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The
First Sermon
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Praise be to Allah,
Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessing be on our master,
Muhammad, his purified progeny, his select companions and all God's
Messengers.
Taking to His Prophet,
Allah says:
{Lo! You will die, and
Lo! They will die} (39/30)
{We appointed
immorality for mortal before thee; if thou die, can they be
immortal} (3/144)
{Muhammad is but a
messenger, (the like of whom) have passed away before him. Will it
be that, when he dies or is slain, ye will turn back on your heels?
He who turned back does no hurt to Allah, and Allah will reward the
thankful} (21/34)
The 28th
of Safar is the anniversary of the death of the Prophet. On this
painful day in which the contact between earth and heaven was
broken, we are going to learn about Muhammad (p)'s last days, the
days in which the Message was completed.
The Prophet's Will
When the Messenger felt
that he was severely sick, he took Ali (a.s.) and they were followed
by a group of Muslims and went to Al-Baqi' (the cemetery of Medina).
There he said: "I was commanded to ask forgiveness to the occupants
of Baqi’". He added when he reached on overlooking spot: 'Peace be
on you, O people of the graves. I congratulate you on your situation
compared to that of the living".
It was as if he was
saying to them that leaving this world and meeting their Lord is
better than living. It was as though he was feeling the pain and
bitterness that resulted from the movements and plots of the
hypocrites; that is why he added: "Tribulations are coming like the
dark pieces of night". He knew that many plots were in the making,
especially since he was witnessing that some people stalled in
executing his commands, and even forgot what he had said at Ghadir
(a stopping-place on the road between Mecca and Medina): that Ali
(a.s.) is the master of those who consider Muhammad (p) to be their
master.
Doing Goods Is the Only Key to Heaven
Then the Prophet turned
to Ali (a.s.) and told him: "Gabriel used to show me the Quran once
every year, but this year he did it twice. I believe it is because
my time has come" and he added: "I was given the choice between the
wealth of this world and Heaven, and I chose Heaven and meeting my
Lord". Then he left for his home and stayed in bed for 3 days. He
then went to the Mosque with a band on his head and helped by Imam
Ali (a.s.) who held his right hand and Al-fadl ibn Al-Abbas who held
his left hand. He then made a speech in which he told the people
that he was about to die and asked them to ask for their trusts or
debts, if there were any. Then he said: "O People, there is not
between anybody and Allah anything that would make him bestow His
grace on him or keep an evil away except one's actions". Meaning
that there are no advantages for anybody, and no lineage or social
and economic position will get him nearer to Allah. Such a statement
when the Messenger is the one who is saying it, means, everybody
without exception- "No one should claim or wish so, for by Him who
sent me a prophet (to call) for the right, nothing saves except
deeds with mercy -you should act in doing good and ask Allah to
forgive your sins- If I would sin I would have fallen down, O God,
Have I conveyed?
It is as if the Prophet
were repeating two Ayahs in the Holy Quran:
{It will not be in
accordance with your desires or the desires of the people of the
Scripture. He who does wrong will have the recompense thereof, and
will not find against Allah any protecting friend or helper}.
(4:123)
{Say I fear if I
disobey me Lord, the torment of fateful day}. (39:19)
Do not say that since
we are Muslims we will not go to hell. It is not a matter of wishes.
The relationship between Allah and man is based on the latter's
action. In addition, he who disobeys Allah does not have any
privileges.
The farewell pilgrimage
Feeling that he was
about to die, the Messenger (p.) delivered a speech in which he gave
the believers his trust teachings and guidance. He said:
"O people! Listen to
what I say. I do not know whether I will ever meet you at this place
once again after this current year. It is unlawful for you to shed
the blood of one another or take (unlawfully) the fortunes of one
another. They are as unlawful, (Haram) as shedding blood on such a
day as today and in such a month as this Haram month and in such a
sanctified city as this sacred city (i.e. Makkah and the surrounding
areas)."
"Behold! All practices
of paganism and ignorance are now under my feet. The blood-revenge
of the Days of Ignorance (pre-Islamic time) are remitted.
"(Shedding) the blood
of one another and eating or taking one another's provisions
(unwillingly) and your honour are all inviolable (Haram). It is
unlawful to violate their holiness. They must be as sacred to one
another as this sacred day, in this sacred month, in this sacred
town.
"You will go back to be
resurrected (after death) to your Lord. There you will be accounted
for your deeds. So do not turn into people who go astray and kill
one another".
"Have I not delivered
the Message (of my Lord)?" "Yes you have". Said they. "O Allâh! Bear
witness! Let him that is present convey it unto him who is absent.
For haply, many people to whom the Message is conveyed may be more
mindful of it that the audience.” said he.
"I am leaving for you
two precious things and if you adhere both of them, you will never
go astray after me, they are the Book of Allah and my progeny, that
is my Ahlul-Bayt. The two shall never separate from each other until
they come to me by the pool (of paradise)".
Then, the Prophet made
his last and biggest will that of appointing Imam Ali as his
successor in leading the nation. He made the man whom he told:
"Aren't you satisfied to be with respect to me like Haroon was to
Moses" and the one whom he described as:
"I am the city of
knowledge and Ali is its gate". "Right is with Ali and Ali is with
the Right". "Ali and the Quran will always be together until they
come to in heaven".
O people, Am I not
leader who have more say on you than you have on yourselves. When
they all agreed, the Messenger raises Ali's hand and said: "Whoever
believes that I am his leader then Ali is his leader.
O' God, side with those
who side with him and be the enemy of those are hostile to him…"
Then, when the Prophet
(p.) was about to die, he asked for some papers to write a document
that will save the Muslims from deviation after his death forever.
But the people did not obey immediately. Instead, some said that the
Quran was enough, while others considered that he was hallucinating.
Then when they became quiet, they asked the Prophet (p.) if he still
wanted the papers, but he replied that it was useless once they had
said what they said.
Ibn Abbas who narrated
the story said that this act was awful, for it would have saved the
Muslims from the catastrophes of division and fragmentation.
{Muhammad is no more
than an apostle: other apostles have passed away before him, if he
dies or be slain will you recant? He that recants will do no harm to
Allah, but Allah will reward the thankful}.
The Messenger dies and
the Message stays. It is Allah's trust that we have all to be
responsible of; whether to believe in it or to call the coming
generations to keep the faith, as a religion for all mankind. We
also have to uphold our Islamic unity which is one of the major
sources of the strength of both Islam and the Islamic nation.
The Message stays:
In the end of his life,
and as he was surrounded by his nearest relatives, such as his
uncle, his aunt and his daughter Fatima, he called on each one of
them by name saying: "You should seek to please Allah by your deeds,
I can do you no good". In Another instance, Fatima went to him as he
was dying. She embraced him and he whispered something in her ear
which made her weep. Then, when he whispered something that made her
laugh, she was asked: 'How quickly (your) laughing after weeping?!'
She said: 'I shall not reveal the Messenger of Allah's secret in his
life'. So, when she was asked about this after his death, she said.
'He whispered in my ear first that he was going to meet his Lord and
that his soul was announced to him (his death), so I wept; then he
whispered in my ear again that I was going to be the fist of his
family to go after him, so I laughed!'.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Israel and America Democracy:
We used to talk about
how much the American Administration have sided with Israel to the
extent that they have supported every Israeli aggression against the
Palestinians whether by preventing any UN condemnation or by
supporting its criminal actions including its massacres, house
demolishing and killing of civilians.
When we say that, people used to say
that we tend to exaggerate, but we read in the human development
report that America is responsible for hindering Arab progress, and
that Washington "contributed in creating an international
environment that hindered progress” whether through its policy
towards Israel or its practices in Iraq. It adds that America
undermined the world order, when it repeatedly vetoed or threatened
to veto any resolution that condemns Israel. The report concluded
that this has made many of those who live in the region "lose hope
of any international justice… which could trigger a whirlpool of
violence and counter violence.”
In this sense, the
report gives a clear idea about the kind of democracy Bush calls
for. Moreover, if the report talks about the role of the
intelligence and security agencies in the Arab world being so vast,
it is well-known that these agencies are associated with the Central
Intelligence Agencies. In addition, Bush himself has admitted that
his country has protected dictatorships in the region for sixty
years.
Bush is going to
receive Sharon in his ranch, the man he had called a man of peace
and a man who wants to establish democracy in Palestine.
Yet everyone -including
Bush himself- knows that he is trying to hinder even any progress in
the Road Map.
The problem is that
they both represent a unified team in their hypocrisy that attempts
to give the war the name of peace, terrorism the quality of
democracy and the exclusion of the downtrodden in the name of
freedom and human rights.
America used to
consider the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, as
occupied lands, but now it calls them “disputed lands" so as to give
the enemy an opportunity to annex them in the end. Moreover, it has
also said that the right of return of Palestinian refuges is not
realistic.
This is what made the
Arabs and the Muslims reject America. It is because of its bias and
siding with Israel, even in its policies towards other states in the
region, such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. It has a mutual
strategy with Israel in such a way that some of the resolutions it
sought to pass -Resolution 1559 for example- are Israeli
resolutions. This is the Answer to their question: why do they hate
us?
Iraq: Compromises do not build a nation.
The Iraqi tragedy is
also an American responsibility, whether in the security chaos, the
political turmoil or the sectarian demand.
Attempts to solve the
problem on the basis of dividing the cake will only make any bet on
a unified Iraq a losing one.
The same thing goes to
the issue of freedom and independence, especially with the problems
facing the building of a strong Iraqi army and a balanced internal
security; thus giving the occupation every excuse to maintain its
presence.
We believe that the
Iraqi people is a people of freedom, and this has been evident in
its civilizational history and Islamic identity. Therefore, all
Iraqis should demand: Occupation should withdraw, for the Iraqis are
capable of running their own affairs.
Lebanon: Beware of vague slogans
In Lebanon, the
American Administration continues to pressurize many political
parties in an effort to carry out its dubious plan of pressurizing
the Resistance and Syria. It wants to create a hostile environment
that aims at destroying any source of strength Lebanon and Syria
still possess, so that they will succumb to the American -Israeli
demands.
We warn the Lebanese
against these plots, and call upon them not to be deceived by the
vague slogans and the sweet words that show something while hiding
another.
Meanwhile, the people
are waiting for the new government and the new elections in an
atmosphere of tragic comedy that aims at inciting their sectarian
fanaticism.
But there is no talk
about what future awaits Lebanon: Is it any Israeli one or an Arab
Lebanese one.
The question is: could
those who are talking about freedom be liberated from the American
pressures? Moreover, is there a realistic chance for Lebanon to
change one sphere of influence to fall in another, since the
Lebanese tend to think about what others want and not what they
themselves want?
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