Friday Speeches Mosque Jamada Al-Awwal 2, 1423h, July12, 2002

Allah says in His Glorious Book: {It is not true believers-men or woman-to take their choice in their affairs if Allah and His Apostle decreed otherwise} [33:36].

According to the righteous Islamic doctrine, Allah (s.w.t) wants the Muslim to practice all the religious duties on the one hand, and to refrain from committing all that He ordained unlawful on the other hand. If one commits himself to doing both, he would earn Allah’s satisfaction and mercy.

When we study the religious duties Allah has ordained, such as praying, fasting and performing pilgrimage, we notice that Allah (S.W.T) ordained them to educate us on being committed to obey His commands in what is right and wrong and in what is lawful or unlawful.

Prayer is described in the Holy Quran as a call for “forbidding indecency and evil”. It is a school that when one understands everything it teaches and suggests, he becomes a committed man that does not take any step before making sure that it pleases Allah (S.W.T), since it forbids indecency (which means exceeding the limits) and evil (which is everything that Allah (S.W.T) deemed unlawful).

That is why it was said in our traditions that those whose prayers do not forbid them from indecency and evil, will only become further away from Allah.

When we study all the parts that Allah (S.W.T) ordained in prayer, we find out that it bonds man with Allah and educates him on His glory. Saying Allahu Akbar (God is great) makes man feel that no matter how anything else is great it is small when compared to Allah (S.W.T). Moreover, when man testifies that there is no god but Allah, he is discarding all those who consider themselves to be gods. Similarly, when the Muslim recites the Opening Surah, it gives him the methodology that makes him feel that Allah (S.W.T) is the Lord of the worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the only One to be worshipped and relied upon. He is One, the Eternal God. He begot none, nor was he begotten. He is the Greatest and the most Supreme.

And when he repeats the prayers five times a day, in addition to those that are not obligatory, the presence of Allah inside him would be intensified.

Fasting too was ordained for similar reasons. Allah says: {O believers, fasting is decreed for you as it was decreed for those before you; perchance you will guard yourselves against evil} [2:183]. Fasting, therefore, is a way to acquire piety: When you abstain from eating, drinking and the rest of your desires, with no one to watch you but Allah (S.W.T), you will be affirming and strengthening your will to obey Allah. The same values are taught by pilgrimage in accordance to this tradition: “Allah does not care about those who come to this house (The Kaa’ba) unless they possess those three virtues: Piety that prevents them from committing sins, prudence that enables them to contain the ignorant, and high morals to deal with people” Thus, worshipping is not a superficial act, but rather a movement that enters the mind and enlightens it with the rightness. It also enters the heart and fills it with love and fills your whole life with piety.

Thus, the believer ought to be a committed man, whose affairs, whether personal, social or political, are mindful of Allah. He ought to remember that there will come a day in which he will stand before God, and he will be held accountable for all his deeds.

There are many traditions that tell us about the value of performing the religious duties and not committing any sins.

Imam Ali bin Al-Hussein (a.s.) says: “Those who obey Allah’s commands are among the best of people”. Imam Jaa’far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) explains the meaning of Allah’s saying {O believers, be patient and let your patience never be exhausted. Stand firm in your faith and fear Allah, so that you may triumph}[3:200] ,by saying that it means that we have to be patient when it comes to performing religious duties, these duties include the struggle for the cause of Allah (S.W.T) and confronting the challenges of Allah’s enemies.

As for not committing sins, Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s.) comments on the Ayat that promises two gardens for those who fear the majesty of their Lord, by saying that they are those who know that Allah (S.W.T) sees and hears them and is aware of every act they do, which would make them not commit any unlawful or evil act. Imam Al-Baqir (a.s.) says that everyone will cry on the Day of Judgment except three: Those who had fought for the cause of Allah (whether in the battlefront or in any other front), those who had cried in fear of Allah and those who had abstained from committing any unlawful act.

Imam Jaa’far Al-Sadiq (a.s.) considers that those whom Allah (S.W.T) talks about when He says :{Then we shall turn to that which they have done and render it as scattered dust}[25:23] are those whose actions are as white as the while cotton of Egypt, yet they do not abstain from committing sins. They would pray and fast, but they would still commit sins. Their good actions will be rendered as scattered dust.

This worldly life will end, and with it all our lusts and pleasures will turn to dust.

They will not do us any good in the Hereafter when we have to stand before God on the Day of Judgment. Thus, when Satan calls us to neglect our prayers, fasting …etc as well as Allah’s commands regarding our family, wealth and community, we have to tell him what Allah taught His Messenger (p.) to say:{Say: I will never disobey my Lord, for I fear the torment of a fateful day}[6:15].

If your relatives and friends try to seduce you to commit sins and disobey Allah, tell them: Could you help me on the Day of Judgment, if Allah (S.W.T) wishes to punish me?

Imagine how you will be like, when you enter your grave and then wait for your turn in the Hereafter {But when they deafening cry comes, on that day each man will forsake his brother, his mother and his father, his wife and his children: for each one of them will on that day have enough concern of his own} [37:80].

Think about this day, for today you act with no one to hold you accountable, but on that day, the day you will be held accountable, you cannot change, or add any other deed to what you had already done.

The Zionist occupation is still carrying on its operation of siege, destroying, arrest and killings in the West Bank, in what could be viewed as a brutal collective punishment to women, children and the elderly. It enjoys the wide support of the American Administration, as well as an international form of hypocrisy in which the international powers call for withdrawal but without making any effort to realize it. On their part, the Arab states are silent, and they have begun to take part in a political game that might be closer to implementing the American schemes than protecting the Palestinian people.

As for the Arab and Muslim peoples, they have stopped their protesting demonstrations, as if they had done all their duty in the previous demonstrations. They have to remember that the Israelis continue to eradicate the Palestinian people with all the American advanced weapons they acquired, while America continues to pressurize the Palestinians using the quartet international committee, as well as the Arab states to accomplish the goals of Sharon and stop the Intifada for good.

Palestine is now subjected to American, European, Russian, Arab and UN pressure, but the Palestinians should keep on their heroic and legendary steadfastness. This is because all these powers want the Palestinians to yield to their conditions and surrender without any real prospects for bringing about any demand that might need thousands of rounds of negotiations…

Your steadfastness embarrasses everybody, while offering concessions in the name of reform, and implementing the American and Israeli conditions, underlines the defeat.

Moving to Algeria, the country which sacrificed 1.5 Million martyrs in the war of liberation only to fall prey to the international game that hindered its reform in the various political and economic fields… It fell in a surrealistic war whose toll has so far exceeded a 100 thousand. And the media has blamed the Islamists for these massacres of innocent civilian, children, women and elderly…

We are sure that certain local and international military and intelligence agencies, have exploited some naive and simple people, calling them Islamic and driving them to commit these massacres. But we would like to emphasize that Islam condemns and deplores all these brutal actions. Those who commit them have no relation to Islam whatsoever, for these acts are not accepted by any law, mind or religion… The Islamists all over the world should voice their condemnation for these acts and expose their motives.

With respect to the sectarian differences in India between the Hindus and the Muslims that have been the cause of killing and displacing of many poor Muslims, we demand that the Indian government should interfere and prevent this mobile war against Muslims being a state that respects itself and its citizens.

The citizens of Kashmir too are the victims of a harsh campaign to silent their demand of self-determination, in the midst of a terrifying international silence lead by America which considers those who demand independence as terrorists, despite the fact that the UN resolutions have given them the right of self-determination over 50 years ago.

The security instability in Afghanistan is still leading to the death of many innocent people and thwarting any attempt to re-stabilize this Muslim country. America leads an international coalition to usurp the resources of this country and the whole region in the name of fighting terrorism.

In the Middle East, we are confronted with the Israeli threats to Syria, Lebanon and other Islamic and Arab countries, especially Iran. The latest of these threats was that of the new Zionist Army commander who called his troops to prepare for a wide war. This means that the leaders of the region should prepare for this war too…

The coming stage is going to be full of challenges and it will witness many political and military changes, especially with the American plots for Iraq.

In Lebanon, we hope that the political detente among the top officials in this country could translate itself into an agenda to solve the economic crisis, or at least relief the citizens from some of its negative effects, as well as promoting a true political reconciliation in the country that stays away from the sectarian mentality and interests, and fulfill the citizen’s dream in a free land, a free decision and a free and prosperous future.

O Lebanese, your children are God’s trust; do not lead them to the mazes that could make them lost.