Love and Advice

What is the responsibility of a Muslim in his relations with people of all levels, whether common people or leaders?

What attitude should he adopt in dealing with them? How should he think and plan for them? There is a major instruction that Allah has conveyed to His messengers as well as all believers. He told the Messengers that a heart full of love should present advice; since when you advise someone, you are caring about his wellbeing and his own good.

We read the in the Quran citing some messengers saying: “I deliver to you the messages of my Lord, and I offer you good advice and I know from Allah what you do not know”. I only wish to advise you and I am not looking for any kind of authority or power. It is only that my relationship with Allah has given me the honor of being revealed to, and I convey what is being revealed to me. In another Ayat, the Messenger says:

Advice is the best form of worship

The Messenger (p.) says: “Allah the most Exalted says: The worshiping of My servants I love most is advising Me: Although Allah does not need the advice of His servants because His knowledge is absolute in its universality, He wants them to advise Him by worshipping Him alone and obey Him in what is for their own good. The Messenger (p.) also said: "Who does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them”…

He who does not care about the problems, challenges and concerns is not a Muslim no matter how much he fasts or prays… He would not be a Muslim because he would not be a part of the nation that cares for the rest.

That is why the Messenger (p.) has drawn a simile between the believers and the human body. If any organ becomes sick, all the others will look after him. Islam wants the Muslims to form one body in which all share the grief of some. The Messenger also added: Who does not offer advice to Allah, His Messenger (p.), His Book, His leaders and the Muslims is not a Muslim… The Messenger (p.) is asking each of us to consider himself a part of the nation and one that is responsible to offer advice to contribute in solving its problems.

This is in no way the responsibility of leaders and scholars only. You might have an idea or an experience that others do not. Allah, the most Exalted, wants each of us to be a potential leader.

In this sense, we read in the opening supplication: "O God: we ask You for an honorable state that supports Islam and its people and humiliates hypocrites and its people. We ask You to make us among the caller for obeying You and of the leaders to Your course.

Religious Advice

The Messenger (p.) once told his companions that Religion is advice to Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of Muslims and grassroots people.

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said that Ali (a.s.) was a servant who advised God because he has given all his mind, heart and body to God. He never thought for himself but always for Allah's cause which made him earn the advice of Allah, the most Exalted. He also loved Allah, the most Exalted, and was loved by Him, for He loves those who love Him.

Imam Ali (a.s.) says: "One should advise his brother as he advises himself”.

Imam Zein Al-Abidein talks about the rights of the adviser and the advised saying: It is the right of those who seek your advice to give him one, in a merciful way. As for the one who seeks advise, he should be humble and listen carefully to what is being told to him.

If it is right you would thank God, and if it is wrong you should excuse the adviser and not let yourself suspect his good intentions.

This is what Islam considers to be the responsibility of every Muslim towards the affairs of other Muslims whether individuals or societies. Each Muslim should feel that he is responsible to make every effort to reach an opinion that elevates the level of Muslims and puts them on the right track that enables them to become better and face the challenges that they are confronted with… We should become a unified nation in all that has to do in its affairs, goals and conditions so as to be able to face the other nations on the basis of cooperation and advice.

American democracy is nothing but deceit.

President Bush continues to talk about the situation in Lebanon on a daily basis. He is trying to suggest to the Americans that he seeks to make Lebanon enter the heaven of democracy, as part of his general project of democracy in the Middle East.

But this is pure deceit and hypocrisy; since Lebanon is the only democracy in the region. It has been since the 1940s, a place where elections are held freely and all civil liberties are respected including the freedoms of expression, and demonstration.

As for the freedom to confront the enemy, the Lebanese in Beirut and in the South were the ones who fought the Israeli occupation that was supported and encouraged by America including such practices as the massacres of Sabra and Shatila.

What the Americans care of is to support the Israeli policies even if it were at the expense of the security of all nations.

The Americans are still maintaining this policy of aggression, and we have read lately that America has asked Israel to stop making statements about Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon, because it hurts the US interests in the region.

This is because America will become in the Arab view an Israeli puppet, and this is what we have asserted several times.

The America’s Middle East policies of this administration are made in Tel Aviv.

Although the issue of Syrian complete withdrawal with its intelligence units has become a done matter, after Syria announced its readiness to withdraw and even began withdrawing, Bush still talks about the issue to flex his muscles, as if he were the champion of withdrawal.

But we know that he aims at becoming more popular among the Americans.

The Underpinnings of resolution 1559

We notice that the Americans and the French are trying to suggest that the Lebanese are reduced to one party, whom they meet with and promote its interests. But they know that there is another Lebanese party represented by those who demonstrated on Tuesday and they represent all the Lebanese political spectrum and confessions. Therefore, we have to ask: What is the meaning of democracy in the minds of the makers of resolution 1559. Is it the decision of the majority or the minority?

They have tried to incite Lebanese against one another, and did not try to make them reach an understanding dialogue or even engage in a dialogue. This made a lot of Lebanese consider that they are interfering negatively in Lebanon, especially when some talked about their readiness to fill in the vacuum that Syrian withdrawal creates.

A widespread majority knows that resolution 1559 was not inspired by the concern for the Lebanese interests but to pressurize Syria to promote the makers’ interests and use Lebanon as a card in their hands in the game of nations.

We have always emphasized that the Lebanese want a free, independent and sovereign state, but they have always wondered about those who participated in making things reach this negative situation by accepting what was going on at the political, economic and security level.

Is democracy equivalent to denying nations their liberty?

We ask President Bush about what he understands by democracy and freedom of nations, citing his position towards the Palestinian people that Israel prevents from practicing its freedoms?

What is his attitude towards respecting international legitimacy when he refuses to implement UN resolutions concerning the Palestinians? And what about the freedom of Golan and the Shiba’ farms? He is using rightful concepts for falsehood goals… Thus, we cannot trust the US policies because their sayings do not conform with their deeds.

Therefore, we warn all Islamic and Arab peoples especially the Iraqis and the Palestinians to be aware of this political deceit and study what the slogans really aim at and not take them at their face value.

Iraq: a call to denounce the massacres

In Iraq, and as more and more victims fall everybody, as a result of the atmosphere created by the American occupation, and the actions of the accusers of apostasy who kill Muslims in the mosques in a brutal and barbaric way.

We call upon all Muslims in the world especially the religious authorities to denounce these savage massacres in a way that does not ignore those who have done them and who claim in cold blood to be responsible for them.

Lebanon: Seeking outside interference will complicate things

As for Lebanon whose economic crisis are deepening and who is facing the unknown as well as political chaos, as its people have begun to lose hope in getting out of this dark tunnel in which the politicians seek only to gain points for their parties. Meanwhile the country might fall into a constitutional vacuum if a new government is not formed or if elections are not held. In the meantime, the Lebanese are getting poorer and unable to sustain themselves. They began to suffer from hunger and unemployment, and they are seeking to immigrate as a result of not finding a solution for their problem that is caused by those who made their fortunes by exploiting their official offices with nobody daring to tell them accountable.

We say to those professional politicians: hands off… Do not make the deprived pay for your greed and fall into the chaos that will destroy everything.