Loving God
Allah says in His Glorious Book:
And among men
is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is
Affectionate to the servants.
This human being, Ali (a.s.) has sold himself to God.
His mind, heart and all his being was to God, from the day he was born
in one of the Houses of Allah until he died in another house of Allah.
This is his secret, the secret of
the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib whom we are recalling his martyrdom, when
he was stabbed by Ibn Maljam, as he was praying at dawn in the mosque
of Kufa. And this is why he said:
In the name
of Allah and on the religion of His Messenger. By the Lord of Kaa'ba,
I have won. This
is what he always thought about: to live his entire life serving the
cause of Islam and to die adhering to the line of Islam. And this is
what he told the Prophet when the latter told him that he was weeping
for what they will do with you in this month.
The Commander of the Faithful asked "O' the Prophet of Allah, will
that be for the safety of my Faith".
He replied, "Yes, it will be with the safety of your Faith. He was
glad because that was all what he cared for.
And this also why Imam Hussein
(a.s.) said when he was about to be martyred , that he does not care
how or where he gets killed as long as it is for the cause of Allah.
The Knight of Islam
When we remember the Imam in this
month, we remember the champion of the battle of Badr, for he played a
vital and heroic role in this battle that occurred in this month, and
through which Allah wanted to tell the Arabs of that time that there
was another power in addition to that of Quraish and that they should
not be afraid of Quraish when they wish to join Islam. This was the
battle of Badr in which the Imam killed half of the infidels who fell
in that war, although he had had no previous combat training. His
strength was a product of his belief. That is why Gabriel said
according to historians.
There is no hero except Ali (a.s.).
There is no sword except his sword Zulifqar.
Ali (a.s.) was also present in the
conquest of Mecca which also occurred in this Month. The Messenger(p.)
was planning to open Mecca peacefully without spilling one drop of
blood. That is why when the man carrying the banner said: Today is the
day of Slaughter there is no security today, he gave the banner to Ali
(a.s.) ordering him to say: Today is the day of Mercy and forgiveness.
This tells us that Imam Ali (a.s.) fought when the Islamic interest
demanded fighting and made peace when it required peace.
This is what he inspired from the
Messenger when he asked the Meccans after opening Mecca: What do you
think I will do to you? And when they told him, relying on his sublime
manners, that he was their honourable brother he said: There is no
blame on you today, and left them all free.
Thus Ali (a.s.) was the knight and
hero of Islam. He was also the teacher for the Messenger(p.) used to
day: "I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the gate". While the Imam
used to say: "The Messenger taught me one thousand branches of
knowledge of each one thousand branches are opened for me. The
Messenger(p.) also said: Ali (a.s.) with the Right and the Right is
with Ali. It turns with him wherever he turns. Ali (a.s.) describes
his sufferings as a result of adhering to the right in saying: "The
Right has left me with no friends". For they wanted him for
themselves, while he wanted them for God. He stayed with Islam even he
was denied his right in the caliphate after the death of the
Messenger(p.) . He expressed his stand in this wise statement that
shows how dedicated he was: I will keep the peace as long as the
affairs of Muslims are sustained and the only injustice falls on me in
particular.
Following his Lead
When we remember Ali (a.s.), we have
to learn from him how to be with the Right, how we defend Islam and
preserve its unity and that of the Muslims. Especially in these
difficult circumstances in which the world of arrogance and unbelief
wants to undermine the strength of Islam and Muslims, we have to stay
with Ali (a.s.), with his heroism, his Jihad and learn how to be with
the Messenger and with God, for Ali used to love Allah and His
Messenger and was loved by Allah and His Messenger.
Being of his Shiites means adhering
to his thought, his beliefs and following his lead in all his actions.
May Allah bless him the day he was born, the day he was martyred and
the day will be brought back to life.
The Second Sermon
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The American Arrogance and the World
As a result of the American
Administration vicious plots that aim at promoting its own interests
at the expense of the interests of all the nations of the world with
our region in its forefront, the entire world, including the Islamic
world, is still suffering from local, regional and international
problems.
We have seen the latest phase in
fuelling these problems in the visit of the American Secretary of
State that summoned several Arab foreign ministers she considers
moderate to form a political alliance against those she considers
extremists.
She aims at destabilizing the
relations between these “moderate” countries and between Iran, Syria
and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon and Palestine. But, although she
promised to produce some positive results in Palestine, she was not
able to attain anything for the Palestinian people, for she does not
have the means to pressurise the enemy's. The role she played was
trying to incite the official authority against Hamas in an effort to
fall the government. Such escalating tensions might lead to the
catastrophe of civil war and this is probably the gaol the enemy in
seeking.
In Iraq, the daily tragedy of
barbaric massacres committed by the occupation and its allies, whether
directly, goes on and on. In addition, the state of sectarian killing
abduction and displacement continues aiming at creating a de facto
partition that is supported by the occupation.
Iran faces the Arrogant project.
Iran is still being falsely accused
of planning to produce the atomic bomb. But what America and its
European allies really aim at is to deny Iran – the scientific nuclear
technology that enables it and the Islamic world to serve the causes
of economic development and prosperity.
America wants the Islamic countries
to remain in need of the West on security economic and scientific
fields.
Meanwhile, America talks about the
sanctions that will be imposed on Iran, but Iran will confront all
these threats, for it is fighting for the cause of freedom and
dignity.
The North Korean Shock
The North Korean atomic test constituted a major
shock to the Arrogant powers who exerted extensive pressure, to
prevent it, especially that America, and its allies, wants to
monopolize the possession of the bomb, but this does not include
Israel that is said to have 200 nuclear heads, on the grounds that it
is threatened. Such a claim is a black comedy that makes a widow
laugh, for Israel is the one that constitutes a threat to the states
of the region due to its strategic alliance with the US… Then
Washington had to accept the Fact that both India and Pakistan possess
the bomb. And now its North Korea's turn, for America did not offer
the Koreans what they asked for regarding non-aggression.
Defying the US Policies
The challenges that the US face
whether from states, liberation movements and those it calls
"fundamentals" has made the US stumble in the countries it occupies
directly, Iraq and Afghanistan, and indirectly – Palestine.
We believe that this arrogant state
will be met by the nations’ rejection and confrontation of its
policies.
In addition, problems are already
facing the President of this administration inside his country, as a
result of the various scandals that are besieging him.
God wants us to reject arrogance and
to stand against all the unjust and to face all aggression pressures.
He wants us to be free and dignified, for this is an integral part of
the faith of unifying Allah that rejects any kind of slavery.
Lebanon in the political maze
Lebanon is still living in a
political maze as a result of the rows that emerge every now and then
and the accusations, both the loyalists and the opposition throw at
one another. The calls for a dialogue might not be fruitful, for the
Lebanese politicians are not the country decision makers, because
there are foreign forces that are manipulating Lebanese decisions
through embassies and international envoys.
Meanwhile, most of the Lebanese are
living below the line the poverty, since their appetites can not be
satisfied by holding Ramadan iftars, and making speeches that will
only provide them with confusing statements. May Allah help the
weakened in this country that is still in the hands of the well – off
who have made their riches at the Lebanese people's expense, and by
stealing the budget through the corruption system that plagues the
so-called Lebanese state.