|
The
First Sermon
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The Members of
the House embody the Message.
Ashoura is the event that
holds in all its events, speeches, sacrifices and stances the live
of the Members of the House, who were raised and taught by the
Prophet(p.) beginning
with Ali(a.s) and Fatima and then the Imams Hassan and Al-Hussein.
This house that was brought
up by the Prophet (p.) is the house of the Message, a house whom
Allah has purified and whose members were infallible in everything
they did or said.
They did not have any other
line but Islam, and sought nothing but the Right. They defended the
faith from all falsehood others tried to insert...For their love war
solely to Allah, the most Exalted,, His Messenger and those who love
Allah and His Messenger. And they wanted all people to follow their
model and base any stand they take on the same basis seeking to
establish the Right…Since Allah is the Right, the only Right and
what others call for is falsehood.
Their Resolve
and Dedication
Thus, the Members of the
House were destined to endure all they went through, because they
insisted to be with the Right and allow no falsehood to draw near
it.
That is why it was said
that the right is bitter, because those who adhere to it bear a
heavy responsibility and because those who hold this responsibility
have to stick to the straight line without deviation whether right
or left.
Thus, Ali's experience in
adhering to the cause of the right was similar to that of the
Messenger(p.) . The Messenger(p.) refused to succumb under pressure and agree to worship the
pagans’ gods for a
year in return for their worshipping of his God for another year.
There are no compromises when it comes to defending the Right. The
pagans, on the other hand, did not mind to worship Muhammad's God,
because they did not have a faith based on the Right that would be
violated if any partnership with God was accepted. And this is
unfortunately what we are witnessing now when people start to
exaggerate, thus letting unbelief into their doctrine and making
their belief in the oneness of Allah compromised. That is why the
Imam(a.s.) said that two
kinds of people will meet a disastrous fate because of him: those
who exaggerate in their love of him and those whose hate to him is
blind.
The Prophet suffered all
what he had suffered from because he refused to deviate away from
the Right even by one percent.
This is also what the
Imam(a.s.) did after the
death of the prophet, when he refused to become part of the
political game as others did then and do now. He refused to accept
the caliphate when Abdulrahman bin Ouf told him that he pledged
loyalty to him on the basis of Allah's Book, that prophet's
traditions and the legacy of AbnBakir and Omar. He accepted the
first two but refused the third, for it might contain what could not
be in agreement with Allah's Book, and consequently Ottoman became
the caliph.
He could have easily agreed
as politicians do nowadays and then went back on his word. But he
had no personal ambitions of becoming a caliph. It was a matter of
principle and a means of serving God, Islam and Muslims.
Then when he became caliph,
he refused to give money to certain people to ensure the stability
of his rule, saying that the money is not mine; it is Allah's. Thus
Ali (a.s.) draw himself
away from the political game, and suffered a lot as a result of this
stand. He did not lack the ability to take part in the political
game, but he did not want to do anything that is against Allah
commands.
It was not as he says that
his adversary, Muawiah, was clever, but that he did not mind to
resort to deceiving and treachery. The difference between Imam Ali (a.s.)
and those who came before and after him is that he considered
himself responsible of showing Islam in its purest forms, just as
the Prophet did. He considered himself a messenger that although he
was not a prophet he held the responsibility of the Message. He did
not strive to gather supporters around him, but wanted those who
supported him to remain righteous. He says: ”Having
too many people around me does not increase my glory and if they go
away I will not feel more lonely" The Imam(a.s.) wanted us to follow his path in thought and practice: "Do
not feel lonely on the path of guidance if the people walking with
you are few...".
Imam Hussein (a.s) followed
the same path, choosing to face difficulties and opposing the
mainstream of deviation that culminated when Muawiah appointed his
son as his successor, using both the carrot and the stick (He used
to give money to those who agree and kill those who do not). The
people were by that time used to this mentality. They began to choose their leadership on the basis of their own interests
and not according to their principles, a practice that is still
dominant today. That is why the Imam went all his way to ensure that
his job was not only to rule but to educate the people as well.
Ashoura as a
right Cause
Similarly when Imam Hussein
(a.s.) said: "I rose to seek reform in
my grandfather’s nation" he was talking about this
deviation, whereby the corruption did not only strike the leadership
but the entire nation as well. The nation affected by the Umayyad
leadership, was beginning to forget the Right and adopt falsehood.
Therefore, Ashoura was in
the first place a revolt to reestablish right. It is a historical
event whose details are known, and filling it with thousands of lies
to move the people is uncalled for. The event itself is enough to
catch the hearts and the souls, while lies might make people
skeptical about what really happened.
It is quite unfortunate
that as things turned out, the speaker who makes the audience cry
more, is considered more successful even if he relies on myths and
lies.
Ashoura should be an
occasion to enlighten our minds, and elevate our spiritual and
humane levels. This means that we should engage in a political,
social and cultural revaluation to raise the level of Muslims, to
rid the nation of the backwardness, the ignorant and the deviated
have pumped into it.
Imam Hussein like
his father before him, held the task of criticizing all wrong
attitudes. He was a man who flew the flag of the right and
truthfulness . To honor him we have to rid Ashoura of all lies and
myths. And be sure that what actually happened in Ashoura could
enrich the minds and break the hearts.
The
Second Sermon
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
America
legalizes Zionist terror
The Arab and Islamic
summits that are being convened in an atmosphere of marginal
differences did not produce any results, whether against the
American war or in support of the Palestinian cause.
They are helpless because
some of the Arabs are engaged in defense treaties to protect
themselves against other Arabs, and they cannot therefore exert any
pressure on the aggressors.
As for the American
–Israeli summit, that Sharon and Bush are actually implementing
its plans, it deploys the armies in the region in a manifestation of
a political –military alliance that shows itself sometimes and
acts behind the scenes in others. In any case, it always leaves to Israel
a freehand to use its massive war machine against the Palestinian
people to force them to surrender.
Meanwhile, hundreds of
Palestinian martyrs and wounded fall, and houses fall on the heads
of their inhabitants, with America
justifying all this as self-defense. Although it might sometimes
talk about the misuse of excessive force by Israel ,
once a martyr operation (like the one in Haifa )
takes place, the Americans will use the strongest words they have to
condemn this so-called terrorist action, while the Israeli army
brutal targeting of civilians is a war necessity of self-defense.
Palestinians
should continue their fight
Recently France , Germany
and Russia
took the same stand without studying the destructive conditions that
suffocate the Palestinians who stand alone in the face of
American-Israeli barbarianism. We say to the Palestinians: The
Zionist government led by Sharon
and supported by America
will not be deterred if you put an end to Martyr operations, they
will ask for more and more concessions until they make accept all
their humiliating conditions. Did
the enemy stop any of its brutal actions of killing, demolition and
blockade in the last two months in which they were not attacked by
this means?
Therefore, continue your
wonderful struggle that makes a new history for the Arab and Islamic
nation…
Do not be deceived by the
international and Arab calls for a truce, because Israel will not
respect it and the Quartet Committee can not impose any solution on
Israel…We are in a stage of finger-biting. Do not be the first to
scream, you have endured all these pains… Surely Israel
will scream in the end for no state could subject a free people that
seeks a free life.
A Sharon
like mentality
On another level, the
American president, with some of his allies especially Britain,
seems more and more of a mind like that of like Sharon, the tyrant that has a thirst for blood that
cannot be quelled, for the feeling of how powerful he is drives him to threaten the world with war in the name of peace, and
oppress the freedom of nations in the name of realizing Allah's
will..
As if God wants him to
suppress the downtrodden along with some arrogant powers to end any
sharing in decision taking in the whole world.
We notice that America
is using the carrot and stick policy in its pressures on certain
countries to deploy its troops. This is what we noticed in America ’s
pressure on Turkey
whose parliament refused to accept the American hegemony.
Nevertheless, diplomatic and economic pressures might lead Turkey
to yield, especially with the pressures the Turkish military is
making.
The question that imposes
itself with the war seeming to be so imminent is about what is going
on in the coming few days: Would America force the Security Council
to accept its war, or would it end its international legitimacy and
go to war unilaterally?
And what is the stand of
the Iraqi opposition towards the American plan that intends to
establish a military rule in Iraq
while claiming that it intends to liberate the Iraqis while claiming
that it intends to liberate the Iraqis? What options do they have
and what are the potentials of pressurizing the Americans? Should it
start a war against this occupation or continue to wait until the
Americans decide to pull out, a decision that is determined by the
American strategic interests… These questions need definite
answers… But in any case, we call on the all Iraqi people to
continue their struggle for liberation from the tyrannical regime
and from foreign occupation.
They should know, as
history whose laws are divinely established, tells us that no
arrogant power could prevent any nation from achieving its
freedom… Furthermore, we call on all Arab and Islamic peoples as
well as all the free ones, to remain in opposition to the arrogant
military, economic and political hegemony for no tyrant could resist
the free will of nations.
Lastly,
the anniversary of the Beir Al-Abd massacre that was committed by
the American Central intelligence agency, as admitted by its
director William Casy. We ought not to forget this massacre that
killed many innocent women, children and elderly, so that we would
learn how Americans practice terror while claiming to fight
terrorism. America 's logic is that terrorism should not target America ,
but it could be practiced if it serves American interests all over
the world.
Search
for America
in any injustice or terror against the downtrodden especially the
Arabs and Muslims.
|