FRIDAY SPEECH August 15, 2001

Man is a creature of haste: Soon (enough) will I show you My Signs; So ask me not to hasten them!(21:37).

”Man prays for evil as fervently as he prays for good for man us given to haste”(622).

This trait ,haste, is described as innate in man because of the nature of his creation...

Man usually wants things to happen straight away without thinking of the time needed to ripen the circumstances or creating the conditions needed to realize them. And then he will definitely not get what he hoped for.

The problems of the prophets were of this kind. People used to reject the call right away because they were under the influence of the ideas they were brought up on. Thus they tended to refuse any new thoughts. But had they given themselves enough time to think about it and weigh its positive results, they would have believed in it. But these people used to stand before the prophets who used to warn them about God (SWT)’s punishment and tell them that if what you were saying is true, let your God (SWT) send his punishment now. This is what the verse, we cited in the beginning referred to, but if man knew what he was going to face he would not have been anxious to meet it.

In the light of this, Islam has always stressed that man ought not to rush things but he should rather take his time and study all aspects of the matter carefully. In our daily life, we have a lot of decisions to make, whether inside our family, with friends, at work or in our political and social life… in all these matters as well as is other issues that have to do with our desires or business deals, we have to be very cautious and never let ourselves rush to hasty actions.

This is a basic Islamic reaching, that you ought not to embark upon anything before you study all its positive and negative consequences. In this respect, there are many things that if you study thoroughly, you will discover the harm or loss they could inflict especially if they happen to be crucial issues that could affect your relations with your spouse or friends, or with deciding on whom your are going to marry or befriend. For marriage means that each partner should provide concessions that have to do with the other party’s moods and upbringing.

Therefore, you have to study if you are going to be able to share your life with this partner, with all the inconveniences it demands. The same thing goes to matters like partnership in business or living in a neighborhood. If you want to buy a house, you have to learn whom your neighbors are for they can make life intolerable.

Getting involved in politics is also another example: Before adhering to a political line, you ought to study the effects of such an action on your worldly life as well as the hereafter.

That is why our traditions have stressed the need of taking one’s time. Imam Ali (a.s) says: ”Haste creates obstacles”. If you are in a haste, you are bond to run into obstacles you could have avoided had you taken your time and studied everything carefully. In his will the Imam says: ”I warn against haste in saying and action”. Think about what you are going to say or do before saying or doing them.

If they are going to have a positive impact then go ahead, but if their consequences are going to be harmful then you better refrain from saying or doing them.

“Haste has lead people to disaster. Had they taken time to verify no one would have met this fate”.

You have to make sure that what has been said to you is true before taking any action, especially that our society is a society of backbiting and defamation, whether on the level of the individuals or the mass media.

The Holly Quran has concentrated on this point when it said”

O ye believe! If a sinner comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done”.

Therefore, we should not pass judgment on people off hand, especially as those who volunteer to provide the news might not be pious and might not respect others or the truth itself. Therefore, we should make sure that the story they are telling is the truth for two reasons. The first : this will prevent us from doing anything wrong, and the second is that those who are lying will be discovered and people will not believe them any more. Moreover, they might stop this ugly habit of lying and spreading rumors.

Imam Ali (A.S) advised Malik Al-Ashtar, when he made him the rule of Egypt, not to believe those who come to him to tell him about the actions and sayings of others, because they are probably cheaters even if they pose as advisors.

Yet, what we have said above is restricted to your relations to others or to your personal affairs, but it does not apply to doing good. On the contrary when there is something good to be done you have to hurry up and do it. According to our Imams, if you want to give anything in charity, you have to do it right away and never let the devil give you second thoughts about it. Muhammad (P.) says:

”Allah (SWT) loves the Good that is not delayed”.

Thus, when the issue has to do with the good of the nation or nearness to God (SWT), you should hurry up and do it.

But, when it is a decision that relates to your personal political, or social affairs you have to study it thoroughly and never attempt to put it into practice before you are absolutely sure that it is not evil.

Allah (SWT) has given us our minds to use them.

Israel continues to commit daily massacres against all sectors of the Palestinian people ,and even the children. At the same time, the American administration sends mixed messages: while the state department describes the Nablis massacre as “very aggressive” to please the Arabs who tend to consider any American statement condemning Israel as a change in the American policy, the American vice-president Dick Chinny considers the massacre as an act of self-defense, since the Harmas leaders were preparing for operations against Israel.

The American president, on his part, finds it sufficient to issue a statement in which he hopes that the ”level of violence” decreases, as if he is calling the Palestinians not to revenge for the massacre, for he does not wish to engage in a confrontation with the Congress that could undermine his local agenda.

Thus, the American policy towards the Middle East in particular has fallen under the Jewish influence, as evident from the American threat to boycott the UN conference against racism if it considers Zionism to be racist, as well as the demand of the members of the Congress to release the Israeli prisoners in Lebanon or their passing a law demanding that Israel should be given the video tape that contains information about the prisoners’ capture.

This stage in which the Americans provides more and more support to the Israelis with each brutal and barbaric move they take under the pretense of self-defense, demands a decisive Arab stand: The Arabs should study the means of exerting pressure against the American interests in the region or the security of the American forces in the Gulf, so that the US would feel concerned for its interest. The Muslim world too should move in the same direction, for this is the only way to respond to the current challenges.

I also call for the restoration of the Arab boycott to Israel… It is quite shameful that some of the Arab states-especially Egypt and Jordan-did not attend the boycott summit, on the grounds that they do not want to harm their relations with Israel. Faced by the Palestinian blood that flows like a river, the Arabs fear that if they hold a summit, their incompetence will be exposed. Knowing this, Israel could now fight the Palestinians assured that they are left alone with no Arab support and no international pressure.

The Arab masses should take to the streets, to express their rage against the massacres, and to wage a wide campaign for the support the Intifada and the Palestinian people economically to compensate for the lack of the support of the Arab states.

The Palestinians should preserve their internal unity and continue the Intifada. These two elements are the only factors that could destabilize the security and economy of the Zionist entity. The Palestinian people have surely come to know that they are the ones who should remove the occupation, for the others, accept a few, will not hold this responsibility. They are the ones whose struggle will force Americans, Europe and the others to interfere and force Israel to withdraw.

The occupation of the Iraqi regime to Kuwait ten years ago, has lead to a series of collapses that has almost ended any strength and willingness to stand tall the nation had, as well as its belief in itself and the justice of its cause. It actually turned the Arabs into two parties and dispersed them, leading to the weakness that is evident in our confrontation to the Israeli enemy.

It also lead to the catastrophe the Iraqis are enduring daily, as a result of the siege, in addition to the oppression of the Iraqi regime. We remember this event, this crime against the Iraqis and all the Arabs to learn the lessons it teaches us .

The attempt of the Security Council to change the role of UNFIL to a monitoring force aims at creating the illusion that the occupation has ended. It also aims at exerting pressure to send the Lebanese Army to the South, which could be a trap as it might engage with the enemy in a war that it is not prepared for.

The Americans are exerting pressures on the Security Council and the Europeans tend to agree with them. I believe that Lebanon should face this pressure and I support the Lebanese president in his decisive stand towards this issue.

As for the economic crisis and the danger of economic collapse, we have to understand that it is not a result of the war or of the presence of the Resistance in the South. It is a direct result of the way the successive governments tried to deal with the economy, as well as the plunder and waste of Public money.

Faced with eminent collapse, the people in power are still occupied by the political game; they are trying to fill the major vacancies in the administration in accordance to their political and sectarian interests, while the country is sinking. This country needs someone to save it. Where is he?