Friday speeches 20 Shawwal 1425h/3 December 2004 AD

Imam Jaa'far As-Sadiq (a.s.), and as we meet his death, anniversary on the 25th of Shawwal, is the Imam who used to be an outstanding scholar of all the sciences of his age, especially those that had to do with religion, theology, jurisprudence and natural and mathematical sciences.

He has filled his world with his spiritual openness as well as his openness on all people. He has left us a vast heritage, for he lived in a stage that provided relative freedom to express opinion, as he benefited from the struggle between the Umayyads and the Abbasids.

The Imam led a school of thought that was open on all Islamic trends, and even the non-Islamic materialist ones. He was never reluctant to engage in any dialogue, whether with those who agreed with him or those who did not. He taught most scholars of his age who belonged to various Islamic sects. Historians have asserted that their number has exceeded 4 thousands. And these are no ordinary students, they were trusted narrators whom people used to back to in everything that was reported that the Messenger and the Members of the House had said.

Once a man entered the Kufa Mosque, and mosques at that time were not merely places of worship. They were schools where people learned, and the places where people met to take political and military decisions. In short, the mosque of that time was the center of political, social and religious life of the society. This man says: I entered the Kufa mosque and saw 900 scholars each of them saying: "Jaa'far bin Muhammad As-Sadiq said” Moreover, historians have recorded that the chemist Jaber bin Hayyan was one of his students.

The Imam used to meet even with the atheists. He used to open his heart and mind to them. Even when they mocked some of his beliefs, he used to stay calm and provide them with the evidence they lacked.

He was so lenient that one of them said pointing at him: I have seen no one who deserves to be considered human more than this man. This is what scholars and clerics, especially those who fly the flag of the Messenger and the Members of the Houses should learn. They should never shy away from any question, but seek always to fill the minds of the people with the truth.

We have chosen this week some of the sayings of this Imam who talked about all issues including man's relation with his God, family and other people. The topics we have chosen have to do with the way he defines the Members of the House. He says:

“Our Shiites (supporters and followers) are the people of guidance, good and faith (they live their faith in everything they do or say). They are the people of conquest and victory (who lead the others to the line of Allah and are victorious when they defend themselves)”.

He also said: "The believer is the one who when angry; his anger does not make him not tell the truth (when angry, his mind and faith remain in control and he will not be led by his temper. He is the one who people feel at ease with him while his own body is tired… He is the one who is just even when it has to do with his own self.

According to Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.), the believer is the one who when he deals with people does not deal unjustly -whether at home, or in every other place- If he talks to people, he does not lie to them. If he promises, he would keep his promises.

… It is he whose justice and readiness to help others are evident and the one who should be your brother.

Some might think that the believer might be simple and naïve, but Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) says: the believer is a good helper. He helps others whenever possible. He does not constitute a burden on others. He knows how to sustain himself. When he works whether in business, agriculture or industry, he knows how to earn lawful money.

And when he is satisfied or happy, it does not lead him to falsehood. And when he is able he will not take more than what is rightfully his. In another saying, he describes the believers as the ones whose gains are lawful, those who would spend in charity the money they have in excess while withholding any excess words.

It is he who does not allow himself to do any evil. That is what Imam Ali (a.s.) expressed in another saying when he said describing the believer to be perseverant and intelligent so as to make money in a lawful manner. It is he who does not get stung from the same animal twice, meaning that he benefits from his experience in life, whether social, political or economic. For Islam wants the believer to be an active member of the society, who learns from his experiences and employs his knowledge in the service of his nation.

These are our Imams who Allah has purified. They are the ones who elevate and enable us to understand life so that we would learn how to run it and how to obey God and help the people around us. Peace be on them, May Allah reward us with their antecedence, and strengthen our commitment to their line.

In Palestine, a political debate is going on, as well as a lot of electoral noise, with an Islamic boycott, stalled negotiations and a shaking of the foundations of the Palestinian Authority. Meanwhile, there are Egyptian efforts to intercede between the Israelis and the Palestinians especially in issues that have to do with the election. Yet, they fall under the Israeli conditions of silencing the "aggressive" Palestinian media so as to create a psychological mood of openness and peace before talking any other step. They want to stop all calls for resistance and any voice that unveils to the Palestinians and the outer world the Israeli brutal aggressions.

According to Israel, the Palestinian media is increasing the tension thus hindering any settlement. They are rude enough to make such claim at a time Sharon continues to kill the Mujhideen, arrest the Palestinian youth, and confiscate more land to build the racial wall and additional settlements.

President Bush, on his part, considers that the essence of the Middle East conflict lies in the emergence of a Palestinian democracy and the appearance of a true Palestinian partner. But is there anybody in Israel who is fit to be a real peace partner for the Palestinians?

Are such partners those who kill the Palestinian people and their leaders and destroy their infrastructure?

The problem with this man (Bush) is that he knows that Israel is the main obstacle, for it does not accept the Road Map that was accepted by the Palestinians.

Moreover, Sharon, Bush's ally and his close friend, has announced lately that he will not withdraw except from Gaza and some tiny settlements in the West Bank.

This is all that he wants to concede, for he does not want any settlement.

We say to the Palestinians:

Your unity that is based on diversity is one of the foundations of your steadfastness and victory. But it should not be determined by the ceiling of Israeli conditions.

It should be a unity of clinging to the Palestinian principles that does not allow regional or international changes to temper with, especially when it is influenced by the American and Israeli deceiving promises, for they have mastered the art of going back on their word when that political atmosphere changes.

Iraq is still a front of arbitrary death practiced by both the occupation force and certain local armed factions. In this atmosphere, talking about respecting the election date is disturbing, especially that the occupation forces are the ones that are responsible of holding them which means that the coming parliament and the subsequent cabinet will be chosen in accordance with the American dictates and conditions... We want the Iraqi people to be aware of this ploy and be very careful in choosing representatives to ensure that they are experienced patriotic and committed to preserve the Islamic identity.

At the same time, we view with extreme cautiousness the inciting discourse of some Iraqis and some neighboring states that talks about sectarian and ethnic divisions in Iraq. We also feel wary when we hear every party claiming to be the majority.

It is as if Iraq's problem is sectarianism and not one of occupation… Such claims could lead to blood shedding as a result of the dominance of this mentality that is encouraged by the Americans, the Jews and their agents… We pray that Allah will preserve the safety and unity of the Iraqi people and that Allah will bestow on them the virtues of wisdom, patience and unity.

In Lebanon, we call for an end to this game of each party recording the negative points of the other, and resort instead to objective dialogue. They have to take into consideration the international interests that led to Resolution 1559 which might not be in the interests of Lebanon, especially with respect to the resistance and the critical security situation which might be destabilized if certain decisive restraints are not respected.

The UN Security Council has issued several resolutions against Israel. And although Israel rejected all of them, it was not intimidated. The officials there continued to have their best interests in mind and continued to pursue their aggressive strategy under American protection. We have to understand that America and Israel want everything from the Arabs, especially Syria and Lebanon, and will not give them anything in return.

The Lebanese have to study the political, economic and security conditions very carefully, from the point of view of the interests of its citizens and not its sects.

They have to conduct a dialogue concerning the issues of independence and freedom, and finding solutions for the problems of corruption and theft based on the courage of confronting all those who are responsible for the corruption; those who have created the tragedy in the past and will reproduce it in the future..