The First Sermon

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful  

We remain with the atmosphere of the anniversary of Imam Jaafar As-Sadiq (a.s.), who lived his imamate in the minds of people to increase their awareness and make them able to grasp the right and keep away from falsehood.

He also lived his imamate in their hearts to ensure that these hearts are full of love and good, for Allah wants the hearts to be the repository of all spiritual virtues that benefit people.

Serving is a responsibility

Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) used to educate the Muslims to use their skills and potentials in serving the community. When Allah bestows a gift of science, money or position on someone, He does not expect him to keep it for himself, but he should think of it as a trust and as a responsibility that one should use to help others.

We read in some of the sayings of Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) that Allah did not bestow one of these graces on one of his servants except after associating it with a certain responsibility that the servant will be held accountable for. Those who were given money were asked to be responsible on how to spend it on themselves and their families.

They should not overspend because Allah loves not the wasters. Then with what is left of your money there is the issue of the rights of others in your money. These are the rights (Alms and Khums) that Allah has ordered and left them as a trust to you: if you do not give them to their owners, you will be a thief stealing the money of Allah that He has given to the needy.

Supporting the downtrodden:

Then, there are the recommended acts like charity that Allah, the most Exalted, has asked you to give to the poor. Allah, the most Exalted, has promised to award each cent with ten. It is also said that charity drives away trials. As for those whom Allah, the most Exalted, has given strong bodies, they have to pray, fast and perform pilgrimage to those who can afford it. In addition, they have to help in restoring justice, fighting oppressions and supporting the weak who cannot face tyrants and oppressors. If you are a dignitary then you have to help the people in reconciling foes, helping those who are in need, and easing the pains of the suffering…

Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) cites the Prophet (p.) as saying to one of his companions, “shall I guide you to something if you do you will go to Heaven?”

The man was excited and said: “Yes, please do, Messenger of Allah”. The Prophet (p.) said: “Give from what Allah has given you?”

But the man asked: “What about if I were more in need than him?”

“Then support the wronged”. Again the man said: "What if I were weaker than him". “Then help the naïve or the stupid”. Once more the man asked: “What if he were cleverer than me?” “Then hold your tongue and don't say anything if it were not for the good”. And The Messenger (p.) added: "Aren't you happy that having any of these traits will make you enter Heaven”.

The Imam (a.s.) also said: “Allah, the most Exalted, says that all people are His children. The ones I love most among them are the ones that are the most kind of others and try most to satisfy their needs". Thus, we understand that Islam wants man to help all people because they are all the children of God.

In another saying, the Imam (a.s.) says: “Compete in doing good to your brothers", for this a sure way to Heaven. Talking about the relations among fellow believers, Imam As-Sadiq (a.s.) says a believer is a brother of fellow believers: they are like different organs in the same body, when one is in pain, the other organs will feel the same. He added that their souls "are but one soul". This is the spiritual relationship that Islam establishes between believers; a relationship that makes one share all the pains of others.

To encourage Muslims to act as brothers, the Imam (a.s.) says: "The Muslim is the brother of a fellow Muslim”.

He is the eye he sees with; his mirror and his guide. He neither betrays him nor lies to him or backbites him”. He cites the Messenger (p.) as saying: "He who does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them. And he who hears a man calling other Muslims for help and does not respond is not a Muslim”.

These are the teachings of our Imams, the teachings of the true Islam that aim at making us a nation whose members cooperate with one another, and care for the nation’s issues and pains. It is a nation in which each member feels that he should spare no effort in doing good for the entire community.

The Second Sermon

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

America and Israel: The Deceit of Peace

There are a lot of whispers in the Arab regions that is accompanied by vague statements and diplomatic moves that aim at creating a political atmosphere that is favorable for normalizing the relations with the enemy.

This is influenced by the moves of an Arab state for more rapprochements with Israel as a means of encouraging a Palestinian Israeli peaceful solution.

The enemy has encouraged these moves, but it has laid down its complicated conditions that in effect mean the Israel will not offer anything, since Israel's plan is to obtain a gradual peace from the Arabs without offering anything.

And this is what it has practiced since Madrid, Oslo, the Jordanian peace treaty and the normalization steps with certain Gulf countries.

Meanwhile, America was implementing a plan of deceit, talking about peace at a time the enemy was executing a plan of eradicating the Palestinians, and creating realities on the ground that the American President called for taking into consideration.

If one has to take the new settlements, confiscating lands and building the racial wall into consideration, none of the UN resolutions, whether 242, 338 or 194 will have any meaning… Even the Oslo agreement has become meaningless, and the talk about a two states solution on the basis of the Road Map that cancelled all previous plans has turned into a means to exert pressures on the Palestinians and demand their participation in the war on terror, which means that the Intifada should be stopped before Israel would even stop its brutal massacres; let alone engage in the negotiations.

The Arab official regimes have yielded to this pressure that wants the Arabs to be weak without any source of strength that is monopolized by the Israelis. Thus, all the Arab Summit -and Islamic ones for that matter- resolutions have fallen under the feet of the American Israeli plan.

In this atmosphere, we are following the news about the brutal massacres of the Americans in Iraq and the Israelis in Palestine.

They are torturing the prisoners and killing civilians in cold blood which means that they have no humanitarian feelings, and no morals. All their talk about human rights and their show trials is but an act that aims at deceiving the international public opinion.

We would like the Palestinian people to be aware of this old new game, to consolidate its internal unity by agreeing on the vital issues, and adopting a unified leadership that includes all Palestinian parties so that they could reach the safe shore… As for the Arab and Muslim Worlds, they should realize what kind of a future the occupiers are planning for them, to plan to gain some strength that could prevent their political, security and economic collapse.

Iraq: Fear of division

As for Iraq, where violence is escalating with more civilians and innocent falling everyday, the American President and his defense secretary are telling us that violence will escalate even further with the nearing of the election date… there is a growing fear from the talk about federalism which could lead to the division of Iraq and which would have adverse effects on the entire region. Moreover, the American intelligence agencies may be planning for a civil war in the country…

In this context the question is: who is responsible for the way things turned to in Iraq? And who is planning and working on creating strife among Muslims?

The Iraqis should study the situation carefully and uphold their Islamic and national unity in order to establish a free unified Iraq that make its own glorious future based on its great potential as evident in its history and its role in civilization, and not what the American occupier wants: a base to expand American hegemony over the entire region.

Lebanon: Finding realistic solutions

In Lebanon, Political debate is becoming, more and more, less objective and less concerned with finding realistic solutions. It is also ignoring the moral code that does not offend the system of values in various political confrontations.

In criticizing political life, the economic crisis and the judiciary, each party should possess the mentality of the politician who wants to elevate the level of his country and solves its problems.

They should also learn the reasons that led the judiciary to make a certain ruling and the economic culture that the economist relies on in facing such problems and providing solutions. They should carry the responsibility of a representative of the people who was given the confidence and the trust of the people to build the country as a base of cultural and civilized radiation, and provide it with a future that honors the Lebanese citizens and not promote sectarianism which drives them into dark caves, and surrenders them to near or far occupations.