really love Hussein (a.s.), yet they have resorted to the wrong methods of expressing this love. They portray the wrong idea when these images are broadcasted throughout the world.
Let us make of the slogan we heard in Karabala that we will never forget Imam Hussein our daily slogan throughout our life, pledging that we will not forget the message, and this great Imam who represented the glory of this message and the willpower of humanity when he stood, with his bleeding wounds and unbearable pains, to say that he will not submit or act as a slave.
Let us remember this magnificent stand that no one, after his father and grandfather, has taken. Let every one of us become a Hussein even if at a rate of 1 percent. For he wanted us to see him as role model of piety and revolt against tyranny. And let us not turn these noble and glorious values and themes into a set of rituals and habits that are void of the vitality of the Husseini revolution.
In this occasion and in all such occasions, we discover that Imam Hussein (a.s.) is inside us. He is not absent or dead. He is present among us and his presence is as strong as it could be. He is present among us in every field of struggle. He is with us, when we deviate to remind us to go back to Allah, and to follow his lead as he gave everything to Allah having loved Him as Allah alone should be loved.
Restoring values and commitment
When we visit him, we have to remember him when we say: "I testify that you have performed prayers and paid alms tax and enjoined good and forbade evil..." If you want to be with Imam Hussein (a.s.) then perform prayers, give the poor and the needy, enjoin good and forbid evil. That is how you will be with the Imam, his father his grandfather, and the other infallible. To be with Imam Hussein is to be with the Messenger and the Message that Allah sent with His messengers and wanted it to be followed until He inherits the earth and all who are on it.
Dear loved ones renew your methods and even your awareness as you remember Imam Hussein (a.s.). Let him be a message and not merely tear drops… Tears are good when they express pains but tears in the case of tyranny are demonstrated by resisting this tyranny as the Imam and all the other Imams, as well as his mother, the pure and infallible Fatima al -Zahra, did.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Enemy’s Impasse
The American-Israeli ploy is now planning to push the Palestinian cause into a new tunnel called the "Road Map". They have, as an initial step, pressurized the Palestinians into accepting a new government that was commissioned with the task of cracking down the armed Intifada that Israel itself with all its massacres and atrocities was unable to end.
The enemy has started to pressurize the new government to use force against the Intifada. In this respect, the new martyr operations in the heart of the Israeli entity is a proof that no one, Palestinian or otherwise, is allowed to liquidate the Intifada before the end of the occupation and the achievement of Palestinian rights.
We believe that the party who is still in trouble is the enemy. For as long the Palestinians are still fighting, the Israelis are the ones who are politically defeated and the Americans have politically failed. No massacres, however barbaric they are, can break the resolve of a nation that has decided to fight, one generation after the other.
There is a lot of talk in the regional and international political spheres suggesting that the Nation was defeated in the Iraqi war… and that it should act accordingly in the Palestinian front. But we believe that it is the regimes that were made by the international arrogance especially the Americans that were defeated, and not the peoples that began to demonstrate and voice their opposition to the occupation and all its consequences such as any government that might be supervised by the occupation or used as a cover. It is the Iraqi people that will determine its future and choose its government.
The enemy’s plans unfold
It is being revealed day by day that the occupation did not come to liberate the Iraqis, despite the fact that the war has rescued them from the tyrant. The occupation came to turn Iraq into a military base to extend its influence over the entire region and threaten other countries and force them to offer concessions, thus attaining all the political economic and military gains without having to go to war.
What happened in the 40th day anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (a.s.) proves that history does not overwhelm the Muslims. On the contrary, they learn its lessons, in order to make a new one. It proved Furthermore that changing an unjust situation is an integral part of Islam. For it is a religious duty to establish justice among men.
This uprising that took the form of a revolutionary demonstration of faith could change into a multi-dimensional resistance that employs various means, as the ugly face of occupation becomes clearer. Nations know quite well that there is no such thing as a liberating occupation. Occupation is a hegemony that plunders the occupied wealth and undermines their interests.
Uphold unity
We call upon the Iraqis and the Palestinians to uphold their internal unity, on the basis of freedom and change. They should confront all the arrogance attempts to incite internal strife, that would defeat them before they even go to war.
We believe that this American-Israeli war was intended to deprive the region from any source of strength it may have. And this is what the Americans and Israeli declared when they said that the war on Iraq has protected the Israeli security and removed a big threat, that of Iraq which has a lot of potential… They might even be planning to establish their direct control on the region without having to do so by means of their agents.
The people of the region should rise to the level of the challenges, and try to integrate their confrontational efforts, especially with the renewed threats to Syria, Iran and the Resistance in Lebanon. We have to resort to more planning and studying all the means we should adopt and take the right stance without any emotional reactions or improvisations.
A state or confederation of conflicting interests
The Lebanese in particular have to prove, if only once, that they are ready to preserve and enhance their unity to confront all the threats that are facing them.
They have to prove that they are able to choose an effective government whose formation is not based on dividing the cake, but on the interests of the Lebanese people.
Moreover, Lebanese should not put their stakes on the external developments, for the outside parties might use them to incite internal differences whenever they see this fit. They have to rely on dialogue and reconciliation rebuilding their country and confronting the Israeli threats. Their only option is to intensify their belief in the unity of the Syrian and Lebanese tracks being a major source of strength, that is open on the mutual respect, as well as containing the country's independence and right of self-determination.